Here’s your weekly dose of music to help you get through a rough week, as prescribed by Azra Kassam.
Neon Trees –”Everybody Talks”
There’s nothing like watching a guy in a pink suit jamming on Ellen. Neon Trees went on Ellen today to perform their hit “Everybody Talks,” which is a fun, summery jam about people gossiping. The song is from their new CD Picture Show.
Feist – “Bittersweet Melodies”
Feist’s video for her latest single Bittersweet Melodies features some pretty unique photographs. Argentinean photographer Irina Werning, who juxtaposes pictures of people recreating images taken of them in the past, lends her talents in this nostalgic video/slideshow. My favourite re-creation is the wedding couple who look just as happy now as they did then. The photos are amazing and complement the soothing, wistful song perfectly.
Adele vs. Fun – “We Are On Fire”
How do you make a great indie pop hit even better? You mash it up with Adele, of course. “We Are Young,” the first single off indie pop band Fun’s second album Some Nights, was an unexpected hit. Even Glee covered it! The song is a power ballad with a great chorus, but isn’t very danceable. So DJ Tripp mixed in Adele and a faster beat. This, my friends, is how magic happens. I’m in love. Read more…
Jamie Lidell has released yet another genre-bending album, but it sounds a little rougher this time around. Perhaps that can be partially attributed to Beck, who, after collaborating with Jamie for his Record Club project (google it!), encouraged and helped produce his latest LP “Compass”. Jamie discussed embracing sonic rawness, and spoke to us about some of the other allstars that helped with this latest record.
Don’t say you’ve seen an electro-group perform live, until you’ve seen DUBBS.
It’s only fair really.
Instead of going up on stage like most groups only to then just press a play button on a laptop, DUBBS re-creates every aspect of the beat-pumping tune with a variety of equipment- giving the audience the most real-live dynamic electro-concert experience possible.
The three-man Canadian team consists of brothers Alex (Vocals) and Chris (Drums) Van Den Hoeff, and Ottawa producer Martin Sinotte, who hope to make a name for themselves with their revolutionary club-bopping tracks and unique live sound-experience.
“Most DJ’s just turn knobs to play a hit song. That’s it,” says Sinotte. “But then you have us who play the song with a live beat pad, live keyboard, live everything. You have Alex singing, Chris on drums. It gets wild.”
Adds Alex, “It’s a poppy-techno sound with a twist. We call it a new age of electro-house.”
Forming a band in Canada is kind of like raising a barn. You send word to the neighbourhood, calling for all the essential tools, and on production day, whoever wants to lend a hand can get in on the project.
It happened with Broken Social Scene, as Toronto’s indie scene amalgamated into a pre-emptive supergroup of some of the country’s best songwriters. And just when fans began getting comfortable with the lineup, BSS parted ways to take on this century’s music industry from all angles. Emily Haines became Metric, Feist went solo, a large contingent became Stars, and the rest split their separate ways forming Do Make Say Think, Apostle of Hustle, The Weakerthans, Land of Talk and so forth.
Silver Starling made their public debut in 2009, yet another offspring of the ever-expanding aftermath. Founded in Montreal by Marcus Pacquin (who helped in the studios of both Stars and Arcade Fire) and Liam O’Neil (originally of Young Galaxy), Silver Starling was only supposed to be a two-man affair at first. But then Pacquin’s wife, Marika Anthony-Shaw, got in on the deal adding a unique touch of strings (viola, specifically) during breaks from touring with Arcade Fire herself. As the songs began calling for a rhythm section, more musicians were called upon, and soon Gab Lambert (of Marathon) and Peter X (of We are Star 69) gained permanent standing.
Wilco have confirmed that Canadian chanteuse Feist will make an appearance on their latest, as-yet-untitled album, which is slated for release in late June.
“Rumors and blogs regarding a guest appearance on (the track “You and I”) are, amazingly, quite true,” a posting on the band’s website stated Friday. “Feist does indeed lend a great vocal.”
Scarlett Johansson is set to host the upcoming Nobel Peace Prize Concert, which will include performances by Feist and Diana Ross.
Also slated to play the Dec. 11 event in Oslo is an array of international talent, including Dierks Bentley, Julieta Venegas, Seun Kuti, Marit Larsen, Nick Davies and The Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
Additional acts will be announced in the coming few weeks.
The 15th annual show will take place the day after former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic and peacemaking work over more than three decades.
Johansson release a statement saying she was “truly honoured” to be hosting the tribute to Ahtisaari.
“His tireless efforts to promote peace on a global scale are an inspiration to us all,” she said.
The actress herself received high praises from Geir Lundestad, secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, who called her “politically engaged and conscious” in an interview with the VG newspaper.
Feist is getting charitable on her upcoming Canadian tour.
The Calgary-raised, Toronto-based musician will appeal to the goodwill of fans with two initiatives benefiting several charities during her 13-city excursion.
Concertgoers are being asked to bring non-perishable food items and/or monetary contributions to show venues, where local representatives of the Canadian Association of Food Banks will be on hand to collect donations. One person each night will win an article of limited-edited Feist memorabilia.
As well, all the proceeds from Feist merchandise sales throughout the tour will go to CARE Canada, Doctors Without Borders and War Child Canada.
Feist is backing her third album, “The Reminder,” which was released last year and earned the singer-songwriter five Juno awards in April.
Here are Feist’s upcoming Canadian dates, with opener Hayden:
Oct. 14 – Penticton, BC @ South Okanagan Events Centre
Oct. 16 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Oct. 18 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Oct. 19 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Oct. 20 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Oct. 24 – London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
Oct. 25 – Ottawa, ON @ National Arts Centre (Southam Hall)
Nov. 1 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
Nov. 3 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Nov. 5 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Nov. 6 – Saint John, NB @ Harbour Station
Nov. 7 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Metro Centre
Nov. 9 – St. John’s, NL @ Mile One Stadium
Nov. 10 – Charlottetown, PEI @ Confederation Centre Of The Arts
Alberta musicians who’ve made it big worldwide will be honoured at the Western Canadian Music Awards next month.
The Western Canadian Music Alliance, which hosts the annual awards, announced Wednesday that Feist, k.d. lang and Nickelback are all being recognized for their international stature and significant album sales.
The gala will take place Oct. 19 at Edmonton’s Meyer Horowitz Theatre.
Feist, whose full name is Leslie Feist, was actually born in Amherst, N.S., but grew up in Calgary. Her third album “The Reminder” sold more than a million copies worldwide and was nominated for four Grammy awards this year.
Lang is from Consort, Alta., and has won multiple Grammys for her country/adult contemporary music, the first being Best Country Vocal Collaboration in 1988 for her duet with Roy Orbison on the song “Crying.” She was also inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame earlier this month.
Nickelback, formed in Hanna, Alta., has sold more than 26 million albums worldwide and won a World Music Award for World’s Best Rock Group in 2006.
The results show opens with a recap of last night’s performances, courtesy of the guys at TSN’s Sports Centre. Huh?
Simple Plan, guest mentors this week, perform their single, “Your Love Is a Lie,” off their latest self-titled album. Their performance, much like their name, is simple and contrived.
Before getting to the results, Ben asks unnecessary questions to the judges and hopefuls. After bringing Theo, Mookie and Mitch onto centre stage, Ben announces it’s the Idols left on the couch that are in the bottom three, surprising no one but 14-year-old fan girls.
And the unlucky victim this week, or perhaps they’re the lucky one, is Amberly Thiessen. “The Idol mansion has become a frat house,” says Ben. Amberly, on the verge of tears, sings the show out with “1234” by Feist.
The final five will take on Beatles songs next Monday at 8 p.m. EST on CTV.
Leslie Feist came, saw and conquered at this year’s Junos.
The Toronto-based, Calgary-born singing sensation known simply as Feist, walked away with awards in all five categories she was nominated- including the coveted album of the year.
“I am a soft and sucky person, and I would be soft if it wasn’t for my human shields,” the singer said just before thanking her label, her producers and her band.
Feist took home single of the year, the first award of the night, for 1 2 3 4, the ditty that took the world by storm. Feist would be back on stage to accept a few more honours proving that the night was most definitely hers.
Feist may have beat out the best in Canadian music in her categories but others were honoured during the ceremony at Calgary’s Saddledome on Sunday night.
Homegrown host and international funnyman Russell Peters kicked off the night with a low blow joke aimed at Nickelback lead singer, Chad Kroeger. Peters ran on stage quipped that Kroeger was his limo driver as fans roared with laughter knowing the singer was recently found guilty of drunk driving.
The night went on to include some spectacular performances. Finger Eleven graced the staged with a powerful rendition of their song Paralyzer, opera singer Measha Brueggergosman honoured the late Oscar Peterson with two songs, and Anne Murray did a memorable duet with Jann Arden. The show wrapped up with R&B/Soul recording of the year winner Jully Black, singing her hit Seven Day Fool.
Other winners included Halifax indie band Wintersleep getting the new group of the year trophy as Blue Rodeo was named group of the year. The Juno fan choice award went to Michael Buble, who beat out Canadian legend Celine Dion for the nod. Dion was left empty-handed in all four of her nominations.
Celine Dion, Michael Bublé and Avril Lavigne didn’t stand a chance for the artist of the year prize at this year’s Junos.
Toronto’s Feist took home the award as well as songwriter of the year at a pre-ceremony gala held on Saturday night in Calgary.
The rest of the awards will be handed out in traditional award show fashion for the viewing public on Sunday night.
Feist is up for three more Junos at Sunday’s show including single, album and pop album of the year, CBC.ca reports.
The 32-year-old musician, born Leslie Feist, will have to add the Junos to the many accolades she’s already accumulated this year. She’s got four Grammy nominations and a Brit Award nod for best international female under her belt. The difference with the Junos, however, is that Feist is actually taking home some trophies.
Count von Count must be beside himself with excitement.
Canadian songstress Feist, whose number-referencing hit “1234″ is nominated for best single going into Sunday’s Juno Awards, will make a special appearance on the arithmomanic fanged one’s home turf of “Sesame Street.”
The singer was in New York this week to tape an episode on the long-running children’s show in which she duets with Elmo.
Feist and the giggly red monster reportedly sing a song she wrote specifically for the two of them.
An air date for the episode has not yet been announced.
It’s not Feist’s first time working with puppets — she recently shot a video for “Honey Honey” that showcases the Calgary-based Old Trout Puppet Workshop, whose puppetry has been featured in the Disney TV series “Honey I Shrunk The Kids.”
“I’ve always been really obsessed with the naivete of puppeteering,” Feist told The Calgary Herald recently. “It’s a hand pulling a string at the exact right moment or it’s personifying a piece of wood.
“There are no computers, no buttons. It’s just ingenuity and timing and the humanness of the moment. The joints of wood mixed with the joints of blood and bone.”
Feist is nominated for five Junos this year, including best artist, best songwriter and best album for “The Reminder.”
She will also perform at the awards ceremony, which will air live from Calgary’s Pengrowth Saddledome on CTV.
Feist, Muse, Of Montreal, Bloc Party, Deerhoof, The Exit and a host of other artists are going green for an environmentally friendly benefit album.
Green Owl Records, founded by musicians Ben Brewer, Ellenike Abreu and Stephen Glicken, is releasing its first CD/DVD compilation which will feature previously unreleased tracks from the above artists and others.
“The Green Owl Comp: A Benefit For The Energy Action Coalition” will be released digitally to cut down on waste, and also as a physical release packaged in 100 per cent post-consumer paper.
The compilation features a 16-track audio CD and a DVD with eight music videos, an interview with Energy Action Coalition (EAC) founder Billy Parish and eight bonus audio tracks.
All proceeds will go to EAC, a project of more than 40 youth-led clean energy organizations in the U.S. and Canada.
The compilation will be available starting April 8.
Feist beat out the likes of M.I.A. and fellow Canadians Arcade Fire and Stars to take the 2007 Shortlist Prize on Monday for her album “The Reminder.”
The award, considered the American equivalent of Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize, recognizes artists more for critical acclaim than commercial success. To be eligible, albums must have been released between January and November 2007 and have sold fewer than 500,000 units in the U.S.
Feist beat out nine other nominees to become the first Canadian to win the prize, which was launched in 2001.
This year’s winner was chosen by a panel of music industry insiders including Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, the Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci and journalist Rev. Moose.
“The Reminder” is Feist’s third solo album and has now reached sales of nearly 515,000 in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The Toronto- and Paris-based singer already has four Grammy and five Juno nominations, and will perform at the Juno award ceremony on April 6.
“1 2 3 4″ — tell Feist that you love her more.
The Toronto-based singer/songwriter leads the 2008 Indie Awards with four nominations.
Fans will be able to vote for her, and other nominees, on the Canadian Music Week website in March.
Nominees were chosen by music business representatives, and include The New Pornographers, Tokyo Police Club, and Young Galaxy.
The 2008 Indie Awards take place in Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel on March 8.
The show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance, or $30 at the door.
Feist, Michael Bublé and Finger Eleven will be among the performers at this year’s Juno awards.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, who organizes the annual celebration of Canadian music, unveiled the first slate of performers on Tuesday. Additional acts are expected to be revealed next Monday, a day before the nominees for the 2008 awards are announced.
“Having artists such as Feist, Finger Eleven and Michael Bublé perform on the same night will be an incredible experience for the fans and audiences watching worldwide,” said CARAS president Melanie Berry.
“What a great way to show off our homegrown talent.”
Feist previously won new artist of the year and best alternative album, for “Let It Die,” at the 2005 gala.
This year’s ceremony will honour broadcasting mogul Moses Znaimer and country singer Paul Brandt with the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award and the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, respectively.
The Junos are set to take place April 6 at Calgary’s Saddledome. In celebration, the city will host three days of festivities beginning April 4 and set to a “Wild West” theme.
Just three of the 54 albums nominated for this year’s Shortlist Music Prize are by Canadian artists, reports ChartAttack.com.
The award is handed out for the best album released in the U.S. between January and November of last year that sold less than 500,000 copies domestically. Albums from 48 different labels and nine countries were nominated by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, Ronnie Vannucci of The Killers and four radio personalities.
Lucky Canucks Feist, Arcade Fire and Stars will duke it out against the likes of Bjork, Justice, M.I.A., The Hives and Wilco. Previous winners include Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice and N*E*R*D.
Canadians Arcade Fire, Feist and Stars are among 54 acts being considered for the Shortlist Music Prize.
The U.S. award is given to artists considered underappreciated and deserving of greater commercial success by a jury of musicians, producers and journalists.
Albums are only eligible for nomination if they have not been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America ? that is, if they have sold fewer than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Arcade Fire is nominated for their album “Neon Bible,” Feist for “The Reminder” and Stars for “In Our Bedroom After the War.”
The 2007 long list also includes Bjork’s “Volta,” Eddie Vedder’s “Into the Wild” soundtrack, PJ Harvey’s “White Chalk,” Wilco’s “Sky Blue Sky” and Klaxons’s “Myths of the Near Future.”
The jury for the Shortlist Organization, known as the “Listmakers,” is this year made up of Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, the Killers’ Ronnie Vannucci, journalist Rev. Moose, DJ Chris Douridas and the hosts of Hunnypot Internet Radio.
Created in 2001, the Shortlist’s past winners include Sigur Ros, Damien Rice and last year’s winner, Cat Power for her album “The Greatest.”
Canadian recording artist Feist may just be a workaholic.
Though her Grammy-nominated album “The Reminder” hit shelves just seven months ago, she’s already making day trips back to the studio when she has the time. “[My band and I] thought, day off? Let’s just do something fun,” she told Billboard.com. “Bowling? A hike? Instead, we rented a studio. I think that’s how we’re going to start using our time off.”
Other than just playing around with her musician pals, she also laid down a track for her upcoming collaboration with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.
Feist also said she’s been inspired lately, writing new songs, but fans shouldn’t expect to hear them too soon. “I’m tiptoeing into some new terrain. There’s no necessity and no timeline. I’m not quite at the point where I think I should be thinking about another record. These songs, there’s nothing forcing them to come, yet here’s some ideas. It’s really a ways away though.”
Patrick Watson must be close to euphoria after winning the second annual Polaris Music Prize yesterday for their album Close to Paradise.
The band won the $20,000 pot over such steep competition as Calgary’s Feist, Hamilton’s Junior Boys, and fellow Montreal bands Arcade Fire, the Dears and the Besnard Lakes.
Performances at the industry gala included Montreal’s Miracle Fortress, Halifax’s Joel Plaskett Emergency, Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen and New Brunswick’s Julie Doiron. While the bands rocked out, a jury of 11 music experts from across the country chose which nominated album deserved the prize, based solely on artistic merit.
Nomination were provided by more than 170 Canadian music journalists, broadcasters and bloggers who submitted their top five favourite albums that were released between June 1, 2006, and May 31, 2007.
The Polaris Prize is modelled after the U.K.’s esteemed Mercury Prize.
