Gorillaz - Re-Hash
I am going to listen to this album today. You should too. Gorillaz are great, and if you haven’t listened to them, you damn well should. Jeez, buddy.
I am going to go out on a very hipsterific limb and announce that their first album is my favourite.
So I came to the realization today that I actually do have a top five when it comes to bands. HERE IT IS.
POW
MewithoutYou
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Xp_9EGz2c
(Tie Me Up! Untie Me!)
This band, as mentioned before, is one of my all time favourites. I’ve loved them for years, and hold an incredible amount of admiration for them. It is sort of ironic that my favourite band is one that plays “Christian music”, considering the fact that I am not religious, but hey, they are amazing. Anyone who values original sound and amazing lyrics should listen to this band. They’ve gotten me through some hard times, just sayin’;
BLAM
Gorillaz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCIL3r136T4
(New Genius (Brother))
Oh Gorillaz, you have been a love of mine for so long. Granted, Damian Albarn is kind of a total douchebag, but we have overcome our differences because the sounds you make are so delicious. Gorillaz are one of two bands that have completely and utterly maintained my interest since I first got into music (shortly after their initial album came out), even if their latest release, The Fall, wasn’t all that great. I’ve always found hip-hop and rap to have a certain promise and intrigue to them, but have never really noticed many artists who produce it in a way that appeals to me. Gorillaz bridged the gap between rock and rap in a way that no nü metal band ever could. No matter how hard the nineties tried.
KA-POW
The Rosebuds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljVnlYVz6ac
(Nice Fox)
What can I even say about this band. I don’t think that they, or, in particular this song, will ever cease to remind me of one of the more important people in my life. They introduced me to The Rosebuds and I’ve absolutely adored their music ever since. There’s a certain melancholy sincerity to them that you don’t hear much in their genre. They also have this mixture of old school and new school sound which combines so well. I guess the fact that they are a couple probably helps with the song creation, but still.
SKIDOOSH
Daft Punk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAjR4_CbPpQ
(Harder Better Faster Stronger)
Daft Punk are the other band that I’ve been in love with since I fell hard for music. There’s just this everlasting appeal to them. I own all their CDs, I have Interstella 5555 on DVD, I am a huge nerd for those robotic bastards. When I was younger and feeling down, listening to Daft Punk used to remind me that there’s always time for feeling good about things. They still do, actually. One of the best and, hopefully, most longlasting techno bands. Those everlovin’ Frenchmen who do it better than anyone else (even Justice, who so desperately want to be them, sorry hipsters everywhere).
Also, they wrote a flippin’ soundtrack, and a good one at that. And actually made it a proper soundtrack, not just an album to go with the movie (sorry Karen O and the Kids, I love your album, but it was not a technical “soundtrack”).
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST WOOSH
Telekinesis!/Say Hi (or Say Hi To Your Mom)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhVNILQ-X_g
(Please Ask For Help)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NzL0CN07Jc
(Bluetime)
Okay so it is a top six I lied. I found Telekinesis! and Say Hi around the same time and fell in love with both of them. It sort of alternates on which I like more depending on my mood so I felt I couldn’t leave either out.
Now first off, Telekinesis! is a fantastic band. They’re still relatively new, the youngest of my favourites, but they have an incredible amount of skill and potential. The songs that their leader Michael Benjamin Lerner writes are brilliant, and his attention to his lyrics is something I wish more bands displayed nowadays God I feel like an old man. The thing is that he combines witty, honest, hard hitting vocals with pop hooks and classic rock and roll feel that just makes his music hard to ignore. I’m so glad I came across his stuff, and I am super excited to see him perform with his bandmates this month. Also, MBL should probably gay marry me at some point since it’s legal here and I’m so in love with him, just saying (FYeahCanada).
As for Say Hi/Say Hi To Your Mom… they’re the more melancholy of the two, I’ll admit, but they also have incredibly strong lyrics. I mean, hell, listen to Impeccable Blahs, the entire album is written about vampires and is still interesting, easy to relate with, and catchy as shit. There’s just something about them that comes across as “real”, in the same vein that Telekinesis! does. Yes, it’s not orchestral and incredibly produced like Arcade Fire. No, it isn’t super experimental and edgy like Deerhoof (almost made it on this list) or The Boredoms, but they’re fun and genuinely fantastic if you’re paying attention.
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Well, those are my thoughts on some of my favourite (no, not necessarily the best, but my favourite) bands out there right now. Thanks for reading.
This post has brought to you by The Excessive Consumption Of Whiskey And Insomnia (though I posted this in the morning since my internet went down)
So I went to see Gorillaz tonight.
Man, what a show. I had viewtiful seats (which I did not have to pay a cent for for reasons I can not divulge). Figured I’d snap a few pictures with my not so trusty cell camera.
It did sort of feel like a Gorillaz tribute band show, but I’m not complaining, I like thinking of them in all their animated glory. Don’t really have much to add. Oh jeez though, I can not stand huge venues. I have been to maybe one other actual stadium show and yeesh, it is just kind of awful. Didn’t take away though! Had loads of fun.
(Oh and Camilla D’Errico was right in front of me that was sort of interesting)
