Nickelback are still a relevant band world wide and the Tragically Hip toil in obscurity?

The world outside Canada is a strange place.

Hahah got to give it to them though, that was pretty funny.

Nickelback may still be relevant to those who arrange for halftime acts at football games, but I'd wager that's about it.

"The jerk store called, and they're running out of Nickelback!"

Nickelback are still a relevant band world wide and the Tragically Hip toil in obscurity?

The world outside Canada is a strange place.

Hopefully, this turns into another High Fidelity-esque hipster music sneerfest (no, seriously!) -- I discovered both Joel Plaskett and Surfer Blood thanks to the last one, and my music library is grateful for that, hungering for more.

I discovered both Joel Plaskett and Surfer Blood thanks to the last one, and my music library is grateful for that, hungering for more.

Sweet Enola Gay was that me?

Joel Plaskett is my favourite musician, and my favourite topic to post about is my own interests so the odds are good. I'll just assume it was so I can sleep happy tonight knowing I did old Joel a "solid". I'm saving my big favour to him (financing a theatre production of "Ashtray Rock") for when I win the lottery.

What of his are you listening to, if I may ask.

Another reason to hate Nickelback, they are making me side with a ####### Brave.

Nickelback are still a relevant band world wide and the Tragically Hip toil in obscurity?

Agreed. Not the Canada part, but the Tragically Hip part. Gordie plain ####### rules.

Hopefully, this turns into another High Fidelity-esque hipster music sneerfest (no, seriously!)

"You just #### on everyone who knows less than you."
"No".
"Which is everyone"
"Yes"

....that scene ALWAYS reminds me of this site!

my favourite topic to post about is my own interests

Hey, me too!

Sweet Enola Gay was that me?

Joel Plaskett is my favourite musician, and I my favourite topic to post about is my own interests so the odds are good. I'll just assume it was I can sleep happy tonight knowing I did old Joel a "solid". I'm saving my big favour to him (financing a theatre production of "Ashtray Rock") for when I win the lottery.

What of his are you listening to, if I may ask.

I think it might have been -- I am currently wearing the tracks (or I guess, the 1's and 0's) out on Ashtray Rock... Fashionable People is one of those songs that I'm kicking myself for missing when it was released -- a truly great single, but I'm liking the whole album.

Hipster music sneerfest?

I am living in hell because the Cyclic Amp CD-R I've burned here at work off a blog link won't play anywhere else (only the second time that's ever happened to me, I'm pretty sure), & I want to listen to it at home. I've got the original EPs on vinyl, but god only knows where I've stashed them. And of course I can't find my dub of the cassette of pre-vinyl stuff that a friend sent me back in, probably, the late '80s (& that I in turn haven't been able to find in years).

Great Liverpool postpunk; sort of a more rocking mid-'80s Swans, in some ways, &/or maybe a slightly less dirge-inclined Head of David, & of course precisely what I want to listen to. Of course, in the process of poking around & finding the aforementioned blog I learned that that late-'80s tape didn't include several tracks off the band's debut cassette album, which doesn't seem to be available anywhere. *siiiiiiiiiiigh*

Anyway, this entire set of affairs (exacerbated by the fact that I have the missing dub's track listing sitting on my coffee table at home, which I guess means the tape case is out there flying blind, as it) is made even more aggravating by the fact that I'm otherwise in one of my stupid recurrent I-don't-want-to-listen-to-anyfuckingthing moods & have been since probably at least late summer. Dammit!

I don't know if I'll get flamed for this but about a month or so back I was in a bar and I liked the music that was playing. I asked the bartender what it was and she said it was off of the Foster the People station on Pandora. I've been listening to it ever since and I'm liking FtP and the "similar" other bands that are played as well.

Can we talk about Pandora? Did Pandora become stupid at some point?

I remember a few years ago Pandora was an great way to learn about new music, because it would actually play stuff that the computer had determined was similar. Now, it seems like the playlist is fudged to only include famous songs. If you put on the The Police station, it does not play bands that sounds similar to The Police - it plays Sting, Duran Duran, and 80s one-hit wonders. The Police had that reggae influence. So it might play a Bob Marley song or two.

WTF is Pandora? From what you just said, I probably won't care about the answer, anyway.

I've only heard a few songs by Foster the People - the ones that are singles, I guess, to the extent that such a thing as "singles" exist anymore - and they all have the same quality: listenable at first, but gets old real fast.

Hopefully, this turns into another High Fidelity-esque hipster music sneerfest (no, seriously!) -- I discovered both Joel Plaskett and Surfer Blood thanks to the last one, and my music library is grateful for that, hungering for more.

I was kind of hoping for this too. I'll be the ####### who starts:

Really like The Last Royals and Wolf Gang - unfortunately, last I checked all that was available from either of them on itunes were EPs.

Thought The Naked and Famous were pretty cool. I think I probably could have gotten into M83, but the new album seemed like a lot of work, so I gave up.

I tried listening to Girls. Wasn't a fan (of the band).

I gave Real Estate a very abbreviated shot, but like Girls, they seemed a bit low-fi for my taste.

We had Pandora playing a station for The Dear Hunter last night, after playing a couple songs by them in the first 6-7 it suddenly went about 25 songs before finally returning to one by the damn band we created the station for. I agree about it fudging the list in favor in popular songs, it really showed in that station. To tie it in with #15 ####### Pumped Up Kicks came on which, besides the fact that the song is lame and impossible to escape even if your radio listening is limited to ones that are turned on in stores or coming out of other cars when stopped at intersections, is not at all related to what we were listening to anyway.

I've had some pretty good luck listening to stations lately for Pendulum, Chemical Brothers, and The Glitch Mob. It probably is slanted towards more popular stuff but the overall music quality has been good and relates to the original group.

they all have the same quality: listenable at first, but gets old real fast.

Pumped Up Kicks seemed interesting when I'd hear it on TV shows, etc. on the fringes of my consciousness. But less so after I made a point of "listening" to it.

I remember a few years ago Pandora was an great way to learn about new music, because it would actually play stuff that the computer had determined was similar. Now, it seems like the playlist is fudged to only include famous songs. If you put on the The Police station, it does not play bands that sounds similar to The Police - it plays Sting, Duran Duran, and 80s one-hit wonders. The Police had that reggae influence. So it might play a Bob Marley song or two.

I don't listen to Pandora very often, but I usually find at least one band I've never heard of before. Then again, the bands I start stations off with aren't "mainstream" in the first place...

I listen to an Albert King station on Pandora, so I'm not surprised when I don't hear new bands.

Well as long as we're somewhat on the topic of Canadian bands, I would like to suggest the Arkells, Born Ruffians, Tokyo Police Club and The Sheepdogs as quality Canadian alternatives to the black hole of embarrassment that is Nickelback.

Plaskett's cool too.

WTF is Pandora? From what you just said, I probably won't care about the answer, anyway.

Internet radio. You pick a band you like, and it supposedly tries to play music that is similar. You can thumb-up or thumb-down the songs as they start playing, which gives Pandora more information about what you want to hear.

It's nifty, but as you can see from the other posts, its ability to play what you really want is highly variable.

Pandora uses the Music Genome Project to create the stations. You pick a song or artist, it plays that and then a string of similar music based on the MGP.

I've only heard a few songs by Foster the People - the ones that are singles, I guess, to the extent that such a thing as "singles" exist anymore - and they all have the same quality: listenable at first, but gets old real fast.

I very rarely "listen" to music. I use it mostly as background when I'm traveling.

Pumped Up Kicks seemed interesting when I'd hear it on TV shows, etc. on the fringes of my consciousness. But less so after I made a point of "listening" to it.


Now that I finally got a TV I've discovered to my annoyance that a lot my musical tastes right now are being used in commercials and shows. It bugs me that I've apparently aged into TV's targeted demographic.

Moylan is an Aussie, Nickleback suck and an indie rock thread on the way - count me in.

Want a good Pandora station? Try Motorhead.

Internet radio. You pick a band you like, and it supposedly tries to play music that is similar. You can thumb-up or thumb-down the songs as they start playing, which gives Pandora more information about what you want to hear.

I haven't used Pandora in a while, but from what I remember, you could select more than one band for a station. I entered 5 or 6 hip hop groups I liked and it did a great job of identifying new artists/songs I'd like. It would even pick up non-hip hop songs that had guest collaborations by rappers I liked.

24 - I like it - it means they're getting paid.

this is one of those times when i feel like worlds are colliding. joel plaskett coming up in a primer thread? awesome. i saw him on my birthday a few months ago in halifax after years of wanting to. fantastic b-day gift.

You pick a song or artist, it plays that and then a string of similar music based on the MGP.

No way on earth that they do not fudge the results for popularity. At least for some of the stations.

I gave Real Estate a very abbreviated shot, but like Girls, they seemed a bit low-fi for my taste.

I can't get over waiting for a very, very high voice that never arrives.


Nickelback kind of sucks, but Moylan seems a bigger jerk so in this case I'll side with the former.

Well as long as we're somewhat on the topic of Canadian bands, I would like to suggest the Arkells, Born Ruffians, Tokyo Police Club and The Sheepdogs as quality Canadian alternatives to the black hole of embarrassment that is Nickelback.

Plaskett's cool too.

On the list now to check out - I've developed a taste of late for the Vancouver sound (New Pornographers, et al). In fact, I'd say even the US band I have on heavy rotation is close, at least geographically (The Hold Steady is a Minnesota band, no?)

Now that I finally got a TV I've discovered to my annoyance that a lot my musical tastes right now are being used in commercials and shows. It bugs me that I've apparently aged into TV's targeted demographic.

I wouldn't read too much into it. There are a lot of (ex) hipsters/cool kids who are now working in producing and marketing and advertising, and a lot of them are young enough to not be too far removed from what's good in music right now.

I entered 5 or 6 hip hop groups I liked and it did a great job of identifying new artists/songs I'd like. It would even pick up non-hip hop songs that had guest collaborations by rappers I liked.

When I first did Pandora I entered a bunch of songs and musicians I liked and after a while ended up junking that station since it was basically playing everything in the playlist.

Nickelback may still be relevant to those who arrange for halftime acts at football games, but I'd wager that's about it.

They missed having the #1 album in the nation last week by a margin of 419 sales. They sold 227,000 albums. So, yeah. They suck, obviously, but they're extremely "relevant."

I haven't used Pandora in a while, but from what I remember, you could select more than one band for a station.

Yup, I suspect the more the better.

On the list now to check out - I've developed a taste of late for the Vancouver sound (New Pornographers, et al). In fact, I'd say even the US band I have on heavy rotation is close, at least geographically (The Hold Steady is a Minnesota band, no?)

The Hold Steady are technically a Brooklyn band with members from Minnesota and several songs about the Twin Cities. I'm a big fan of theirs, too. Though Minnesota isn't all that close to Vancouver.

Arkells, Born Ruffians, and Tokyo Police club are all from southern Ontario (Hamilton/Toronto area). The Sheepdogs are from Saskatoon though they probably have more publicity in the US since the Rolling Stone cover.

Favorite Canadian bands:
Wolf Parade
Women
Broken Social Scene (though their last album was kinda lame)
The Constantines
Destroyer
Sloan
Noah23
Sunset Rubdown
The Unicorns

Women are excellent. Unfortunately they've broken up, but I did get to see them live a few times before they split.

Sloan, like the Hip, are a band with an extensive body of work that is tragically under-appreciated outside of Canada.

And Deeper than Beauty is the most played on my iTunes. Surprising even to me, but great tune.

The Hold Steady are technically a Brooklyn band with members from Minnesota and several songs about the Twin Cities. I'm a big fan of theirs, too. Though Minnesota isn't all that close to Vancouver.

Arkells, Born Ruffians, and Tokyo Police club are all from southern Ontario (Hamilton/Toronto area). The Sheepdogs are from Saskatoon though they probably have more publicity in the US since the Rolling Stone cover.

Definite thumbs up to Born Ruffians and I think Arkells sounds like it's going to grow on me.

I say 'Vancouver sound' mainly because I immediately loved the New Pornographers the first time I heard them -- and actually wandered into AC Newman without even realizing he was part of the supergroup. Got introduced to Said the Whale about the same time...

For some reason, it reminds me a bit of the 80s 'paisley rock/pop' (The Three O'Clock, Rain Parade) that I really like/d.

Hipster music huh? Absolutely loving tUnE-YarDs, but the new album is a bit too commercial.

Favorite Canadian bands:
Wolf Parade
Women
Broken Social Scene (though their last album was kinda lame)
The Constantines
Destroyer
Sloan
Noah23
Sunset Rubdown
The Unicorns

The Constantines and Sloan are keepers -- I've got a few Unicorns tracks (I love Sea Ghost)... I feel like I should enjoy Destroyer, but I sort of feel the same way about them I do about Arcade Fire, good stuff but just not my cup of tea.

If you're going to include Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, you may as well throw in Handsome Furs as well. I actually prefer Dan Boeckner's stuff to Spencer Krug's, and Handsome Furs put on a great live show (it helps that Alexei Perry is sexy as hell). Also, probably toward the top of my list would be Besnard Lakes (Jace Lasek actually produced the last Sunset Rubdown album).

I mentioned this in the music thread on the lounge forum, but this was a really excellent year for women in indie/rock music. I just finished putting together my year end list, and the top three albums are all from female artists/girl groups/female fronted bands, as well as seven of my top eight, and eleven of my top twenty. Pretty good year overall, actually. Not including festival shows, I'll hit the 50 concert mark for 2011 on Wednesday night when the War on Drugs play Lincoln Hall.

I feel like I should enjoy Destroyer, but I sort of feel the same way about them I do about Arcade Fire, good stuff but just not my cup of tea.

Bejar is kind of all over the board. Kaputt sounds nothing like the last album, which doesn't sound much like the album before, etc. If you like New Pornographers, then the Destroyer album you'll probably like the best is Streethawk. His stuff is consistently my favorite NP stuff, but he doesn't write pop songs like that for Destroyer.

Definite thumbs up to Born Ruffians and I think Arkells sounds like it's going to grow on me.

A definite difference between the first and second Arkells records. I like them both, but the first is grittier and heavier and the second more pop and radio-oriented. I've seen them live 3 times and the mix of styles makes for a great show. Really fun band.

A definite difference between the first and second Arkells records. I like them both, but the first is grittier and heavier and the second more pop and radio-oriented. I've seen them live 3 times and the mix of styles makes for a great show. Really fun band.

I like bands that evolve a bit -- Cheap Trick's first two albums are far any away my favorites, but I don't at all it against them that moved into more 'Oh, Candy' than say, 'He's a Whore'. Ditto Liz Phair. I mean, I'm not saying her radio-ready stuff compares to Exile - but nothing wrong with good pop music.

If you're going to include Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, you may as well throw in Handsome Furs as well. I actually prefer Dan Boeckner's stuff to Spencer Krug's, and Handsome Furs put on a great live show (it helps that Alexei Perry is sexy as hell). Also, probably toward the top of my list would be Besnard Lakes (Jace Lasek actually produced the last Sunset Rubdown album).

I like Handsome Furs well enough, Sound Kapital is one of my favorites of this year. But I'm definitely Team Spencer. I like Krug's Wolf Parade songs better than Boeckner's. And like Krug's non-Wolf Parade stuff better as well (this includes Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, Moonface).

I don't think the Constantines' songs are as good as Wolf Parade's. I always WANTED to like the former, but it seemed like a lot more conscious effort than the latter.

I am going to give a plug to Corb Lund as my favorite Canadian artist. Between him and Kathleen Edwards, its almost enought for me to stop blaming Canada for Shania Twain.

this is one of those times when i feel like worlds are colliding. joel plaskett coming up in a primer thread? awesome. i saw him on my birthday a few months ago in halifax after years of wanting to. fantastic b-day gift.

I'm biased of course, but a live Joel Plaskett show is one of the greatest things imaginable. Though I think it might be true. Some of my other favourite bands (the Weakerthans for instance) I find just meh live. My favourite live shows are either at Hugh's Room in Toronto a few years ago when he and Peter Elkas had run over a prairie dog earlier in the tour and so they re-wrote the lyrics to "Work Out Fine" from its perspective as it contemplated crossing the highway. Or a show in Dublin last year with an audience of ten people (8 of them Canadian), where I got to meet him when he was done.

Sloan is another great, great band (Halifax apparently is the place to be). I was never sure how big they were outside of Canada, but it's not surprising to hear they didn't make it big. The good ones never do. For me, The Super Friendz (and off-shoot The Flashing Lights) round out the trio of excellent Halifax bands (along with Plaskett/Thrush Hermit). The all employ humour and wordplay, without losing any of their earnestness. And more importantly are united by their unrelenting politeness, which I find important in a rock band.

Other Canadian bands I enjoy (non-Halifax category
The Inbreds (drum and bass duo!)
The Tea Party
Hayden telling the delightful "Woody" story...then singing the song! EDIT: Ah crap it's not the Woody story, it's Starbucks! Oh well
Sarah Harmer
The Headstones
The Weakerthans another song about a cat
Followed by the cat explaining why it ran off Vritute the Cat Explains Her Departure

EDIT: Kathleen Edwards! How could I have forgotten.
Also, perfect timing for a Lassus appearence. Just the other day I was wondering you'd heard that pair of Weakerthans songs as I recall you have an affinity for furry things.

I'm with Nickelback. They suck, but that was a good comeback. I can't stand the Foo Fighters as well - here's another song where Dave Grohl yells! Get behind the drum kit, dude.

Karkwa and Malajube are my favorite Canadian bands en francais. What's people's opinions on listening to music in other languages (that you can't understand, or not very well)? I couldn't care less, personally, since I can barely understand what most singers are saying most of the time anyway.

Edit: Also, no mentions of F*cked Up among excellent Canadian bands? Queen of Hearts is an awesome song, though the video features the worst British accent of all time.

Karkwa and Malajube are my favorite Canadian bands en francais. What's people's opinions on listening to music in other languages (that you can't understand, or not very well)? I couldn't care less, personally, since I can barely understand what most singers are saying most of the time anyway.

I don't listen to a lot of foreign language music, but Gling-Gló by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar is one of all time favourite albums. I'm not a huge fan of Bjork's English solo stuff, though I don't mind her, and I'm certainly no fan of jazz. But somehow they fit together perfectly on that album.



Bella Simamaer

One of the songs on that album is titled "Tondeleyo" which I always heard as Don DeLillo.