smooth and seductive canadians

I'd like to present you guys out in cyberspace with one of my absolute favourite duets of all time, by a great Canadian artist and a great Canadian group. Islands in The Stream by Feist and Constantines, who both belong to the Canadian "Indie" label Arts&Crafts, is a cover of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers original, but they sound nothing alike. This remake is smooth and sexy, almost as if Feist and Bryan (Constantines) are sitting in bed talking to each other. If you like what you hear you can purchase the song as a single on iTunes, and it is also available on Feist's deluxe edition of The Reminder.

Click here to listen.

Springtime Playlist

Today it really felt like spring in Toronto, so I've made up a springtime playlist for all the readers out there. When I think of spring I think of bright colours, warm tones, happy feelings, bright sunshine, chances of melancholy rain, and a hope for summer strong in the air. These songs are a mix happy positive sounding songs and a couple less positive sounds, for those rainy days, that will bring in summer with a smile. Please enjoy.

1. Wake Up - The Arcade Fire
2. Too Too Too Fast - Ra Ra Riot
3. Hustle Rose - Metric
   
4. The Stars of Track and Field - Belle and Sebastian
   
5. Click Click Click Click - Bishop Allen
6. Diamonds in The Souls of Her Shoes - Paul Simon
   
7. New Soul - Yael Naim
8. A Children's Crusade on Acid - Margot And The Nuclear So and So's
   
9. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
10. Come On! Feel the Illinoise! - Sufjan Stevens
11. Rain - Bishop Allen
    
12. The First Five Times - Stars
13. All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth - The New Pornographers
    
14. That Time - Regina Spektor
15. Clark Gable - The Postal Service
16. Down To Earth - Peter Gabriel
17. Rainbowarriors - CocoRosie
    
18. A Duel Will Settle This - Mates of State
    
19. Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
20. If You Leave - Nada Surf
21. Humble Peasants - The Most Serene Republic
    
22. Poetaster - Miracle Fortress

listen up, listen up!

Metric has a new CD out, titled Fantasies, and the second single is way too infectious. Here's the video....

If you like what you hear you can preview the entire album here on their Myspace.

i have an amethyst amulet around my neck

... if you read my blog enough you probably know I adore Adam and The Amethysts, and have posted about this awesome band before. Well I'm doing it again. On Sunday night I saw Adam and his amethysts at Sneaky Dee's and it was amazing! I've seen Adam play numerous times sans the Amethysts but never with his backing band of Katherine Peacock and Nathan Ward. Needless to say it was the best performance I've seen by them. Their amazing psych-rock-indie-pop sound is infamously catchy and their heart-felt lyrics about my (and Adam's) hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, are very relate-able not only to Thunder Bay folk but small-town-at-heart people of every shape and size. They played many of the songs off their first c.d, Amethyst Amulet, as well as a couple new songs that are not on said disc. One that was particularly lovely included a lyrical snippet from the song "Everything's Alright" from JesusChrist Superstar, which made me rediculously excited due to the fact that I have a soft spot for musicals. Last but not least besides having the c.d. for purchase at the show there were also authentic amethyst amulets straight from Thunder Bay, and I obviously purchased one.
Anyways...

If you haven't given Adam and The Amethysts a listen, you can click here, and if you like what you hear, Amethyst Amulet is now available for purchase on iTunes, as well as at your local music store (most likely). Support local Canadian artists and give him a try!

sounds like happiness

I just heard this song on a Lays Chip commercial and had to share it with everyone on the interweb. It's called Sinking Drinking Thinking Feeling by Slow Club, and I think it's quite lovely and dreamy. Here's a video I found of them singing it acoustic, so cute! You should check them out on their myspace to get a better feel for them. I have a feeling I'm going to be hunting down their cd soon. Hope you guys like it, enjoy!

a cupcake review & a songs to listen to

The other day I was seriously craving cupcakes, which in case you didn't know, are my favourite sweet treat. After some intense google-ing I chose Life is Sweet bakery in the beaches area. Although I'm not a cupcake expert, I will say with confidence that these were the greatest cupcakes I've ever tasted and certainly some of the best cupcakes in Toronto. The cake was moist but not too dense, and the icing was deliciously fluffy and smooth, and not overly-sweet or fake tasting. Named on Blogto.com's Best Cupcakes of Toronto list, these cupcakes are sure to please. With a variety of flavors (vanilla, chocolate, chocolate mint, lemon, white chocolate, earl gray, coconut, and butterscotch) and great prices (a large cupcake costs about $2.50, while a box of six mini's is $6) everyone in the GTA should check out Life is Sweet. Because of that sweet sample box at a great price, Eric and I tried almost all the flavors (except for lemon) and I loved them all! My personal favourite was the chocolate mint but every single flavor was perfection.

Sweet treats deserve some sweet music, right?

Recommendation...

• Love Letter to Japan - The Bird and the Bee

Small Town Shows...

I was home for my reading week and went out to a great local show. It was a two-night event, though unfortunately I could only attend for one night. 'Deep Freeze '09' was a pretty good show over all. I appreciated the venue (Black Pirate's Pub), and in general there were a lot of good bands playing. My favourites being Forever Dead and The Auditor General. I've talked about The Auditor General before, but not Forever Dead.

photo by Shannon Lepere

Forever Dead is a great rockabilly band from Thunder Bay. Their music is great, but their live shows are even better. The energy the band gives off is contagious and makes the audience
dance and sing along with all of their songs. Lead singer, Chelsea Heart's voice is powerful and intriguing and her stage presence is rarely seen. When accompanied by Jessica Hochins, keyboardist and backup vocals, they create great harmonies. The band is comprised of George Gratz, stand up bass, Mark Viherkoski, guitar, and Taylor T, drums. They all come together to create upbeat, energetic songs that are sure to please.

To buy their CD, click here.

If you like Forever Dead you'll probably like:

• The Creepshow
• The Horrorpops