Albums of the Decade: The Top Ten!

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As we’ve watched others post their top 10’s of the decade, we’ve been a bit flummoxed. Other than the obvious Radiohead choice, we seem to disagree with the cool kids once again. We believe that faithful readers of this site will find our picks logical and a perfect fit for their own taste. There’s no politics in these picks, no succumbing to the arm-twisting of certain labels who are trying to grow the future of their brand…. I mean band. If you write great melodies and believe that emotion IS music, then you’re likely to find yourself on this list. And with that…. the top ten.

10) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- BRMC (2001)
Recommend Track: Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll?
Why We Love It: While we loved the 90’s, it was clearly time to shake off the Pavement/Nirvana indie plaid. IBRMC used their first album to reintroduce the world to songs that didn’t follow the “loud/soft/loud” formula that bands like Smashing Pumpkins had run into the ground. They challenged listeners without the Strokes-like tendency to worry about their “look” more than their sound. A classic.

9) Bloc Party- Silent Alarm (2005)
Recommended Track: Like Eating Glass
Why We Love It: While the sound of this decade frequently became homogenized, Bloc Party were one of the few bands who people couldn’t emulate. With one of the best drummers in rock and guitar riffs that veered from Gang of Four genius to a sound unlike any other, they made a record that will stand the test of time for decades to come.

8)The Boxer Rebellion- Exits (2005)
Recommended Track: Watermelon
Why We Love It: On their first self-released album, The Boxer Rebellion were able to create sounds and emotions that took U2 decades and millions of dollars to put on record. Any band that can draw comparisons to The Verve and U2 without hesitation is likely to create the kind of masterpiece that this record was.

To read our interview with TBR, click here.

No songs available on Lala.com (for shame!), so here’s the video for Watermelon:

7) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Baby 81 (2007)
Recommended Track: Lien On Your Dreams
Why We Love It: Is it politically incorrect to say that this is our favorite Black Rebel Motorcycle Club record? While their contemporaries were busy spewing out the same style of music for the umpteeth time, BRMC added and edge and immediacy to this record that threatened to reach through the speakers and tear you apart. While you can argue with some of our selections, there is no reason why this album shouldn’t be in the top 10 of every music critic in the world.

6) The Duke Spirit- Cuts Across The Land (2004)
Recommended Track:
Why We Love It: On their first record, they took the concept of a Kim Deal-only Pixies record and created an album so unique and so magnificent that they created their own genre. Whether they intended this path is doubtful, but they became the most interesting band of the decade by making a sound that seemed unconcerned with their references and left music critics to spend the decade running to catch up. Expect them to be the band of the decade in the 2020 wrap-ups, as Spin and Rolling Stone finally catch on.

5) Calla- Strength In Numbers (2007)
Recommended Track: Bronson
Why We Love It: Perhaps it was their classification as slo-core that scared people away. By the time they released Strength In Numbers, they’d moved away from their beautiful codeine-like pace (which we loved) and produced a record that was jarring, yet mesmerizing. Vocalist/ guitarist Aurelio Valle has always had a knack for writing beautiful vocal melodies that linger over the cacophony of sound that he creates with the band. On this record, they reached perfection and left the world gasping for more.

To read our interview with Calla, click here.

4) Alberta Cross- Broken Side of Time (2009)
Recommended Track: ATX
Why We Love It: The critics don’t have a clue. Whether classifying them as “southern rock” or just failing to recognize the majesty of this record, they do a disservice to music listeners around the world. When I first heard this record, it moved me in a way I hadn’t been moved since the first time I heard The Verve’s “A Storm In Heaven”. Like that record, there are layers and layers of music to peel away on this record. Guitars, vocals, keyboards and drum rhythms combine to create what is easily the most beautiful record of the decade.

To read our interview with Alberta Cross, click here.

3) Radiohead- Kid A (2000)
Recommended Track: National Anthem
Why We Love It: A genius record, borne from their hatred of being… Radiohead. Thom Yorke has said that he’d “completely had it with melody. I just wanted rhythm.” Eschewing guitars and aiming to create an electronic record, they took a risk that could have ended them. Instead it gave them the courage to set the course they sailed for the remainder of the decade. You can argue with us over it’s place as the “best” Radiohead record of the decade, but you can’t argue it’s significance in their career path.

2) The Duke Spirit- Neptune (2008)
Recommended Track: Step and the Walk
Why We Love It: Clearly one of the most under-rated bands in the world. The Duke Spirit’s second record showed no signs of a sophomore slump. Liela Moss earns her reputation as one of the greatest singers in rock, but it’s her ability to control the push and pull of a song that sets her apart. Impossible to categorize, they write rock songs that are pure and honest with every member of the band adding their own aural treat for their listeners.

1) Interpol- Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
Recommended Track: PDA
Why We Love It: Our favorite record of the decade, if for no other reason than it’s track by track consistency. While they’ve never shaken the Joy Division comparisons, Paul Banks writes vocal melodies which were never a strength of Ian Curtis. To be compared favorably to one of the greatest bands in history is nothing to be ashamed of. Nor should they be punished for the plethora of bands that tried to follow them down the path. Daniel Kessler’s guitar work, coupled with the best rhythm section of the decade created perfect songs for a perfect record.

View our picks for #31-40 here
View our picks for #21-30 here.
View our picks for #11-20 here.

Follow us on Twitter or Facebook to get a preview of upcoming interviews, music news and behind the scenes stories about our interviews.

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SXSW Update!

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This afternoon, SXSW announced a new slew of bands! The new list includes over 200 bands, with our faves in bold. Stay tuned for details about our TDOA SXSW showcase soon!

Aa (Brooklyn NY)
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO (Osaka JAPAN)
A Classic Education (Bologna ITALY)
Alpha Rev (Austin TX)
Amaral (Madrid SPAIN)
And So I Watch You From Afar (Belfast IRELAND)
Apostle of Hustle (Toronto ON)
Arms (Brooklyn NY)
Ólöf Arnalds (Reykjavik ICELAND)
Art vs Science (Surry Hills NSW)
A Shoreline Dream (Denver CO)
Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea (Asbury Park NJ)
Autumn Owls (Dublin IRELAND)
Bare Wires (Oakland CA)
Julian Berntzen (Bergen NORWAY)
Best Fwends (Austin TX)
The Black (Austin TX)
The Black Atlantic (Groningen THE NETHERLANDS)
Dan Black (Paris FRANCE)
Black Tide (Miami FL)
Bliss N Eso (Albert Park VIC)
Boom Boom Satellites (JAPAN)
The Boxer Rebellion (London UK-ENGLAND)
Break of Reality (New York NY)
B-Real of Cypress Hill (Los Angeles CA)
Broadway Calls (Rainer OR)
Broken Records (Edinburgh UK-SCOTLAND)
VV BROWN (London UK-ENGLAND)
The Brunettes (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Buckshot (Brooklyn NY)
Canja Rave (Porto Alegre BRAZIL)
Capsula (Bilbao SPAIN)
Carsick Cars (Beijing CHINA)
Caucus (Tokyo JAPAN)
The Chevelles (Melville WA)
Chew Lips (London UK-ENGLAND)
Suzanna Choffel (Austin TX)
Chris T-T (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)
C-Mon & Kypski (THE NETHERLANDS)
The Coathangers (Atlanta GA)
Simon Collins (Victoria BC)
The Constellations (Atlanta GA)
Contra Coup (Austin TX)
Cotton Jones (Cumberland MD)
The Crystal Method (Los Angeles CA)
David Dallas (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Dappled Cities (Sydney NSW)
Daveman (Berlin GERMANY)
The Daylights (Los Angeles CA)
The dB’s (Chapel Hill NC)
Dead Sexy Inc (Paris FRANCE)
The Deaf (The Hague THE NETHERLANDS)
Deer Tick (Providence RI)
Delhi 2 Dublin (Vancouver BC)
Paul Dempsey (from “Something for Kate”) (Melbourne NSW)
Diplomats of Solid Sound (Iowa City IA)
DJ Car Stereo (Wars) (Austin TX)
DJ Evil Dee (Brooklyn NY)
DJ Revolution (Los Angeles CA)
Daniel Francis Doyle (Austin TX)
Adiam Dymott (Goteborg SWEDEN)
The 88 (Los Angeles CA)
Electric Electric (Strasbourg FRANCE)
Val Emmich (Jersey City NJ)
Eternia (Toronto ON)
Everything Everything (Manchester UK-WALES)
Fanfarlo (London UK-ENGLAND)
Michael Feinberg (New York NY)
Fergus & Geronimo (Westway TX)
Fighting With Wire (Derry IRELAND)
FINALE (Detroit MI)
Floating Action (Asheville NC)
Francis (Borlange SWEDEN)
Robert Francis (Los Angeles CA)
Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk UK-SCOTLAND)
The Funeral Pyre (Los Angeles CA)
The Ganjas (Santiago CHILE)
Geeks (Tokyo JAPAN)
Gerald G (Austin TX)
Colin Gilmore (Austin TX)
Giulia y los Tellarini (Barcelona SPAIN)
Rosi Golan (New York NY)
Gong Myoung (Seoul KOREA)
Goober and the Peas (Detroit MI)
Good Shoes (London UK-ENGLAND)
Guitar Shorty (Harlingen TX)
Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield MO)
Halves (Dublin IRELAND)
Darren Hanlon (Sydney NSW)
Harlem (Austin TX)
Headdress (Austin TX)
Hey Colossus (London UK-ENGLAND)
Robyn Hitchcock (London CA)
Hot Panda (Edmonton AB)
The Hounds Below (Detroit MI)
I Fight Dragons (Chicago IL)
The Intelligence (Seattle WA)
Ivan & Alyosha (Seattle WA)
Japandroids (Vancouver BC)
Jazz One (Austin TX)
Stephen Jerzak (La Crosse WI)
John Dear Mowing Club (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
The Jim Jones Revue (London UK-ENGLAND)
Jookabox (Indianapolis IN)
Julia Says (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
Karnivool (Perth WA)
Kartick & Gotam (Chennai INDIA)
Kidz In Space (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Kidz In The Hall (Chicago IL)
Kingston (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Maurice Kirya (Kampala ZIMBABWE)
The Kissaway Trail (Odense DENMARK)
L.A.B. (Novo Hamburgo BRAZIL)
The Law (Dundee UK-SCOTLAND)
Vander Lee (Belo Horizonte BRAZIL)
Unni Lovlid (Oslo NORWAY)
Lowood (Stockholm SWEDEN)
Audra Mae (Los Angeles CA)
Malente (Essen GERMANY)
Natalia Mallo (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
Mantles (San Francisco CA)
Julia Marcell (Berlin GERMANY)
Marco Polo & Torae (Brooklyn NY)
Mariachi El Bronx (Los Angeles CA)
Carolyn Mark (Victoria BC)
Maruosa (Tokyo JAPAN)
MegaRex (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
The Middle East (Townsville QLD)
Middle Finger Salute (Blackburn UK-ENGLAND)
Miniature Tigers (Phoenix AZ)
Mixtapes & Cellmates (Stockholm SWEDEN)
Monarchs (Austin TX)
Michael Monroe (Helsinki FINLAND)
PJ Morton (Conyers GA)
Mountain Man (Bennington VT)
Movits! (Lulea SWEDEN)
Moxine (Sao Paulo BRAZIL)
Mr Sicc (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Mumiy Troll (Los Angeles CA)
My Dad is Dead (Chapel Hill NC)
Nailpin (Boom BELGIUM)
Nakia & His Southern Cousins (Austin TX)
NiCad (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
9th Wonder (Raleigh-Durham NC)
The Novas (Dallas TX)
Jackie Oates (Exeter UK-ENGLAND)
of Verona (Mandi Perkins) (Los Angeles CA)
One Night Only (Helmsley UK-ENGLAND)
1001 Nights Orchestra (Austin TX)
The Pack A.D. (Vancouver BC)
Paleo (Brooklyn NY)
:papercutz (Porto PORTUGAL)
Parlovr (Montreal QC)
Past Lives (Seattle WA)
The Peelies (Montreal QC)
Julie Peel (Montreal QC)
Peter Wolf Crier (Minneapolis MN)
Pink Nasty (Austin TX)
Pivot (UK) (UK-ENGLAND)
P.K. 14 (Beijing CHINA)
Plants and Animals (Montreal QC)
Please The Trees (Prague CZECH REPUBLIC)
Steve Poltz (San Diego CA)
Andy Pratt (Amesbury MA)
Sean Price (Brooklyn NY)
Princeton (Eagle Rock CA)
Profetas (COLOMBIA)
Psalm One (Chicago IL)
Quantic and his Combo Barbaro (Cali COLOMBIA)
Random Axe (Brooklyn NY)
Rebelle (Den Haag THE NETHERLANDS)
Red Mass (Montreal QC)
Tommy Reilly (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Riverboat Gamblers (Austin TX)
The River Raid (Recife BRAZIL)
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (Brooklyn NY)
Brisa Roche (Paris FRANCE)
Rock of Heltah Skeltah (Brooklyn NY)
Rogues (London UK-ENGLAND)
Ruste Juxx (Brooklyn NY)
San Saba County (Austin TX)
Scanners (London UK-ENGLAND)
Kate Schutt (Guelph ON)
Serious Sam Barrett (Leeds UK-ENGLAND)
Shit And Shine (London UK-ENGLAND)
Sixteen Deluxe (Austin TX)
Skyzoo (Brooklyn NY)
Small Black (Brooklyn NY)
Smif N Wessun (Brooklyn NY)
Smoosh (Seattle WA)
So Cow (Tuam IRELAND)
Solid Gold (Minneapolis MN)
Soulico (Tel Aviv ISRAEL)
So What (The Hague THE NETHERLANDS)
The Spring Standards (New York NY)
Sabrina Starke (Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDS)
Steel Train (Teaneck NJ)
StereoHeroes (Les Gorguettes FRANCE)
Surrounded (Malmo SWEDEN)
Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter (Seattle WA)
M. Takara 3 (Guarulhos BRAZIL)
Team Facelift (New York NY)
Thunder Power (Omaha NE)
Timber Timbre (Toronto ON)
Todd (London UK-ENGLAND)
Marques Toliver (London UK-ENGLAND)
Toolshed (London ON)
Trembling Bells (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Trespassers William (Seattle WA)
Twin Atlantic (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Two Star Symphony (Houston TX)
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights (Dallas TX)
The Uglysuit (Oklahoma City OK)
Uncle Lucius (Austin TX)
The View (Dundee UK-SCOTLAND)
Volovan (Monterrey MEXICO)
Waco Brothers (Chicago IL)
Miho Wada (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Warpaint (Los Angeles CA)
Wave Machines (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
The Wave Pictures (London UK-ENGLAND)
We Are Scientists (New York NY)
We Are Wolves (Montreal QC)
Withered (Atlanta GA)
Wolf Gang (London UK-ENGLAND)
Woot (The Haque THE NETHERLANDS)
XV (Wichita KS)
The Yellow Dogs (Tehran IRAN)
YellowFever (Austin TX)
Zlam Dunk (San Marcos TX)
Zona Tango (Buenos Aires ARGENTINA)

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It’s our birthday! Top 5 TDOA Interviews

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Today marks the one year anniversary of the start of this website. In that past year, we’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of our heroes and an amazing number of great, new bands. In the spirit of the zillions of top ten lists that we and others are posting, we thought it might be fun to recap our favorite interviews of the past year. These are not necessarily the most popular bands or the most read interviews. Instead, we’re focusing on the interviews that we’ve enjoyed the most. We hope you enjoyed these as much as we did.

Peter Hook: I met Peter at a hotel in downtown Dallas prior to a DJ gig here. There are few musicians in the world that I would claim to be in “awe” of, but Peter was one of them. Given that, plus his reputation for being a difficult interview, I couldn’t have enjoyed the time we spent together more. Forthcoming, humble and friendly, he covered everything from the songwriting process for Joy Division to his thoughts on Bad Lieutenant.


Alan McGee
: While setting up some of our interviews is a simple process, this interview took three months to arrange. In other words, we badgered him (as he referenced, jokingly during the interview) until he finally relented. As you would expect, the mastermind behind Creation Records and Oasis had a plethora of stories and opinions. Politically, he’s about as far to the right as one can be without a visit from the Secret Service. Musically, his opinions on bands like My Bloody Valentine gave us insight that we found fascinating.

Howard Devoto: The opportunity to interview the lead singer of Magazine was something we took great pride in. While some subjects will give you a pass if they disagree with any of your premises, Howard went after us whenever he thought we’d strayed to far off the path. Coupled with our interview with keyboardist Dave Formula, we got some great insight to what it was like in post-punk England in the early 80’s.


Alberta Cross
: It was thrilling to talk to an artist shortly after they’d released an album that we think will be considered one of the great albums of the decade. Lead singer Petter talked about their struggles with their producer, our shared love of Storm In Heaven-era Verve and the struggles music critics seem to have in defining their music.

Simon Reynolds: With the revival of the shoe-gaze/Jesus & Mary Chain movement we thought that interviewing the man who defined music criticism in the 80’s and 90’s would provide us with some insight on the future of the movement. Simon also let us explore a concept that fascinates us; why most peoples’ musical taste seems to narrow as they grow older. Fascinating and deeply analytical, Mr. Reynolds showed how he has grown while the rest of us struggle to keep us.

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Your New Favorite Band: Logh

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Lo-fi shoegaze from Sweden? There’s a a description we don’t often use. But Logh are a different kind of band; musically and personally. Sometimes there’s a language barrier and sometimes we’re just clueless. Either way, this is beautiful, ethereal mood music to make your heart swim in a sea of desperation. Listen, read, decipher and report back to us…

TDOA: You’ve self-produced all of your albums. Can you discuss why you haven’t used an outside producer on any of your records?

Mattias: We’ve always been broke. And we can be really horrible in that environment. I would never want an outsider to see me like that. I’m really thankful the rest of the band still speak to me after we’ve recorded stuff. And they’re really horrible too. Grumpy and stubborn and lazy. They should be really happy I still want to speak to them too.

Karl: There are more than enough opinions and wills between ourselves. I dread the idea, trying to fit one further more. And in spite of traumatizing recording sessions we’re still friends and still want to go back to the studio.

Mathias: We’re too stubborn and by the way, a mule is the offspring of a donkeyman and a horsewoman.

TDOA: Pelle Gunnerfeldt has mixed several of your albums. Can you talk about working with him and describe his contribution to your sound?

Mattias: He is the bringer of balance. And polish. He goes: Wax on, wax off. He’s Mr Miyagi and we’re Daniel San.

Karl: Pelle is more grumpy than all of us together. What he doesn’t know in the studio isn’t worth knowing. A genius

TDOA: Can you talk about the video for ‘Death to my Hometown’ and your general feelings about making videos

Mattias: Hehe. No, I’m not at liberty to talk about that video. It is awesome somehow. Videos are cool when they add something to the song, not the other way around.

Karl: As to everything else you’ll get six contrary answers. The video to Death to my Hometown is kind of provoking. Making a video is definitely provoking.

Mathias: Making videos is not hip. The latest trend is making babies. Trust me, I’m from Sweden.

TDOA: Critics seem to struggle with the overall mood that your lyrics try to convey. Is this intentional? Our feeling is that you are trying to convey a sense of despair, mixed with a determination to carry on? Is that accurate?

Mattias: I mostly focus on the carry-on part. I see all kinds of shit as hopeful. You always can. You might call it delusional and maybe it is but it’s just a way of getting through life. Same thing as believing in other crazy shit to help you through; like Santa or God or democracy.

TDOA: North was originally released in 2007, but is just getting it’s U.S. release in 2009. Is it frustrating to continue to promote an album that you recorded almost 3 years ago?

Mattias: No, we actually took a two-year break so to us it’s just amazing that there are people out there that still care. And it’s cool being able to say that you’re already working on the next album when you have one that’s just out…

TDOA: Obviously there’s been changes in personnel over the years, but can you talk about how you think the band has changed over the years?

Mattias: We’re like really bad chefs. We just add and add and add. We grow like an evil organism. It’s getting harder and harder to stick by the minimalist idea of production we started off with. But now we’ve come to a point where Logh wouldn’t work without all 6 of us. We’ll have to start dismembering soon. Like the knights who say NI! And musically challenged we’ll find our way back to our minimalist outset.

Karl: The change over the years and albums comes out of renewing, making up new sets of challenges before recording or touring.

Mathias: Three young boys start playing in the sandpit, building a sandcastle. After a while they realize that they need a new friend that can hit hard with spades on the buckets. So they search the neighborhood and find a dude that can do that. This dude is later replaced by a smaller dude, and after that this new dude is replaced by an even smaller dude that hits the buckets very hard. At this point the boys start fighting and wrestle around in the sandpit getting all dirty. Because of this they call on two other boys from another sandpit next to theirs. One that is very good at keeping them from wrestling and one that is very funny, so that they laugh instead of argue. The sandcastle is built and torn down four times, getting bigger and bigger for each time. At the moment, they are setting the grounds for the fifth one, and that one will be enormous!

TDOA: The atmospheres that you build in each of these songs are beautiful. Do your songs generally start with vocal melodies and then grow from there or is there a different process?

Mattias: Most often starts with a melody line and some chords, yes. Then you make very many of those and see which pieces fit together. Most common method in pop music I think. Getting the atmosphere though… Here’s the secret ingredient. Or, not very secret. Any half-wit could figure it out. Restrain. To fill stuff with empty space. And let things take their time. Unfortunately this thinking affects us in daily life. We’re horribly slow.

TDOA: Is it true that Sunset Panorama was recorded in a single day, with the whole thing documented for DVD? If so, what led you to attempt this daunting project?

Mattias: It is almost true.

Karl: Mr Miyagi, wasn’t it?

Mathias: Boredom. provocation. stupidity.

TDOA: Can you talk about your musical influences?

Mattias: Yes. My biggest by far are Badalamenti and Morricone.

Karl: Most recent plays in iTunes; Cocteau Twins, Clint Mansell (The
Fountain), Rachel’s, Roy Orbison, El Perro Del Mar, Radiohead.

Mathias: Grungerock from the early 90s

TDOA: Can you tell us about the recent shows in the U.S. and the Mattias solo shows?

Mattias: They were all solo shows. I was on holiday and figured why not play a few shows? We hope to come over, all of us soon. But I guess we’ve been saying that for 8 years…

To purchase the music of Logh, click on the delicate, fragile but rewarding grey iTunes button:
Logh

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SXSW Announces first set of bands

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And so it begins. Last year we spent a great deal of time covering SXSW and this year we’ll have an even greater presence at the festival. So we’ll begin our coverage this year with the first list of bands that have been accepted to SXSW.
Of particular interest to us are Warpaint, The Boxer Rebellion and Sixteen Deluxe who were all interviewed by us this year. For Sixteen Deluxe, this makes official their reformation and will mark their first live performances since their heydey in the 90’s.
The Boxer Rebellion will be making their first appearance at SXSW and this year should be the year they become even bigger in the U.S.. Remember that their last album briefly topped the U.S. alternative album charts on iTunes without the support of any record label.
For Warpaint, they follow up their great performance at CMJ and their recent signing with Rough Trade to take the next step to becoming popular with the cool kids.
All in all, this is a great start to what will surely be the best festival of 2010.

Aa (Brooklyn NY)
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO (Osaka JAPAN)
A Classic Education (Bologna ITALY)
Alpha Rev (Austin TX)
Amaral (Madrid SPAIN)
And So I Watch You From Afar (Belfast IRELAND)
Apostle of Hustle (Toronto ON)
Arms (Brooklyn NY)
Ólöf Arnalds (Reykjavik ICELAND)
Art vs Science (Surry Hills NSW)
A Shoreline Dream (Denver CO)
Nicole Atkins and The Black Sea (Asbury Park NJ)
Autumn Owls (Dublin IRELAND)
Bare Wires (Oakland CA)
Julian Berntzen (Bergen NORWAY)
Best Fwends (Austin TX)
The Black (Austin TX)
The Black Atlantic (Groningen THE NETHERLANDS)
Dan Black (Paris FRANCE)
Black Tide (Miami FL)
Bliss N Eso (Albert Park VIC)
Boom Boom Satellites (JAPAN)
The Boxer Rebellion (London UK-ENGLAND)
Break of Reality (New York NY)
B-Real of Cypress Hill (Los Angeles CA)
Broadway Calls (Rainer OR)
Broken Records (Edinburgh UK-SCOTLAND)
VV BROWN (London UK-ENGLAND)
The Brunettes (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Buckshot (Brooklyn NY)
Canja Rave (Porto Alegre BRAZIL)
Capsula (Bilbao SPAIN)
Carsick Cars (Beijing CHINA)
Caucus (Tokyo JAPAN)
The Chevelles (Melville WA)
Chew Lips (London UK-ENGLAND)
Suzanna Choffel (Austin TX)
Chris T-T (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)
C-Mon & Kypski (THE NETHERLANDS)
The Coathangers (Atlanta GA)
Simon Collins (Victoria BC)
The Constellations (Atlanta GA)
Contra Coup (Austin TX)
Cotton Jones (Cumberland MD)
The Crystal Method (Los Angeles CA)
David Dallas (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
Dappled Cities (Sydney NSW)
Daveman (Berlin GERMANY)
The Daylights (Los Angeles CA)
The dB’s (Chapel Hill NC)
Dead Sexy Inc (Paris FRANCE)
The Deaf (The Hague THE NETHERLANDS)
Deer Tick (Providence RI)
Delhi 2 Dublin (Vancouver BC)
Paul Dempsey (from “Something for Kate”) (Melbourne NSW)
Diplomats of Solid Sound (Iowa City IA)
DJ Car Stereo (Wars) (Austin TX)
DJ Evil Dee (Brooklyn NY)
DJ Revolution (Los Angeles CA)
Daniel Francis Doyle (Austin TX)
Adiam Dymott (Goteborg SWEDEN)
The 88 (Los Angeles CA)
Electric Electric (Strasbourg FRANCE)
Val Emmich (Jersey City NJ)
Eternia (Toronto ON)
Everything Everything (Manchester UK-WALES)
Fanfarlo (London UK-ENGLAND)
Michael Feinberg (New York NY)
Fergus & Geronimo (Westway TX)
Fighting With Wire (Derry IRELAND)
FINALE (Detroit MI)
Floating Action (Asheville NC)
Francis (Borlange SWEDEN)
Robert Francis (Los Angeles CA)
Frightened Rabbit (Selkirk UK-SCOTLAND)
The Funeral Pyre (Los Angeles CA)
The Ganjas (Santiago CHILE)
Geeks (Tokyo JAPAN)
Gerald G (Austin TX)
Colin Gilmore (Austin TX)
Giulia y los Tellarini (Barcelona SPAIN)
Rosi Golan (New York NY)
Gong Myoung (Seoul KOREA)
Goober and the Peas (Detroit MI)
Good Shoes (London UK-ENGLAND)
Guitar Shorty (Harlingen TX)
Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield MO)
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Albums of the Decade- #11-20

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View our picks for #31-40 here
View our picks for #21-30 here.

20) Radiohead- Hail To The Thief (2003)
Recommended Track: There, There
Why We Like It: Where to rank the albums of the greatest band of this decade… We choose to put this album here because it was the bands’ return to a more guitar-based sound. With shorter songs than on Kid A or Amnesiac, it was a more palatable entry into the world of Radiohead for many. Recorded in a mere two weeks, it proves that you don’t have to pull your hair out in the studio to create a work of genius.

19) McLusky- McLusky Do Dallas (2002)
Recommended Track: To Hell With Good Intentions
Why We Like It: Yet another materpiece produced by Steve Albini. Hooks, noise, tempo changes and more emotion than Black Francis with a buzzsaw chopping at his arm.

18) Darker My Love- 2 (2008)
Recommended Track: Two Ways Out
Why We Love It: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club got all the attention for creating dark, intense, melodic pop songs, but DML did their best to match the intensity. On their second album they created another masterpiece that take the JAMC principal’s of noise meets melody and sang vocal melodies that Jim Reid could only have dreamed of.

17) Rilo Kiley- More Adventurous (2004)
Recommended Track- Portions For Foxes
Why We Love It:

16) The Bronx- I (2003)
Recommended Track- Heart Attack American
Why We Love It: Since the beginnings of this site, we’ve questioned whether punk is dead. The Bronx are the strongest (only?) argument of it’s continued vitality. With perhaps the greatest living drummer in rock, a guitarist that writes melodies unlike any punk guitarist in memory and a vocalist who can fashion a melody in the middle of this storm of chaos. Brilliant and arguably, the best punk record of the last 20 years, not just this decade.
To read our interview with Matt from The Bronx, click here.
Criminally unavailable on lala.com. Here a video:

15) The Hives- Your New Favorite Band (2002)
Recommended Track: Hate To Say I Told You So
Why We Love It: While they may not have lived up to the hype, this Swedish band knocked alternative on its ass by playing straight-ahead rock with a sense of flair.

14) Darker My Love- S/T (2006)
Recommended Track: Post-Mortem, Post Boredom
Why We Love It: In the midst of the shoegaze revival, DML showed that merely creating a wall of feedback wasn’t enough to entrance the masses. On their debut album, they immediately showed an ability to craft beautiful melodies inside of their cavernous sound. Epic.

13) Radiohead- Amnesiac (2001)
Recommended Track: Knives Out
Why We Love It: If you need to ask, you’re on the wrong website.

12) Band of Horses- Everything All The Time (2006)
Recommended Track: Our Swords
Why We Love It: An album so beautiful, it still brings tears to our eyes every time we listen to it. The failure of this band to become massive has stumped us for years. While frequently compared to My Morning Jacket in a genre that’s become over-crowded with wannabes, BOH is heads and shoulders ahead of the pack.

11) Fugazi- The Argument (2001)
Recommended Track: Cashout
Why We Love It: The last album from one of the greatest punk bands of all-time. A criminally under-rated album from a band that should have received even more accolades. By the time The Argument came out, this band had become far to complicated to be pigeon-holed as “punk”. Complex rhythm changes; on drums, guitars and vocals made this band a challenging and rewarding experience throughout their career. How many other legendary bands can claim that their last was a “classic”?
To read our interview with Brendan Canty from Fugazi, click here.

Unavailable on Lala.com

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Your New Favorite Band: The Finches

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This first time I became aware of The Finches was during my first visit to SXSW in 2007. I walked into a small, dark bar on the outskirts of Austin for a day show they were putting on. I went equipped with the knowledge that their song “The House Under The Hill” had struck me as the best song I’d heard in years. What I found upon opening the door to that dark little bar, was a band in mid-song performing one of the most beautiful and fragile sets I’d ever seen. Much to my chagrin, the band never released a second album and had started to fade from my memory. We tracked down Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs, who is the one constant of The Finches and were thrilled to hear that there’s new album brewing.

TDOA: Can you talk about the one-year hiatus that the band took a couple of years ago? What led you to “break-up” and what caused you to get back together again?

CPR: Oh boy, the tall and fat of it is that I moved to Los Angeles, away from the Bay. I didn’t realize how gnarly the transition was until I finally started loving it. I had a minor existential crisis and decided, “Oh, PALMS is a good word for my new music — I’ll feel more connected to my new city and I’ll be fancy free!” But the new name was wrong, and I kept returning to what I’d written as The Finches. I longed for a group of male back-up singers and when I’d found them — Gerry Saucedo and Cam Jones — they wanted to play instruments, so all of a sudden, we’re a singing trio called The Finches.

TDOA: The House Under The Hill is one of those songs that ought to be on everyone’s ‘best of the decade’ list. Can you tell us the story of how the song was written and what meaning it has to you?

CPR: I was a really conflicted kid — super introverted at school, but a little hellion at home and around the neighborhood. En route to Grandma’s, I passed by a golden green hill, and ugh, I was blasted by a nauseating wave of nostalgia. I knew something was hiding under the slope, so I pulled out a scrap of receipt and it all streamed out.

TDOA: Do you personally do the artwork for the band?

CPR: Yep. I print those guys from linoleum blocks — just like woodcuts but synthetic and cheap.

TDOA: It’s difficult to find information about the recording of your first album. It has a great, warm feel to it, so I’m wondering who produced it and how you enjoyed the recording of that record?

CPR: Thanks! We recorded it over a few weekends at Aaron’s parents’ house in San Diego with his special-ed-teaching/country-guitar-shredding/sound-engineering dad, David Morgan, and mixed it with our friend, Justin Pinkerton up in San Francisco. Everyone was friendly, family style.

TDOA: When Human Like A House came out, you did a few interviews in which you joked about having “domestic fantasies”. Two years later….how ya doing?

CPR: Ha, I guess I’m close to living the dream; the dream has changed. I share a one bedroom writer’s bungalow built on DW Griffith’s lot… Babylon? I hardly ever drive (in LA!) and the place is filled with 40+ plants.

TDOA: I first saw you at SXSW and loved the show I saw there. Can you talk about your experience at SXSW and the bit of touring you did?

CPR: I had so much fun in Austin!! There was a little too much bustling about for my taste — we played something like 6 shows in four days — but I did slip in some crucial concerts, like Vashti Bunyan and the Stooges.

TDOA: Despite the growth of the internet, distributing music and getting noticed is still a “who do you know business”. Agree or disagree?

CPR: Who knows. I think it helps to know folks in any business — I mean, I’ve seen some heinous PTA politics at a school I used to work at. In a way, music is closer to escaping that drama than any other medium. We can share a song on the internet and anyone with a connection can access it and decide if it sounds good; that’s pretty democratic (at least within the computer-accessing population). The internet is a magical machine and it has served me well so far, though I limit my use these days — too much of a slippery slope once you start following links!

TDOA: I know you’re working on new material. Can you give us a sense of what fans can expect from a new album and when will it be finished?

CPR: Well, we recorded seven new songs that are kind of hard to describe. It’s a standard rock-style set up — guitar, bass, drums, three vocals, sometimes piano, and a touch of vibes. We’ve got a few songs that sound like oldies covers and then a few jazzy “detective” jams and telanovela themes. One song is about five days I spent in Japan. Another is about nourishing your body. Our friend Chris Cohen, of the terrific band, Cryptacize, is mixing it in December, so I’m packing my pennies for a vinyl release just in time for Spring.

To purchase The Finches brilliant first record, click on the vivacious grey iTunes button below:
The Finches - Human Like a House

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Your New Favorite Band: Boat Beam

Boat+Beam+pijamas

Canadian hip hop and Spanish indie rock, all in one week?! Yes, we’re asking you to open your minds, but we’re rewarding you with exquisite treats. Spain’s Boat Beam first came to our attention due to a collaboration they did with another great Spanish band called Havalina. The real treat came when we listened to their debut record, Puzzle Shapes. Beautiful female vocals wrapped around a deluge of sounds and instruments that come together to create brilliant quirky, pop songs. This is how pop should sound in our world. Josephine from Boat Beam took some time to gently explain that there is more to the music world than your narrow little NME/Spin field of vision.

TDOA: How is the music scene in Madrid? You’re the first band we’ve come across from there. We’re wondering if you’re an anomaly or if we’re just scratching the surface of a great music scene.

BB: The music scene here is thriving. There is so much talent and it seems that people are much more interested in going to see live music than in other countries. Maybe it’s got something to do with the Spanish culture – they’re generally less addicted to their TVs and more motivated to get out of the house.

TDOA: It seems that American bands are able to become popular in Europe and Asia despite the language barrier. Is it frustrating that Americans aren’t as open-minded in listening to music from other parts of the world?

BB: The US has always had a bit of cultural dominance in the rest of the world, and people in non-English speaking countries listen to music in English even if they don’t understand it. But the US has also fostered music from all parts of the world and its rich musical heritage has inspired and entertained us for decades.

TDOA: What led you to record Puzzle Shapes in English?

BB: As I am an Australian who came to live here two years ago, English is my native language and I usually compose lyrics in English. Lately I’ve started penning a few in Spanish and we sometimes play them at concerts. I’d like to compose more and more in Spanish so that the audiences understand what I’m singing about. But the good thing about English is that people from all over the world – be it the US, Germany, France or Japan – can get into the music.

TDOA: Vocal melodies play such a huge part in your music. When writing songs, do you usually start with the vocals?

BB: No, I usually start with a chord progression or a riff on the guitar. I then bring the lyrics to the music and try to weld them together and that’s when the vocal melodies arise.

TDOA: We’re quite fond of the production on the record. Who produced the record for you and to what extent did they influence the “sound” of the album?

BB: The album was started in Australia and finished in Spain, and during that time there were various people involved in the recording side of things. But the most important touches were in the final stages, by myself and by a Spanish producer by the name of Manuel Cabezali.

TDOA: How did the collaboration with Havalina come to pass? Listening to the songs you did together led us to hunt both of you down. Perhaps you can also tell us a little bit about Havalina

BB: Havalina is the band of Manuel Cabezali. He’s a good friend and an absolute genius when it comes to sound. Havalina has released a number of records and are one of the most respected rock bands in Spain (and they also sing in Spanish, which we like.)

TDOA: There seems to be a great deal of thought put into the artwork for the band. Who does this for you?

BB: A young artist by the name of Sandra G Tenorio, who is still studying her degree at university but who really is quite ready to rock the art world (in our opinion.)

TDOA: Your website lists upcoming shows in Hanoi and Ho Chi Men. Really?! How did that come to be?

BB: Someone from the Spanish embassy in Vietnam saw us play here in Madrid, in a tiny show in someone´s flat. She recommended us to the people in Vietnam who are organizing a festival there, and they contacted us and naturally we said “yes yes yes” so we’re going. It’ll be Aurora’s first time out of Europe.

TDOA: Any chances we’ll see you in the U.S. in 2010?

BB: Hopefully!! It’d be awesome…but we have to wait until a US label licenses our record. As soon as they do, we’ll come over.

Follow them on MySpace here

Purchase the latest album here:
Boat Beam - Puzzle Shapes

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Albums of the Decade- #21-30

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As we progress down our path of the loveliest music of the decade, we’ll give you a bit more detail on the records we’ve chosen. While we were infatuated with numbers 31-40 (which you can read here), we’re ready to go to battle over every selection from 1 to 30. Not a bad song on any of these albums, if you ask us. You can listen to the entire album of each of these by registering with Lala.com…. but you knew that, right? While we don’t claim this to be a defining document of merit, we think you’ll find this list worthy of debate and perhaps will steer you to a record that you hadn’t heard before.

You can view our picks for 31 thru 40 here.

30) Fujiya & Miyagi- Transparent Things (2006)
Recommended Track: Sucker Punch
Why We Like It: Quite frankly, we’re not big fans of the kraut rock genre which many critics pigeon-hole this band into and think the reference does them a disservice. We think of this as electronic music for analog people. Coupled with the great vocals of David Best, this album has more soul than any other release of the decade.


Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things

29) Sarah Harmer- All of Our Names (2004)
Recommended Track: Greeting Card Aisle
Why We Like It: Every single element of this record is gorgeous. Categorized as Adult Alternative by people to stupid to hear its’ genius, it mixes Sarah’s beautiful vocals with guitar parts that harmonize so well, it’ll give you goosebumps. She plays guitars, bass and drums which account for the perfect syncopation of these beautifully complex songs.


Sarah Harmer - All of Our Names

28) Robbers On High Street- Tree City (2005)
Recommended Track: Japanese Girls
Why We Like It: An album filled with perfectly crafted pop songs will always make our top albums list. Erroneously lumped with bands like The Strokes and Interpol, this band is less concerned with looking cool and more concerned with making complex melodies that would make the Paul’s (McCartney and Weller) proud.


Robbers on High Street - Tree City

27) Interpol- Our Love To Admire (2007)
Recommended Track: The Heinrich Maneuver
Why We Like It: Interpol were a key part of the Joy Division revival in this decade. But to think of them merely in those terms, would be to do yourself a disservice. Sam Fogarino proved himself to be one of the most interesting drummers in rock in the 00’s. Rhythms that didn’t just follow the beat in traditional rock fashion, they pushed and pulled the music in ways that left you feeling out of balance and euphoric simultaneously. Couple that with Daniel Kessler’s incredible ability to write riffs that sound so simple, but are unlike any other guitarist in rock. This, their third album helped ease the pain of a sophomore slump and re-established them as one of the best bands of the decade.


Interpol - Our Love to Admire

26) Franz Ferdinand- S/T (2004)
Recommended Track: Take Me Out
Why We Like It: Another band who’s meteoric rise and fall tell you more about the hypocrisy of the music business, than about actual talent. As Interpol broke and it became unfashionable to be happy, FF reminded us that music can be fun and playful.


Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand

25) The Walkmen- Bows + Arrows (2004)
Recommended Track: The Rat
Why We Like It: Drunken, sloppy sounding music that helped re-establish the importance of emotion in music. Where the 90’s were largely a happy era, musically The Walkmen showed us that angst can be melodic and beautiful.


The Walkmen - Bows + Arrows

24) Nine Black Alps- Everything Is (2005)
Recommended Track: Get Your Guns
Why We Like It: When this album came out, we considered it a guilty pleasure. In retrospect, it stands up as a sole vote for the continuation of grunge in the new millennium. Equal parts Sub Pop circa Nirvana and Swervedriver, this group was great at what it did and were a welcome respite from the Creed, Train grunge-dreck that was contributing to the dumbing….
To read our interview with NBA, click here.


Nine Black Alps - Everything Is

23) Grandaddy- The Sophtware Slump (2000)
Recommended Track: The Crystal Lake
Why We Like It: Had they not gotten in their own way, Grandaddy could have easily ruled the world throughout the decade. With keyboards that referenced Phillip Glass and vocal/guitar stylings that echoed a more stoned version of Pavement, they crafted beautiful songs that could reduce you to tears.


Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

22) The Boxer Rebellion- Union (2009)
Recommended Track: Evacuate
Why We Like It: If U2 still had to live from paycheck to paycheck, this is how they’d sound. TBR has the ability to sound epic and fragile within the same song. Alternately blood-thirsty and dreamy, this second album for the group was self-released by the band on iTunes, where it promptly went to #1 on the Alternative charts in the U.S. and U.K.. The best band that nobody seems to know about.
To read our interview with TBR, click here.
The Boxer Rebellion - Union

21) Coldplay- Parachutes (2000)
Recommended Track: Shiver
Why We Like It: Because we wanted to draw a big bulls-eye on our back? In fact, we would argue that when The Verve broke up, Coldplay attempted to fill the void by using their dreamy soundscapes. The imagery on this record is dark and abrasive, far from the delusions of grandeur that they exhibited in future albums. A great example of a band that all the ‘cool kids’ embraced initially and now refuse to admit that they like them. We’re sticking to our guns and saying that this first album was brilliant. After that…


Coldplay - Parachutes

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Your New Favorite Band: Grand Analog

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I guess I’m just a stubborn kind of fellow. I know that our focus tends to be on Brit-pop and Indie-rock, but I just can’t help myself from asking you to free your mind. I remember growing up in Detroit, listening to the Canadian national radio station (CBC) and learning about “new wave/punk”. They had a show called Brave New Waves and it aired from midnight to 4am, Monday thru Friday. Whenever anyone disparages Canadian music, I tell them that the entire base of my music knowledge starts with this Canadian radio show. Much to my chagrin, in the late 80’s the show started playing a ‘new’ kind of music called hip hop. Public Enemy, Afrika Bombaataa and NWA were played side by side with the newest Echo and the Bunnymen singles. But after a while, I came to embrace the music and recognize that in the end, music is about passion and the ability to write great songs.
Grand Analog is a Canadian collective that band leader Odario Williams describes as a beautiful mess of rap’ n’ roll, dub and soul. We came across their newest album ‘Metropolis Is Burning’ while doing our CMJ preview. Follow us as Odario takes us on a journey into their beautiful chaos.

TDOA: Music critics are always determined to categorize music into clearly defined little boxes. Grand Analog seems to defy those descriptions. Is there a conscious effort to avoid the cliche’d “genre’s” and how would you define your music?

OW: Not necessarily. I have many musical backgrounds in my life history. First and foremost I consider myself a child of hip-hop, born into the culture itself. Secondly, my father was a reggae DJ in the 80s. That alone governed the way I thought about music, night life vernacular and it’s effect on people. Third, I grew up with fans of punk and funk during my formative years. In those days the average kid found it
important to represent their lifestyle through a specific genre of music and the lingo and style of dress that came with it. I was never solely a hipster, a punk, a hip-hopper, or a metal-head. I think kids used to find it important to represent these types of things. I couldn’t pick one and stick with it!

TDOA: Can you describe the process of making the new record? When you’re working on writing a song, can you talk about how the pieces come together?

OW: I write music and lyrics in a hip-hop point of view …meaning I like to hear the drums and the samples first. After that I get inspired thematically with the music. The minute I hear a beat that inspires me, I’ll know what the song will be about and what direction to take. Rappers write to beats.

TDOA: How did you like playing CMJ? How do you make your music translate live?

OW: CMJ was awesome! Full of enthusiastic indie lovers willing to embrace a new, analog groove. Mind you, I got a speeding ticket on the drive to New York. It really pissed me off because I was only going eleven clicks over! To me, that’s not speeding…thirty clicks, now that’s speeding. I took that frustration out on stage I guess. Aside from that we jam during every performance, especially if the crowd is moving. It’s a great place for us to discover unique ideas to old songs and create new songs…live on stage.

TDOA: I’ve read that you’re an avid record collector. Do you remember the first record you bought? Can you name a few of your favorite records from your collection?

OW: I think it was Michael Jackson’s “Bad” album. I think I purchased that with Christmas money that year. I had three copies of Thriller, but those were all gifts. I still have them in my collection…one is
terribly worn out. My dad had plenty of records around the house…in the basement, living room and bedrooms. My brother and I acquired a handful of them…especially the James Brown pieces. All my mother asked was to keep the records out the kitchen.

TDOA: Can you talk about the video for ‘Her Daddy’? How much of the concept came from the band, how much from the director and how do you feel about making videos?

OW: Videos can be defined as 3 minute shorts if you allow it. And I love film. If we had more time and money I’d make little features! I’m also a professional actor you see, so the more I get to incorporate both film and music the better. I know what I don’t want conceptually in my own music videos, so I like to talk with the director about his ideas and axe out the ones I don’t like. In this particular video Ofield, my
brother and DJ, plays ‘Her’ daddy. He’s an actor as well and has great timing on camera. I thought it would be funny if he played the father figure instead of a hired older actor.

TDOA: I keep reading about more and more great Canadian DJ’s and people who’re creating some great music that share similarities with what you’re doing. We’re trapped down here in Texas, so is their really a burgeoning “scene” in places like Toronto?

OW: I think the world is finally catching on to the likes of Canada in general. We’re just good down home peoples man! Kind of like Texans! We’re the kind of peeps you’d want to invite into your home on a
Sunday evening. Canadian artists have always been inspired by other cultures and ideas outside of Canada…allowing something foreign into their world. I feel all the years of cultural experimentation has come to light and makes sense to a Canadian artist. It’s nothing to a Canadian artist to try something away from the norm. It’s bigger than a mash-up…it’s bigger than a remix. The scene has always been present…the world is just catching on now.

TDOA: One of the things that I think separates hip-hop and dub artists from alternative rock artists is that they generally have a more diverse list of influences. For example; you’ve listed Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, Kanye and Marvin Gaye as artists that you like. For the pigeon-holed alt-rockers, can you explain how bands outside of the hip-hop scope inform your style?

OW: Anything soaked in soul gravitates to me and influences me. Soul music is vulnerable and can be present in any genre of music. Thom Yorke or Tom Waits is just as soulful to me as Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, who is my favorite of all time by the way. Marvin Gaye’s vulnerable soul just floors me every time. Every single time. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Bilal, Gregory Isaacs and Antony & The Johnsons.

TDOA: Conversely, why do you think we don’t hear stories about the lead singer of bands like Grizzly Bear talking about his experiences going to see bands like Wu-Tang Clan? Has alternative narrowed itself so much that it’s marginalizing itself?

OW: I think as artists we no longer get inspired by our peers. I know I don’t. There are probably only two or three hip-hop artists out there that inspire me. QuestLove is one of them. I look to other genres to get a sense of different aspects of writing and performing. Being a student of life is no cliche…it’s real talk. I learn far more from artists assumed as something foreign to me.

TDOA: Where did the title ‘Electric City’ come from?

OW: I got the title for Electric City from two sources… One: The most enduring and memorable Dub Toaster (toasting came before rapping in the early 70s in Jamaica) on the mic was U-Roy. His mumbo jumbo over drums and bass were so catchy it’s no wonder it turned into a cultural phenomenon. U-Roy used to crash the dancehall, grab the mic and holler little toasts like: “Yeah Yeah Daddy-O, I Tell Yaaa… I’ll Shock Ya Like Electric!!!”
He was great. Roots Manuva, for example, is well known for taking some of U-Roy’s mic style. U-Roy is probably the most sampled reggae artist to date – other than Sister Nancy’s legendary ‘Bam Bam’ single of course.
Two: One of my favourite poets, Michael Harper, is the king of short, sweet and heart felt pros. I practically have his ode to John Coltrane memorized. The peice is appropriately titled ‘Dear John Dear Coltrane’… in it he reads, “You Plot Into The Electric City, Your Song Now Crystal In The Blues”. I dig Michael Harper and his intense love for American Jazz.

TDOA: What’s next for Grand Analog? Will you come back to the States to play some shows?

OW: I would love to get back to the old U.S. of A as soon as I can. I mean c’mon… it’s the heart of Rock’N'Roll that keeps beating!!!

Grand Analog has some other great videos that you can watch by visiting their MySpace page here. But we felt compelled to post two more songs from the new album, to make the point. One of the pleasures of the new record, is that each song has a different sound and a different feel. You owe it to yourself to listen to all four of the songs in this article. Now…..scurry over to iTunes and buy the record.
Grand Analog - Metropolis Is Burning

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