THE MUSIC OF THE FANTAVERSE - THE EXTENDED TOUR

Great job with the Blink-182, can't say the same about the MCR though.

Now here's an even better sample from Blink-182, Happy Holidays You Bastard

I'm emo, we're used to opression! Did you even listen to it? ;-)

Merry Whatever-you-believe-in-mas to all my fellow fantavillains.

A little psychadelia for the day after Christmas

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas!

For my next video, I've chosen another one from Genesis, and I love this one because it featured a comedy legend (shame on you times a million if you don't recognize him) in what was to be, sadly, one of his final appearances on film.

My video pick for Friday, December 26:

Genesis - Anything She Does

I've been humming this one in my head for the last few days, so I just had to release it. A true classic.

My video pick for Sunday, December 28th is one of those cool, breezy 1980's songs that just puts you in a good mood when you here it (and it was great to dance to when I was 21 years old)

Giant Steps - Another Lover

Classic!

Roode,

Nice pick with the Aldo Nova. Definitely some classic Can-Con (Canadian Content). Here's a favorite of mine from north of the border:

My next video is from a "local" group... meaning that they were formed in Tempe, Arizona. They always played to packed houses in the early 90's, especially after they made it big in 1993 by getting tons of airplay with a string of hits. Only saw them once, but it was terrific.

My video pick for Monday, December 29th:

Gin Blossoms - Day Job

The funny thing about 'The Tragically Hip' Keyser is that they're huge at home, but can't seem to do anything to make it big Stateside. It's gotten to the point where we've rallied around and adopted them as the defacto band of the nation. So many favourites to choose from, but I think my best loved of theirs is this one:

I've always thought of The Tragically Hip as indie-rock. Though I've never listened to their music, I usually get the idea that's their type of music. But that and the fact that the musicians are over 30 are probably the reasons why they've never done much in the U.S.

Living right on the border for years, I grew up to Vancouver radio stations and MUCH/FUSE/WHATEVER it was before that, so The Hip just sort of seemed like a major band to me regardless. They definitely fit that quirky indie group feel, but not really moreso than bands like REM that have made it huge. Regardless, since we are sharing our favorites, mine is (cliche I know, the most average of their songs) Ahead by a Century:

Becs and Roode,

Both excellent examples of The Hips' ummmmmmmm........... Hipness (Yeah, that's the word). I've been a fan of theirs for years going all the way back to when John Goodman had them as his musical guest when he hosted SNL back in 1995.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why they never caught on with American alternative audiences. There are many bands who hit it big that can't hold a candle to them.

On the other hand, we should have lobbed a few missles at you guys for sending this one down our way:

Worse than gravy on French Fries!!!!!!!!

Numbersix's 6 Best Songs of 2006...er.... I mean, 2008.

Okay, I've noticed a lot of music here comes from the past, and almost all of it not progressing past last millennium (ah journalists have been blessed in these times of dramatic date changes...). So here I'm going to post my 6 favourite songs from this year, to hopefully prove that music hasn't gone south since the 90's. These days we have greater diversity wit bands being able to promote themselves, and while that leaves space for awful music, it also leaves opportunities for gifted acts also.

So, first on my list is a band called Vampire Weekend, from Brooklyn, I believe. Sure, they're dorky, but this song has a vitality and also a sense of worldliness that we can see in the music of Peter Gabriel (who were not only referenced in VW's debut album, but who actually covered one of their songs live in honoured retaliation) and Paul Simon. It's a song called A-Punk, with an enthusiastic and very effective little video:

Numbersix's 6 songs of 2008 Volume 2

Okay, next up is a band from that empire (boo!) known as England. Foals are a band that in theory would be perfect for me- they combine the rhythm shenanigans of math rock with the danceable yet aggressive beats of disco-punk, making a slightly oxymoronic combo of lofty yet dancefloor-accessible rock. Their debute album Antidotes doesn't always work, but it's not a bad attempt for a band whose collective age is 21! Mathletics is one of the few songs I know making reference to sine and cosine yet it also has an impact combined with a sense of restraint, making it a somewhat frustrated yet powerful tune.

Way to balance the past and the present, six. I like the idea. So, back to the Wayback machine we go...

One of my favorite bands ever (especially if you're a horny 15 year old), and one of the coolest songs of 1984. My God, Belinda was hot back then...

My video pick for Tuesday, December 30:

Go-Go's - Head Over Heels

Ha!

It's a small world Keyser -- I was actually in University with one of the supporting players in 'Len,' *lol* A catchy one hit wonder, but a song that gives me a nose bleed and a migraine everytime i hear it. Having been lured in by your last post my functional time is not long before i sink off into a fit of seizures. I'll try to fight it off with a much better Canadian band and another national favourite. So many songs of theirs that I could have chosen from. What a difficult decision! :

Steal My Sunshine= One of my guiltiest pleasures

geezer9687 wrote:Steal My Sunshine= One of my guiltiest pleasures

Geez - I think you were supposed to use the inside voice with that remark kind of like when Homer forgets to use it when saying, "Memo to myself, kill the boy"

Roode - Now that is some excellent Can-Con. Huge Blue Rodeo fan here, and that is one of their best.

Shryke - I was more of a Jane Wiedlin person than Belinda, but yeah, I'll agree with Hot back then.

Six- An interesting song. Kind of a little Talking Heads mixed with Heaven 17. Definitely a quirky sound. Vampire Weekend just doesn't click with me.

My choice for song of '08 (Although it's quite possible it came out before - I first heard it this year) A little old mixed with the new. Here's The Killers doing Joy Division. The video has some great clips from Control which, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend

Keyser Soze wrote:
My choice for song of '08 (Although it's quite possible it came out before - I first heard it this year) A little old mixed with the new. Here's The Killers doing Joy Division. The video has some great clips from Control which, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend

Yeah it's from last year. As much as I adore Joy Division, and as much as I dislike the Killers, an essentially New Wave stadium rock group who are all-pose-no-content (and possessing some of the most awful lyrics I've ever heard. "Are we human or are we dancer" isn't even grammatically correct!), that cover isn't half bad.

Six,

The Killers are not unlike hundreds of other bands that had achieved some level of fringe success for years and then suddenly hit it big. Your debut album turns out to be fantastic because you've been playing and modifying these same 10 songs for years, but suddenly, you become hot and the record company wants another one just like it in 6 months and then another one 6 - 9 months after that. Suddenly, trying to write and record new songs under the gun while non stop touring to support the debut record, they find it's not quite as easy to duplicate the success of the initial outing. That's why we end up with crap like you mentioned. I personally liked The Killer's first album. Unfortunately, it seems like that's about all there ever going to have.

I broadly agree, Keyser, although I only think the Killers had one good song (Mr Brightside)- it's irritating to see bands go down that route, to give into to label pressure to bring out another record, instead of nursing it. Anyway...

Numbersix's 6 Best Songs of 2008 Part 3

MIA's biggest album was actually from last year, but this year saw the release of her single Paper Planes. The Clash fans may be enraged at one of their songs being sampled, but to be honest, the lyrics of Straight to Hell were pretty awful anyway (and this is coming from a person who has London Calling in his Top 5 albums of all time). But like the Clash she too wears her political beliefs on her sleeves. This song, however, is a critique of the image of the aggressive immigrant who only wants to "take your money"- it's a blatant attempt for MIA to distance herself from the chauvinism of modern "urban" music. Oh, and she's cute too.

Six,

That was quite good as well as easy on the eyes. Got no problem with her sampling The Clash, and I would bet that they wouldn't either.

Until a band becomes independantly wealthy, they will almost always be at the mercy of the record companies who are footing the bill for the studio time, the marketing costs and tour promotion. It's not until the situation reverses itself to where the record label needs the band (Which usuallly doesn't happen until they've made a good bit of money off the band) that the band can then start dictating the terms.

Well, I'll agree that alot of the new Killers stuff is overly weird... and I distinctly remember seeing them on SNL and being like "this is awful"... but before all that I saw them at a teeny tiny venue (bar) right on the river downtown, right before they got huge, and it was one of the best shows I've been to in a long time. Their opening band, Ambulance Ltd was damned good as well.
Regardless, the lyric - is in fact "Are we Human, or are we dancer?" it was written based on a comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers, basically afraid to step out of their choreographed motions, so singluar Dancer indicates our movement as one in that state rather than individuals.