In the year 2011 (recap).... new home excitement / moving blues

My biggest excitement of this year, by far, was that I bought a condo in Toronto. Downtown Toronto, to be exact. I'd been searching for a year and half and it was starting to seem hopeless. A few days before my 29th birthday, I jokingly said that I hoped for my 29th year, I would finally find the perfect condo in Toronto.

Lo and behold, my real estate agent emailed me a listing for a condo in this particular building I'd had my eye on... ON MY ACTUAL BIRTHDAY. No joke!

Long story short, I moved in to my own home in the second week of December. It's been quite an adjustment, but it's pretty damn rad. There's still lots to do and things to move. I have no idea where I'm going to keep all my CDs and the ever-growing record collection between my boyfriend and I... not to mention all our instruments (my piano, five guitars between the two of us and whatnot), but we'll figure it out.

With that, I conclude this entry with a few Instagram photos taken since my move to Toronto.

1. HOMEOWNER. The day I got the keys to my condo.
2. The CN Tower against a beautiful blue sky.
3. Ridiculously kitschy cat tea towel. My kettle looks like a curling stone, which I think is awesome.
4. My bedside: cupcake rug from my friend Rachel and pink argyle slippers.
5. Nightmare Before Christmas wooden block calendar. I bought this ages ago for $3.00 from the now-gone Criminal Records (sniff, sadface). I didn't have anywhere to put this in my cluttered room at my parents' house, so I'm so happy it sits prominently on my dresser now). Bunny ring holder from Umbra.
6. Cupcake jar I bought recently. Thinking of using it to house tea bags.
7. Ceramic squirrel trinket holder. I like squirrels. You knew that, right?
8. Window/curtains.

PS - feel free to follow me on Instagram - my username is squirrelscout.

In the year 2011 (recap).... Goodbye, Amy

I loved Amy Winehouse's music the moment I heard it. That defiant, dismissive tone in the opening notes of "Rehab" - if you're at all familiar with Amy Winehouse at all, then you know what I'm talking about - sing it with me - "They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said, No no no."

And this defiance would sadly be the catalyst to the downfall of a young, but troubled talent, gone from the world at the age of 27.

I will admit that I was shocked and devastated when I found out about Amy's death this summer. Like many people said, her death was not surprising - others cruelly commenting that "she had it coming" with her chosen lifestyle. But somehow still, I was deeply saddened at the loss of this young, talented woman. In the height of her popularity, I marveled at how young she was - younger than me!

For months after the release of Back To Black, I made it my goal to get my hands on any other recordings just to hear more of that voice. When I visited London, England in 2007, I brought home many CD singles - my most favourite being the single for "Back To Black" (which included the music video as well as two b-sides - "Valerie" from a BBC session and "You're Wondering Now).

In her downward spiral, I dismayed over the prospect of this talented woman becoming mere tabloid fodder. The drugs and boozing, show cancellations and performance embarrassments, there seemed to be so many scandals and then the bad influences surrounding her. Looking back, I suppose it's almost as surprising that she lasted that long.

A month after her death, when I finally willed myself to listen to Back To Black, I had to fight back tears. Her otherworldly voice, so full of life and sass, evoking the girl group era with that modern edge - there may be forthcoming imitators, but there will never be another Amy Winehouse.

I think it's so unfortunate that in order to hear new material from Amy, we had to wait for a posthumous release (Lioness: Hidden Treasures). The songs on this record are signature Amy and far from throwaway (why weren't they released sooner?), but upon the realization that there will never be any more new Amy Winehouse songs, my heart sank and I teared up.

"Our Day Will Come" is the first track from Lioness.

Check out the Amy Winehouse Foundation - a charitable foundation in Amy's memory, set up by her family. Proceeds from the sales of Lioness will be go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.

Rest in peace, Amy.

Looking ahead to 2012...

Excitement is a pretty good motivator, and you know me - I like to feverishly post about bands/songs/albums that I can't stop listening to at the moment. Well, this is one of those instances.

I played the heck out of Cape Dory by Tennis - it's pretty obvious, since it was my #2 record on my 2011 list. I'm so excited that they have a new album, called Young & Old, coming out in February 2012 (the 14th, Valentine's Day to be exact!) and they're playing in Toronto, at the Horseshoe on February 29th, leap year day! I missed out on seeing them earlier this year since I was in Portland, Oregon, so you can imagine how stoked I am to finally see them!

The first single off Young & Old is called "Origins," backed with "Deep In The Woods," which has been labelled as a b-side, but this song is SO. DAMN. GOOD. It's gotta be on the album, right? Plus they made a (super creepy, kind of disturbing) video for it. B-sides don't get videos, right?

The new album was produced by Patrick Carney, of Black Keys fame. While Cape Dory has a distinct, carefree summery feel of sailing and adventure-seeking, these two new songs still retain Tennis' jangly girl group-esque sound, but perhaps with a darker edge. Perhaps this is what Tennis sounds like land-bound, in winter or autumn? In any case, I like what I hear very much. Can't wait to hear the rest of the album - will it make my 2012 album list?

 Origins:

 

 Deep In The Woods:

 

Top Ten Albums of 2011

I haven't blogged in a REALLY LONG TIME, people. I've had a lot going on - I'm constantly composing blog posts in my head when I'm not at the computer but never seen to have time to actually draft something up or even log in to Blogger.

I've been thinking about getting all personal and writing a post or two about how my year has been - a lot has happened in 2011, so it seems appropriate to put it into words on my blog. That is, if I can find the time. Sigh!

But of course, my first priority is to post my top albums of 2011. When I sorted albums by year in iTunes, I was somewhat surprised at all the albums that came out in 2011 but didn't make a huge impact in my life. I feel mildly guilty not going crazy over albums that everyone seemed to love this year (most notably, Bon Iver). It's not to say I didn't like these albums, but they didn't really resonate that deeply with me... and therefore didn't result in many repeated listenings.

Anyway! These are the ten albums that I played the heck out of this year. If you check out my Last.fm profile, you'll see that I'm not joking. Dum Dum Girls and Tennis were my absolute favourites this year. Timber Timbre and Anna Calvi were definitely my favourite discoveries. In regards to Timber Timbre, I do believe I tweeted at some point that this band is filling that M. Ward-shaped hole in my heart (but please release something SOON, M. Ward - I do love She & Him, but I need some solo stuff).

1. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
2. Tennis - Cape Dory
3. Anna Calvi - s/t
4. The Elected - Bury Me In My Rings
5. Sarah Slean - Land & Sea
6. Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore
7. Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On
8. The Kills - Blood Pressures
9. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
10. Wild Flag - s/t

Favourite album released in 2011 that wasn't technically "new" but still made my year:
Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions

Honourable mentions:
La Sera - s/t
Beirut - The Rip Tide

Favourite standalone song:
"So Long" by Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward from the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack (they weren't billed as She & Him on the tracklisting, most likely to capitalize on Zooey's name...)

All right, that's all from me for now. Hopefully I'll find some time to post again soon!

Cover me, an out-of-nowhere edition

Well, here I am again, blogging! I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but I'll take it.

I seem to have run out of clever names to title my blog entries about cover songs and their originals, but you get the idea. I was inspired to post this last night when my boyfriend, a Sonic Youth fan, told me he was listening to the deluxe edition of Goo and discovered that on the second disc contained a cover of the Beach Boy's song "I Know There's An Answer" from Pet Sounds.

Now, I've never gotten into Sonic Youth, so don't shoot me. I admit I've not really heard much of their stuff, but I've never been quite sure that they were my "type" of music anyway. That aside, when I heard their cover of the Beach Boys' song, I was pleasantly surprised. It still has the jangly whimsy and innocence of the original. The vocals and harmonies stay pretty true, but have a more raw and earnest tone than the Beach Boys' sweet, near-perfect harmonies. (PS - is it Thurston singing in the Sonic Youth version?)

I think what really ties Sonic Youth's version to the Beach Boys original is the syncopated tambourine that remains in both. I gotta say, I really like Sonic's Youth version - I love that guitar line in the second verse.

The original song:

Sonic Youth's cover:

Still obsessed...

I haven't blogged in forever. I'm not entirely sure why.... I mean, I do know, in that, I haven't been overly inspired to write and it's been hard to find time. But I thought I could just write a quick one, insert a video and call it a day, knowing I've updated my blog.

So yes! Dum Dum Girls' second full-length album, Only In Dreams drops today. I pre-ordered it on Sub Pop the moment I could (on August 8, so says my confirmation email) and with the streaming link provided, I've literally listened to this album HUNDREDS of times since then.

I'm a little bummed that I probably won't get my pre-ordered LP (plus bonus 7" single) today (you know, on album release day), since my order was shipped last Thursday and it takes about a week for packages from the US to get to Canada (if not more). I'm a bit upset by this, Sub Pop, but I will have to deal with it.

Check out the swirling, mesmerizing video for the first single off Only In Dreams, "Bedroom Eyes."

"You look like Minnie Mouse" - another style diary entry

Summer is the season for style diary entries, methinks.

So, in my last entry, my lovely friends Deb and Breige commented on how I only seem to wear red bottoms (skirts, tights) and no red tops. I thought to myself, "Hmm. That can't be - I know I have at least a few red tops!"

Well, here's one of them. I've had this top for ages - I bought it from a girl in Asia (can't recall if it was Japan or Taiwan) before I even had Paypal! The thing about this top is that it's quite short, so I can't find too many ways to wear it. The perfect solution for this cute top? Pair it with a high-waisted skirt - it pretty much eliminates the possibility of any belly-baring.


Red/white polka dotted top
Black scalloped edge high-waisted tulip skirt - Lux/Urban Outfitters


Skirts avec pockets = the best.


I bought this skirt from UO for $5 or $10 (I pretty much only shop their sale racks!), but it's a large. I had to safety pin the back in two places for it to fit properly. Definitely a sewing project in the works when I get motivated.

And the entry title comes from what my sister said when she saw my outfit. I would tend to agree! (more so about this top than I would with my boyfriend's classification of the red skirt from my previous entry as a "Minnie Mouse skirt.")

I guess Minnie Mouse is just one of my fashion icons, y'all. Nothing wrong with that. I do like red, white, polka dots and bows, so it works for me.

Style icon: Zooey Deschanel

It's honestly no secret that I really, really adore Zooey Deschanel. What's not to love, really? She has amazing style, she's a talented singer and musician, AND she's smart and funny to boot. I know a lot of people scoff at her popularity and dismiss her as that stereotypical "manic pixie dream girl" trope or gripe about her "twee"-ness. But - haters to the left. This is a style diary post, so I'm going to focus on the fashion here. I can't think of any other celebrity who inspires me, style-wise, as much as Zooey D. I know it's silly, but one crazy dream of mine is to go thrift shopping with her.

Anyway... I really dig Peter Pan collars - on blouses, shirts, dresses, tunics, YOU NAME IT... if it's got a Peter Pan collar, I will probably love it. I also really dig puff sleeves and a-line skirts. These fashion loves basically sum up this outfit. Though it may be two very basic pieces and simple lines, it also features two, bold and bright primary colours.



Cobalt blue puff sleeve Peter Pan collar blouse - Dr. Denim (from Singapore)
Red a-line skirt (with big white buttons and pockets!) - Lux/Urban Outfitters
Red wide stretchy belt - H&M
Black tights - Old Navy
Black oxford flats - Aldo (not pictured)
Red heart ring - Pauper's Bounty on Etsy
Rainbow cocktail ring - Harbourfront Centre gift shop
(all photos can be clicked for a larger version)


Warmer weather allows me to let my hair air dry, which results in these lovely waves! I wish I lived somewhere where blow-drying my hair wasn't a necessity in the winter (else you catch pneumonia/end up with icicles for hair).


A better look at the detailing on the blouse.
I seriously LOVE this skirt - it's the perfect shade of red and I adore the big white buttons (my bf calls it the "Minnie Mouse skirt," even though a Minnie Mouse skirt ought to be red with white polka dots). Plus skirts with pockets are the best!


I wear my rainbow ring pretty much every day; I usually wear this heart ring (it was a birthday gift from my boyfriend) - I also have it in pink.
Also, I realized that though I wear my watch every day, with every outfit, I never credit it in any style diary. It's by Fossil and it was a university graduation present from my parents.

The inspiration from this combination came from an outfit I've seen Zooey Deschanel wear, most notably at a ceremonial presentation of the "key to the city" and plaque for Angel's Knoll in Los Angeles. I believe her blouse and skirt are from Dear Creatures, as featured in their Celebrity/Press section. Seriously, browse the DC site for ten minutes and if you know me at all, you'll be exclaiming, "That is SO Wini!" over every outfit. If I had the money, I would buy all my clothes from them....




(both Zooey Deschanel photos are from ZooeyDeschanel.net)

Brian Wilson @ Massey Hall, June 18, 2011.

First of all, I'd like to wish Brian Wilson a happy birthday today - June 20. Hard to believe he's a year younger than my dad.

Second of all, I just checked back in my blog entries tagged with "Brian Wilson" and "Beach Boys" and I can't believe I never mentioned (back in November 2010 when I bought tickets, no less) that I would be seeing Brian Wilson perform at Massey Hall on June 18! I know I tweeted about it on Twitter and posted about it (somewhat excessively?) on Facebook the day I purchased tickets, but why I didn't post about it on my blog is kind of baffling to me!

So that glorious day has come and gone, and here I am, on Brian Wilson's 69th birthday, updating my blog with a review of his show at Massey Hall this past Saturday.

The show started promptly at 7:30 - as Brian Wilson and his band made their way onto the stage, the crowd applauded wildly and quickly got to their feet. How many artists can boast they've received a standing ovation before even performing a single song? But honestly, I can think of very few artists who would deserve it as much.

Having read so many accounts, biographies and articles of his past reluctance and anxiety with performing, I guess I was a bit surprised at how charismatic and jovial he seemed. There was comfortable banter between songs, quick smiles here and there, and a gracious "Thank you!" after every song. There were also the maybe slightly contrived proclamations of "Toronto, you're the best!" but hey, audiences love that shit, right? He even got the audience to embark on a singalong of "Row Your Boat" (yes, the children's nursery rhyme song) several times with the expectation that it would launch into a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson tune before he waved, grinned and said, "That's it! You were great!" Ha! Good to see he has a sense of humour.

I especially enjoyed the informational introductions of many songs - even historical, if you will! ie. the year in which he wrote particular songs. My favourite intros: that "Surfer Girl" was the first song he ever wrote (I heard several murmurs around me saying, "Really?"), he wrote the instrumental "Pet Sounds" to be submitted for a James Bond film, and the introductions for a bunch of the Gershwin songs (including the educational fact that George Gershwin performed at Massey Hall, I think back in 1934 if I remember correctly - in any case, good researching skills for relevance!).

The show began with crowd pleasers - kicked off with "Do It Again" and followed with a whole slew of Beach Boys hits like "Dance Dance Dance," "Don't Worry Baby," "Please Let Me Wonder" (*dreamy sigh*), "I Get Around," "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Surfer Girl," as I already mentioned. They also did "Then I Kissed Her" (as found on Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) - sort of a response/opposite point of view to The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me") with guitarist/amazing falsetto vocalist Jeffrey Foskett on lead vocals. Foskett did most of the higher vocals for all the songs - a little sad thinking about how a young Brian would've been singing these notes in his heyday, but Foskett was impressive nonetheless.
From Pet Sounds, the band did the aforementioned instrumental title track, "Sloop John B" and "God Only Knows" which garnered another standing ovation.

The only (slight) disappointment were the mere two songs from SMiLE - "Heroes & Villains" (it gave me chills, though I wish they had led into it with "Our Prayer/Gee") and "Good Vibrations" (more chills!). I wanted "Surf's Up" and "Vega-tables" and "Wind Chimes".... hell, I wish I could've gone back in time and that this was the SMiLE tour instead. But alas.

After a 20-minute intermission, the band came back to perform the Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin album. I gotta say that I truly adore this record, especially with my vocal jazz choir background (back in my high school days) and classical piano training. The audience was somewhat quieter during this portion of the show, and I had my suspicions that it was likely because many weren't familiar with the songs. Unfortunate, in my opinion. I love the "Beach Boys sound" given to these Gershwin standards and to me, that proves Brian Wilson's still "got it" when it comes to composing - even if it's not original material.

After the Gershwin material, the band left the stage again but quickly returned for an encore. As one would expect, the majority of the crowd was fairly older (older than myself and my boyfriend, at least by 20 years!) but at this point, most (if not all) of the audience were on their feet and dancing. For "Barbara Ann" and several songs afterward, Brian stood up from his keyboard stool to play bass (!) with an awesome "SMiLE" sticker on the back (I want this sticker for my guitar case!).

The band left the stage once again and returned for one last song: "All Summer Long." At the end, Brian waved and said, "We'll see you again!" I really do hope so.

I danced, I sang my heart out and maybe I even teared up a bit during a few songs. While it gave me a twinge of sadness to know I will never be able to see Brian Wilson in his youth and heyday, I'm still thankful I got to see one of my absolute favourite musicians, one of my idols perform live.

The set list (plus a meh review I wouldn't bother reading) can be found here via Canoe.ca/Toronto Sun.

It doesn't always have to be beautiful.

I know I never got around to finishing that 30-day music meme (shame on me, I know), but I'm pretty sure one of the topics was naming a song that I loved the previous year. I had started a text file with my prospective answers so I knew what I was going to write about for that topic.

Anyway, long-winded intros aside, do you ever discover a new band you really, really love that you can't get enough of them, and you listen to them so much you fear that you'll ruin their music for yourself?

Slow Club has definitely been one of those bands for me. My friend Jackie suggested them to me because she thought their music sounded like it would be right up my alley. And she was right! Their sound is the perfect, sweet mixture of folk, pop and twee, plus the boy-girl harmonies are positively heart-melting.

This morning I've been feeling a bit under the weather and in need of a pick-me-up. The weather in Toronto has been uncomfortable and sweltering these past few days, but today is cool and breezy, with the right amount of sun. If the weather was cooperating, then I wanted to feel better to enjoy it. I opted for power pop tunes from Weezer (Blue Album followed by Pinkerton and then the bonus tracks from the Pinkerton deluxe release - totally an aside but, isn't "Long Time Sunshine" great? Not too keen on the overlapping "round" at the end, but otherwise an awesome gem of a tune).

To keep the toe-tapping, upbeat pop theme going, I chose Slow Club's debut album Yeah So next. Like I had mentioned, this album, at one point, was severely in danger of being played out for me. When I'm on the verge of possibly becoming sick of a band (due to my own repetition), I stop listening to them entirely. Before today, I can't remember the last time I listened to Slow Club.

Ah, the sweet reunion! With the first opening chords of "When I Go," I felt a smile spread across my face. Song after song, I felt myself perking up, cheering up and remembering how much I love this album. A wonderful feeling.

And so I leave you with the video for my favourite song off Yeah So: "It Doesn't Have to Be Beautiful." I don't think anything will ever stop me from loving this wonderful, infectious pop song.

Hear me sing and play guitar, or whatever.

wini covers "Marathon" by Tennis by winiw

Swoon (another edition of Cover me).

The weather's been bumming me out lately and so has the results of the recent Canadian election (boo hiss!). But politics are rarely my choice of discussion topic, so let's move on.

The first time I'd heard this song was the version done by the Beach Boys. And we all know how much I love the Beach Boys, don't we? I don't need to dedicate yet another post about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys!

So yes, this song makes me swoon. There's something SO romantic about the lyrics - it pretty much embodies the feeling of being in love and being enveloped in that feeling. Sigh!

I just love the swelling harmonies in the Beach Boys version. And it really does musically surround you, without sounding overdone and syrupy sweet.

Obviously I was totally stoked when I found out She & Him were releasing their own cover of "I Can Hear Music" as the b-side to the first single off Volume 2, "In the Sun" (pretty much the most perfect pairing ever for a 7" single!). Their version is fairly low key, with M. Ward's dreamy acoustic guitar and minimal backing vocals. I love how Zooey's voice sounds so warm and lovely; it just soars. I think this song was meant to give me chills!

Anyway, in the press release announcing that She & Him single, I realized that the Beach Boys weren't the original artists of this song - it was actually The Ronettes. Oddly enough, I hadn't heard their version despite being a huge fan of 60's girl groups and Phil Spector's wall of sound. To be honest, I think the Beach Boys' version is still my absolute favourite.

Listen for yourself! Which one do you like best?

The Ronettes:


Beach Boys:


She & Him:

Cover me, obsessed-with-these-bands edition.

Sometimes I get so obsessed with bands that I can't stop playing their music and I worry at some point I'm going to get so sick of them, that I'll never be able to listen to them again.

Two bands I've been super obsessed with lately? Well, you should be able to guess one of them: Dum Dum Girls (obvs!) and the other is the Raveonettes.

I saw the Ravonettes in Toronto last month and reviewed the show for Singing Lamb, a Toronto-based music blog I also write for... the review and photo gallery can be found here. The band also did an in-store performance at Sonic Boom on Bloor (for non-Torontonians - seen Scott Pilgrim? Then you'll know what record store I'm talking about!) and chatted with Sune Rose Wagner afterwards (total SQUEE moment), as well as a photo with him and Sharin (see left). Looking back, I probably should've blogged about it immediately afterwards but oh well.

Anyway, I've been saying for quite awhile now that I would keel over with joy if the Raveonettes toured with Dum Dum Girls. I mean, they both have that amazing, dark retro-vintage-reverb sound and they're already all pals, right? (see previous entry where I already gush about this, haha)

So in my recent search for all things Dum Dum Girls, I found that they actually cover a Raveonettes song! You know me, I love covers and what could be better than a band I love covering another band I love? Also, in watching several interviews with DDG's singer Dee Dee, she stated that she loves thinking of songs the band can cover - hey Dee Dee, I like covers too! Let's be pals!

Okay, okay, enough ramble from me (though I haven't blogged in so long, you can excuse a bit of ramble, right?). Without further ado, here is the Raveonettes' with their song "Heart of Stone" from their 2009 album, In and Out of Control.



And now, with a similar tone but (in my opinion), a totally different approach, Dum Dum Girls' version.



The thing about both songs is that I love both intros - both start out with the single guitar playing - then the Raveonettes' version has that dramatic drum intro, whereas Dum Dum Girls' comes in with that syncopated drum beat.... have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE syncopated drum beats? To me, it's such a throwback to 60's girl groups or just that 60's/Phil Spector/wall of sound type sound. Ahhh. I love it. Can't stop gushing.

Seriously hoping I will be able to see Dum Dum Girls when they do NXNE in June....

On repeat

I know, I know. I never update this thing. No apologies, because I should only do things that I enjoy and inspires me, right?

Anyway, I'm supremely obsessed with Dum Dum Girls lately and I cannot stop listening to this song.

"Pay For Me" apparently appeared on a 7" split with Male Bonding (who I'm pretty sure I saw open for Best Coast at Lee's Palace last year?) and came out for 2010 Record Store Day. Bummer, guess I missed out on that one. Obviously it's no longer available, but here's the product page on Sub Pop.



I think I've already listened to it five times today...

The 30-Day Music Meme: Day Twenty

Day 20 — A song that you listen to when you’re angry

Define "angry." There are many kinds of angry and lots of reason to get angry. I don't listen to that typical brand of "angry" music - you know, when you feel all "GRRRR RAWRRRR ANGRY," Incredible Hulk-esque (ie. metal).

This isn't a political blog and I'd never feel confident enough to argue my views in a public forum but I feel strongly (or keeping with the theme, "get angry") about women's rights, animal rights and how media skews and spins issues to influence impressionable minds. Those are really general terms, but that's as close I'm going to get.

Reality is the new fiction they saw
Truth is truer these days, truth is man-made
If you're here 'cause you want to be entertained
Please go away.

I've read that Sleater-Kinney's "Entertain" is a commentary on copycat bands and sell-outs in the music industry. However, I think the lyrics that I quoted embody my concerns about media spin and the perception of what is real and what society "accepts." I think that if this is the shit that gets you angry (which it does for me), then this is kind of the theme song for it.

Also, back on the topic of music, this song ROCKS. And so does Sleater-Kinney in general. I miss this band so much.

The 30-Day Music Meme: Day Nineteen

Day 19 — A song from your favourite album

I don't really think I have ONE favourite album. But I definitely love A LOT of albums. Brian Wilson's SMiLE is up there on the list. This album (if you know anything about the history of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson) was a labour of love - it almost didn't happen! A college friend of mine burned the early versions of the songs onto a CD for me and I was hooked. The old version of "Surf's Up" is amazing because you can hear the youthfulness in Brian's voice.... but the completed, final version is a gem that, I'm pretty sure, will bring tears to my eyes if I am so lucky to hear it performed live when I see Brian Wilson in June.



I pretty much love every song on SMiLE - it is truly a masterpiece. End of story!

March 11 update: Oh man! Am I somehow prescient or what?? Beach Boys' Lost 'Smile' Album to See Release in 2011. Oh my god, oh my god!

Tennis fever

I'm going to really try to make an effort to get back into the habit of blogging, or at least finish that damn 30-Day Music Meme (does anyone care about it anymore? I just want to complete it just so it's not hanging in my mind as this thing I never finished!).

Anyway, let's talk about stuff I've been digging lately - mostly music-related of course! I haven't been able to stop listening to Cape Dory by Tennis, as recommended to me by Ben at I have 19 voices. I don't think I ever would've discovered this album otherwise! But seriously, when I say "can't stop listening," I mean it - check my Last.fm charts for the past three months.

Clocking in at 29ish minutes, it's the perfect morsel of pop perfection wrapped up in an album. I love the sweet vocals and harmonies, the simplicity of the songs and the entire album's ability to make me smile, want to dance and sing along. As a side note, though, I have to be honest and say that I hate the album cover - it's far too cheesy and 80's looking. I still need to buy this on vinyl, but I don't want to cringe every time I look at the cover, haha.

Preview two songs via their official Facebook page.

When is the next Dum Dum Girls record coming out?? This EP is killing me with anticipation - it contains three new songs and a cover of the classic Smiths' tune, "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out." Gahhhhhhhh. I love it.

Preview the title track "He Gets Me High" (and some older songs) via their label Sub Pop.

So of course, while I was away on my Seattle/Portland vacation in February, BOTH Tennis and Dum Dum Girls played in Toronto (I also missed Nicole Atkins, but she played on the same day as Dum Dum Girls... had I been around, I think I would've chosen to see Dum Dum Girls?). Worst timing or what? Really hope these bands come back to Toronto soon....

The EP was co-produced by Sune Rose Wagner of The Raveonettes and I would just like to put this out there - if The Raveonettes and Dum Dum Girls were to tour together (and bring the tour to Toronto, of course), I WOULD DIE OF HAPPINESS. I think they'd be perfect tourmates.

I've also been listening to my usual mix of Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley/Jenny and Johnny, and SHIT, what about the new Radiohead album? I admit, I haven't played the hell out of it, but it's a damn good album. In fact, I might listen to it right now...

HI.

Oh my god, I fail at blogging. I didn't even realize that I hadn't updated at all THIS YEAR.

I don't even have anything I want to blog about at the moment, but I did recently come back from a week-long trip to Seattle and Portland. Can I just move there now, please?