some cool shit

It's inhumanly freezing outside here in Toronto, but thankfully, my cold has almost run its course, so life seems a bit more bearable. Next Friday, I'm flying to New York for the weekend to chill with some friends before going to the travel journalism awards that are taking place the following Tuesday. Won't lie- I'm pretty stoked for the awards. I never even knew these existed, so when I found out that my UK series "MTV News Pounds Britain" was nominated, it totally took me by surprise. Anthony Bourdain won last year for his show "No Reservations." I'm really looking forward to see who else will be at the event, and hoping New York isn't as deadly cold as it is here.

Anyway, so much cool shit on the interweb this week, but here's a couple that you gotta check out if you only got a few free minutes.

Phoenix did a badass cover of Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands". Go on The Tripwire to stream or download.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally released their new video for Skeletons and even made a making-of video to accompany it. I love the eerie vibe that Barney Clay (Karen O's bf) gave to the vid.

Spike Jonze premiered his 30 minute short-film I'm Here at Sundance this week, and although I didn't get a chance to attend this year, I did get a peak at the trailer and needless to say I am totally in love with it. I guess I'm a total sucker for a good robot love story.

Have a great weekend, y'all. x

Sick Day

I finally succumbed to this cold after days of popping echinacea pills, and worked from home today... in my pjs. Here's some cool shit I came across today:

Man, does Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" bring back some fun memories. I think I was in grade 8 when this came out. Anyway, the fader's got the “Return of the Swag” mp3 from Nipsey Hussle featuring Iyaz up, and they did a rad job incorporating the Mark Morrison track.

Stereogum posted an mp3 from the concept (which still blows my mind) album about Imelda Marcos (the one gal who has more shoes than me) called Here Lies Love, a collabo between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim. The mp3 posted is called "Please Don't" featuring Santigold.

NPR is streaming Beach House's gorgeous new album Teen Dream right now. Most of you have probably owned the leak for months now, but if you can, you should check out the hard copy. I got sent one in December and it comes with an extra DVD with a bunch of cool videos. I listen to it almost every night when I go to bed... guaranteed sweet dreams. Teen Dream is definitely one of my favourite albums of 2010.

One of my favourite bands, Spoon, releases their new album Transference today, and no surprise here, I love it. It's rawer and dirtier than the Spoon you're used to. Can't go wrong there.

And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLLY! Ms. Parton is 63 today.

BLUR - NO DISTANCE LEFT TO RUN

I recently attended the press screening for the new Blur doc called No Distance Left to Run, and it was incredible. As a self-professed Anglophile, I started really getting into music in '94 when I was 12, just before the height of Brit Pop. Although, I was on the Oasis side (there was something about the themes of big dreams and wanting to escape a small town in their songs that really resonated for me as a young teen living in the suburbs), I still secretly loved Blur. When I got a little older, I realized that it was silly to pick sides. At the end of the day, if not for Oasis and Blur, and the creation, rise, and fall of Brit Pop, I wouldn't have known to seek out bands like the Smiths, the Stone Roses, the Clash, Sex Pistols... the varied list goes on. This is where my musical education started, and the No Distance Left to Run film brought all these memories back to me.

At the core of the film is the deep friendship and familial love in the band. Every member of Blur has a sister, but no brothers, so they became each other's brothers, which explains their tight bond and tumultuous relationship. No Distance Left to Run takes you from the very beginning, in Essex where Damon and Graham met in elementry school (they were 6 or 7 years old and Damon goes to Graham "you don't have proper shoes like I do." The interviews cut between Damon and Graham on this moment is so funny), to the reunion shows last year at Glastonbury and Hyde Park. The film also takes a look at how Blur created Brit Pop with their Modern Life record and how Damon became the most hated man in the UK in 1997 after the Country House/Roll With It number 1 single battle with Oasis.

I also found the part where Damon speaks about how their first two albums were controlled by their label interesting. He mentioned how they were lucky to start in music when they did, because back then to have your first two albums be horrible was fine and still redeemable, whereas now a band would be discarded without a thought or care. The film also doesn't shy away from Graham's alcholism and the resentment and anger that occured from the break-up. If you're a fan of Blur, you will no doubt get quite sentimental and emotion during the film, especially during the end with Tender as the soundtrack. I highly recommend No Distance Left to Run, whether or not you are a fan of Blur, you will find this film captivating and entertaining, if not a little bit nostalgic. The film screens for one-day only in Canada next Thursday.

Owen Pallett

Owen Pallett's third album Heartland is released today, and it is truly a masterpiece. Today, Owen took some time to take me to some of his favourite spots in Little Italy where he used to reside, as we talked about Heartland and what he's been up to since the last time we spoke. I first met Owen two summers ago, when I produced a shoot where he interviewed Grizzly Bear in the middle of a hail storm at the Molson Amphitheatre. Throw in some heartthrob jokes and divorce stories, and it became quite the memorable shoot.From beginning to end, Heartland is a romance that centres around a fictional farmer named Lewis. My favourite tracks are "Lewis Takes Action," "Oh Heartland, Up Yours!" and "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt." Owen mentioned that this was his most difficult album to make, but with the support from his friends and family he was able to power through and complete Heartland. Owen also talked to me about the process of breaking away from the Final Fantasy name and coming to terms with performing under his real name. In a way, the name change in addition to his tour experience with the Mountain Goats has inspired him to be more personal and autobiographical in the future, something that he has shied away from in the past. For more of our interview, tune into MTV News in the next two weeks. After catching up at Mr. Soles Shoe Repair, we ventured out onto College St. We had met up at Mr. Soles as our first destination because Owen has an affinity for well-crafted dress shoes and regularly visits the shop to upkeep them. On this occasion, Owen had a pair of gorgeous black shoes that his boyfriend bought him that needed some heel repair.

I never knew how passionate Owen is about the city of Toronto, and it was awesome to see him speak so honestly about how the people and places in Toronto make it hard for him to want to live anywhere else. He'd been recently working on a film score in New York, and told me that he noticed that people don't hang out in large groups like they do here. I travel to New York quite often, and didn't realize this fact until today. In Toronto, it's not rare to go out for dinner or drinks with a group of 5+.

Upon this realization, Owen asked me if I'd like to have a pastel de nata (a Portuguese egg tart) from Nova Era, his treat, and you know that I did not turn down that offer. I'm obsessed with food, and who knew that Owen was too? That's another thing I learned, Owen is quite the epicurean.

Here are Owen Pallett's Canadian tour dates:

12 Jan - Mod Club - "HEARTLAND" CD RELEASE! Toronto, Ontario
6 Feb - Sleeman Centre - HILLSIDE INSIDE Festival Guelph, Ontario
9 Feb - McCain Hall Theatre Fredericton, New Brunswick
10 Feb - St. Matthews United Church Halifax, Nova Scotia
11 Feb - St. Matthews United Church Halifax, Nova Scotia
12 Feb - Cochrane Street United Church St. John’s, Newfoundland
17 Feb - Sydenham United Church Kingston, Ontario
18 Feb - Blacksheep Inn Wakefield, Quebec
19 Feb - Blacksheep Inn Wakefield, Quebec
20 Feb - Theatre Outremont Montreal, Quebec
21 Feb - Le Cercle Quebec City, Quebec
25 Feb - Aeolian Hall London, Ontario
26 Feb - Ford Plant Brantford, Ontario
27 Feb - Lincoln Alexander Centre Hamilton, Ontario
8 Apr - Queen Elizabeth Theatre Toronto, Ontario
9 May - Alix Goolden Hall Victoria, British Columbia
10 May - Vogue Theatre Vancouver, British Columbia

Vampire Weekend

Every month, I'll be picking my 5 favourite releases for the month, reminding you of what amazing album is about to drop. Vampire Weekend's Contra is one of my five for January. It comes out today.

My first experience with Vampire Weekend was back in December 2007 when I was the News correspondent on the old 1-hr MTV Live. They performed on the show and I remember thinking that there was something very special about the band. It was their first live network televised performance, but you could not tell. I interviewed them a couple months later at SXSW, where the hype, simultaneous with the backlash, was at a high, but again, they showed no signs of being fazed by it. They were funny, honest, and just really nice guys. It's bands like that, mixed in with their work ethic and focus who totally win over producers like myself.

So, the past week on MTV News, we've been counting down to the release with various pieces from my interview last October, silly green screen promos, and a beautiful acoustic performance. For those of you interested in why I picked Vampire Weekend's Contra as my top 5 releases for January, here are some of my favourite songs on the album. Put Contra on, and you'll feel like you're miles away from this soul-crushing winter, on a summer vacation somewhere fresh and clean.

Giving Up The Gun

I love the Jamaican, Indian, and almost tropical feel of the instrumental off the top of this song. Contra initially doesn't seem like it contains as many hooks as the first album did, but Giving Up The Gun is an exception. It's infectiously catchy, and I believe this will be the A-Punk of Contra. It really needs to be the next single. Much of the album's lyrical content can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but for me, this was the song I connected to the most. I love the line, "Your sword’s grown old and rusty / Burnt beneath the rising sun".

Diplomat's Son

The Caribbean feel continues for me in a major way with this song (or, maybe my mind is trying to tell me something... re: vacation). Diplomat's Son contains a sample of one of my favourite M.I.A. songs, Hussel. The ups and downs of this song is incredible. I'm obsessed with the various layers of this song from the beginning of the track right to the end where it goes from the booming drums to the pretty ending. I dig the subtle catchiness of this track too.

Run

I really like how this song played live when the band performed this song at the Horseshoe back in October. It calls for great audience participation. Even though there's beautiful complex layers in this song, there's a clean simplicity that results from it that I love. This also has good single potential.

Taxi Cab

When I first listened to Contra, this was the first song that I liked that grabbed my attention. I liked how different and refreshing it was to anything I had heard from the band before. It's one of two ballads on Contra. Yes, it's pretty and moving, but no, it's not a sappy love song.

You can still listen to Contra in full here:

Vampire Weekend return to Canada in March:

March 14 - Edmonton Event Center - Edmonton, Alberta

March 15 - MacEwan Hall - Calgary, Alberta

March 30 - Sound Academy - Toronto, Ontario

SPOON // TRANSFERENCE

Spoon's new album Transference (out January 19) is streaming in full on NPR Music. Do yourself a favour and go listen to it. RIGHT NOW.

Here are their upcoming tour dates in March:

1 Austin TX The Mohawk
4 San Diego CA The Casbah
5 Los Angeles CA Spaceland
6 Los Angeles CA Spaceland
7 Visalia CA The Cellar Door
9 San Francisco CA Great American Music Hall
11 Portland OR Doug Fir
12 Seattle WA Tractor Tavern
15 Minneapolis MN Cedar Cultural Center
16 Madison WI High Noon Saloon
17 Chicago IL Lincoln Hall
18 Ann Arbor MI Blind Pig
19 Toronto ON Canada The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
20 Montreal QC Canada Il Motore
21 Allston MA Great Scott
23 New York NY Bowery Ballroom

SOFT

When I was in New York recently, I visited my friend Jessica Ralli's studio space for her children's clothing line, Soft. If you've been following me on Twitter, you know that I'm a massive fan of Jessica's talent and adore her passion for providing fun and comfortable clothing for children with sensory sensitivity such as Autism, Aspergers, ADHD, and SPD. Soft is amazing if you're sensitive to clothing seams, tags, and dyes.

I'm a sucker for ultra-soft cotton tees, and being a petite (I can fit in a size XL kids), Jessica sent me a tee in every colour. I mean... the softness is absolutely unparalleled, and I have since worn them to the gym, work, and to bed. I'm so proud of Jessica and can't wait to see her dedication with Soft explode with success.

Jessica's husband, Oliver (also a member of Brooklyn's Pass Kontrol) made this adorable video for Soft's seamless socks.

For more information:

Soft Clothing official website

Interview with Hartley's Life with 3 Boys

Soft Review

My January Top 5 Album Releases

Best part of going back to work from a 2-week Christmas break is the incredible music waiting for me to enjoy. 2009 was an amazing year for music and by the looks of January alone, 2010 may outbeat it. Here are my 5 picks for January releases (in chronological order) to help make your new year a little more badass.

Owen Pallett: Heartland - JAN 12

Vampire Weekend: Contra - JAN 12

Spoon: Transference - JAN 19

Beach House: Teen Dream - JAN 26

Charlotte Gainsbourg: IRM - JAN 26

Happy New Year!

This blog has been a bit dead for awhile. The last couple of months have been insane, which included my ipod being destroyed in our equipment bag after returning from a flight. Note to self: keep ipod in purse so you don't have to buy a new one and then have to re-import all your older cds because you previously deleted them all from your computer, without backing up. The plus is that I've been able to find some older discs that have gotten lost in my mess throughout the years. Below is a list of albums that I'm now loving all over again.

Anyway, have an amazing new year's! I will try my best to update this space more often. I got a feeling 2010 is gonna be a pretty badass year. xxxx

I AM KLOOT - "NATURAL HISTORY"

Stand-out track: 86 TV's

THE ORGAN - "GRAB THAT GUN"

Stand-out track: Love, Love, Love

SLOWDIVE - "SOUVLAKI"

Stand-out track: When the Sun Hits

THE DELGADOS - "THE GREAT EASTERN"

Stand-out track: Reasons for Silence (Ed's Song)

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS - "69"

Stand-out track: Their version of Fleetwood Mac's "No One Will Ever Love You" is incredible

the xx

I know it seems like every music outlet is talking about The XX these days, but you can't hate on The XX obsession. I've been listening to their debut on the daily since Beggars emailed it to me and after waiting almost a year to see them live, the young threesome finally made their Toronto debut this week. The show was incredible- stripped down and intimate just like their album. I had the chance to sit down with Romy, Oliver and Jamie before their soundcheck (in fact, we were their wake-up call after driving in from their Chicago show), and they reflected on their success with such genuine sincerity that made me love them even more than I did. Watch out for the interview on MTV News.