Arcade Fire’s My Body is a Cage.

A fabulous song to start with…
…and now a fabulous cover by a fabulous man (Peter Gabriel).

That’s a wholotta fabulous !

Listen here
http://stereogum.com/archives/peter_gabriel_covers_arcade_fire_stereogum_premier_110491.html

FYI this is a a movement-tracking interactive LED wall in Montreal.

I have a very good feeling about a new montreal folk band called The Hoof and the Heel. I have only heard them on MySpace so far, and am planning to go see them live pretty soon.

The song “Fireworks” is an instant-grabber. It sounds like Sufjan stevens and Arcade Fire’s nephew stuck together on a high-energy trip.

Listen here : www.myspace.com/thehoofandtheheel

One of my favorite bands.
New album in 2009.
Let the music speak for itself.

The Besnard Lakes – Albatross (Available for free here)

For obscure reasons I won’t get into now, it took me a few months to listen to Montreal rockers Clues.
I can’t say I regret having waited so long. Pleasure delaying always worked for me, and this time was no exception.

Their self-titled album is simply stunning.

Why I loved it so much is hard to say. Could it be that my very low expectations were shattered? or is it the fantastic production work by Radwan Moumneh ? or maybe just the catchy hooks that inhabit every single song on the record ?

I don’t care, and neither should you. Just head to their myspace and listen to the tunes for yourself.

http://www.myspace.com/cclluueess
trial track : Remember severed head.

so thank you 2009 for…

…anything Patrick Watson did (Wooden Arms, Divan Orange and Jazzfest shows, Concert à emporter…)
…The Antlers’ Hospice. It made my soul shrink
…Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest. It proves music can still come in multicolored artwork and not suck.
…Tori Amos’ Midwinter Graces ; she reinvented the holiday album in the most subtle ways
…Pop Montreal, the most fun any music-lover can have in this town

…Il Divo. It reignited italian cinema in my eyes and showed me that I can still be dazzled by directing
…Avatar that made me witness what seemed to be a big turning point in cinema technology
…Helen Mirren in The Last Station
…the dog in Up !
…Two Lovers for having the same effect as The Antler’s hospice (see above)
…”The rabbi is busy” in A Serious Man
…Panique au village and Mary & Max for being the best animated films I’ve seen in a long while
…Inglorious Basterds
…MO’nique in Precious

…True Blood’s zombie freakout
… Lost going apeshit with time
…Seinfeld rocking the shit out of Curb
…endless laughs I got from watching CNN

***

I must be forgetting stuff. But who cares ?

I agree with half of that list. the other half is just too nerdy.

When you’re weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I’m on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you

I’ll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind