Happy Nation by Ace of Base

Listen to The Sign

I have returned! Time to bring it back with some classics. To be honest, my favourite song by Ace of Base is Beautiful Life, which isn't on this album. However, I felt that since this was their best selling album and featured The Sign, as well as All That She Wants - I'd listen to this album instead. After listening to the popular singles, the rest of the album felt quite repetitive. I can see how I would've loved this album way back when (fifteen years ago?), but now it just doesn't cut it. Sometimes it felt like the background music was identical across a couple of tracks. The album also featured some remixes at the end, but I didn't particularly care for any of them. I'll still continue to appreciate their singles.

I'm not dead yet!

Forgive the lack of updates, haven't been feeling too great and I might be out of town for a few days. Look for me in the new week month!

The Resistance by Muse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtZV5XdfqrI

I really do enjoy the albums Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations by Muse. Somehow I didn't feel that this album was up to par. There was a lot of piano to be heard, which was a real joy. I need to give this album another couple of listens before I can really say how I feel about The Resistance. Uprising is a pretty good song and I hope after listening to the album again that I'll be able to find some more gems.

Devil May Cry Anime Soundtrack by Rungran

Listen to Future In My Hands

I stumbled across Future In My Hands by accident on Youtube. To be honest, I didn't know there was a Devil May Cry anime until now. Unfortunately, I heard it wasn't too great and that's a shame considering I'm a fan of a couple of the games in the series. Anyways onto the music. While the soundtrack consists of different mood-setting instrumentals, there are a lot of very catchy tunes on this soundtrack. Definitely check out the soundtrack but don't expect many songs with vocals. As for the anime, if it's any good - let me know!

Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus

Listen to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Sorry I'm a bit late posting today (or should I say yesterday). Haven't been feeling too great lately so don't be surprised if my posts are a bit late this week. The amount of jazz I listen to is a bit lacking, but so far everything I've heard has been astounding. I don't think there's anything more relaxing than kicking back to some Charles Mingus. Listening to Mingus Ah Um relaxes the soul, all I need to do now is find the perfect drink to go with it. Please post your suggestions in the comments section!

Discovery by Electric Light Orchestra

Listen to Don't Bring Me Down
Also listen to Last Train to London

Disco Very indeed! I'm afraid I'm going to have to link two songs for you guys to listen to - too hard to choose one when both of these songs make me want to boogie. Alas the end of ELO week, my God they are amazing. Thankfully there are many more ELO albums for me to explore so expect another ELO week in the future! The songs I've linked to this past week are phenomenal, please check them all out. I'm starting to think I was born in the wrong generation. I need to get my disco on and the 70s are where I belong! Here's to good music people!

Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra

Listen to Mr. Blue Sky

Mr. Blue Sky was the first ELO song I was introduced to. After hearing Out of the Blue, I find that it's still my favourite song and I need to give the album another listen. I'm sure the charm was there, I just had company over and focusing on the music was kind of hard. I don't like giving an album a listen when it's just background music. Tomorrow is Friday and the last day of ELO week. Discovery looks promising, I'm sure it won't bring me down (haha lame I know).

A New World Record by Electric Light Orchestra

Listen to Telephone Line

I'm really appreciating the fact that I have yet to be disappointed by Electric Light Orchestra. Mind you, they have over ten albums over the span of thirty years so - maybe somewhere along the road I might stumble across one I don't like. Here's hoping I haven't jinxed myself! A New World Record is yet another great album by them. When listening to the album, I had to stop to put Telephone Line on repeat. The song Shangri-La was the perfect end to the album. It's going to be a good week - I'm especially excited for tomorrow and Friday's albums!

Face the Music by Electric Light Orchestra

Listen to Strange Magic

Day two of Electric Light Orchestra week and I'm still loving what I'm hearing. I put the album on a couple of times and I have to say that Strange Music is now one of my favourite ELO songs. As with Eldorado, the entire album was entertaining to listen to. To be honest, I don't think any of their albums I listen to this week will disappoint me. Unfortunately, that means shorter review blurbs from me! If you liked Strange Magic, check out ELO's 1975 album Face the Music.

Eldorado by Electric Light Orchestra

Listen to Eldorado Overture-Can't Get It Out Of My Head

It's Electric Light Orchestra week! Well for me at least. I will be listening to ELO albums till Friday, starting with Eldorado. I have The Angry Beard to thank for introducing me to ELO with their song Mr. Blue Sky (on Out of the Blue which I'll cover Thursday). Yesterday we were both at Jack Astor's and Don't Bring Me Down (on Discovery which I'll cover Friday) was playing. Upon discovering the artist, I decided that it was time to get into ELO. I listened to Eldorado a couple of times. Overall, the album was a good listen, a little slow at some parts (the pace was right, just a little too slow for me at the time). I'm really curious to hear what I'm going to come across the next four albums and which will be my favourite. Stay tuned!

Hail to the Thief by Radiohead

Listen to Sail to the Moon

To be honest, I had listened to Hail to the Thief many years back. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand the album at all. With my newfound love with a few songs on the album, I decided to give the Hail to the Thief another chance. To my dismay, those few songs are still the only ones I really care for (although Wolf at the Door isn't too bad). I absolutely adore Radiohead. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of their albums (Okay maybe not so much for Pablo Honey), but Hail to the Thief is still my least favourite. Thom Yorke's The Eraser is on the to do list.

Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin

Listen to The Feel Good Drag

I caught the last minute of The Feel Good Drag at a Rogers Video. I quickly wrote down "feel good drag" on my phone before I forgot the title and was able to enjoy that song to the fullest on youtube at home. I had forgotten about the song until recently and decided to check out the entire album. If you enjoyed The Feel Good Drag, it might be worth checking out Never Take Friendship Personal considering it's pretty decent overall. I think you might agree with me that The Feel Good Drag is the best track on the album.

I'm a Mountain by Sarah Harmer

Listen to Oleander

I have to admit, I haven't listened to much folk/rock music. To be honest, I first thought I was listening to country when I put on Sarah Harmer's I'm a Mountain. Her sweet voice and gentle melodies make this album really enjoyable to relax to. While no songs in particular really stand out for me, the overall album was nice to listen to and I'll be sure to pop it on again when I want to take it easy. Also, hooray for Canadian music! Sarah Harmer is from Burlington and was also a member of the Toronto band The Saddletramps.

Riot by Paramore

Listen to That's What You Get

Thank you Mihoshi for the recommendation, I think the only Paramore song I've heard was That's What You Get on Rock Band 2. While the album wasn't that bad, there weren't any memorable tracks that stuck with me after listening to it. To be honest, That's What You Get was probably one of my least played songs on Rock Band 2. I might give another one of their albums a shot to see if I find something more enjoyable. In the meantime – if anyone has any Paramore recommendations, please leave it in the comments section!

I'll Sleep When I Die by El-P

Listen to The Overly Dramatic Truth

Thanks for the recommendation Panda but unfortunately, tonight I went through another phase of "I'm not in the mood to listen to this right now." I should really just find something else and listen to the album when I feel up to it. That being said, I went through with it and decided to listen to I'll Sleep When I Die. The heavy beats and loud lyrics were too much to handle after being stuffed from a Mandarin buffet. Regardless, it felt like something I could get used to (the music, not a regular basis of Mandarin buffets). This album will get another listen from me on a better day.

(Around &) Around Again by Wintergreen

Listen to Can't Sit Still

For the love of God don't follow the instructions in that music video. Well, they're fake so, knock yourselves out. I just played an hour of Counterstrike with Wintergreen's (Around &) Around Again rocking in the background. Every track on the album was golden. As much as I love Can't Sit Still, there are many tracks on this album that rival it for my favourite track. If you enjoyed Can't Sit Still, I would imagine you'll enjoy the entire album as much as I did. I'm going to have to get my hands on their EP now. Fun fact: Keith Schofield directed this music video and the music video for Hard 'n' Phirm's Pi.

Horses and Grass by Hard 'n' Phirm

Listen to Pi

I would imagine some of you have already run into the Pi song by Hard 'n' Phirm. Like Flight of the Conchords and The Lonely Island, Hard 'n' Phirm manages to create great sounding music as well as provide a laugh or two (or twenty, thirty...). Horses and Grass is entertaining from the beginning to the end, with mini clips throughout the album. For example, about ten minutes into the album it says, "If you put Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in your oven at the start of this album, they're done now!" I know I put the Pi song for a track, but Radiohead fans have to check out the song Rodeohead by clicking here.

My Name is Skrillex by Skrillex

Listen to With You Friends
Download My Name is Skrillex EP

My Name is Skrillex is a six track EP that's free to download on the above link. I do enjoy the electronic music the EP features, but I don't think it is for everyone – you'll really have to check it out and give me your opinion in the comment section below. I'm curious what people's tastes are when it comes to electronic. I think the safe bet is that everyone who likes electronic can appreciate Daft Punk. Skrillex (Sonny Moore) was the frontman for the band From First to Last (who yet another person recommended to me but I have yet to check out). Leaving the band he pursued a solo career and I like what I'm hearing.

Recommend an album for August

Woo~ New month let's do this over again. I still have a few to catch up on the previous month, stay tuned for those!

With Love and Squalor by We Are Scientists

Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt

My brother told me about this band after he saw them play at his University during frosh week. He gave me Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt to listen to and I really enjoyed the song. I didn't explore any other songs by them at the time, but having recently getting Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt stuck in my head – I figured why not. I might have to give this album another listen, it felt that I didn't care for the songs on the second half of the CD (This isn't the first time that's happened to me). I'm sure they'll eventually grow on me, but for now the first half of the album is pretty stellar.

Galore by Dragonette

Listen to I Get Around

I came across Dragonette's I Get Around from an ipod commercial. The 10 second snippet made me curious, so I decided to check out the album Galore. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Dragonette is yet another pop group I've fallen in love with. I don't know if it is fair to consider them pop considering the band has a bassist, guitarist and drummer. I guess there is more of an emphasis on synthesizers and such to consider Dragonette as electrorock. If you enjoyed I Get Around, I'm sure you'll like all the other songs on Galore like I did.

The Young & Passionate Days of Carpedia Vol 2 by The Carps

Listen to Compton to Scarboro

I'm always looking for bands with a good emphasis on the bass guitar. The Angry Beard gave me Compton to Scarboro to listen to and the bass sounds amazing. Scratch that, the band is amazing – drums and bass work so well together. The Young & Passionate Days of Carpedia vol 2.1 is an entertaining, upbeat five track EP. I'm looking forward to listening to an album by The Carps, but I don't think there has been an announcement for it. I think Compton to Scarboro is the catchiest song I've heard so far, but the whole EP is worth listening to.

Self Vol 1 by Mountain Brothers

Listen to Paperchase

I heard a little bit of Paperchase on a Drunken Tiger remix I found about ten years ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to find out who the artist was until a year ago. Mountain Brothers were one of the first Asian American hip hop groups (they sing in English), releasing Self Vol 1 in 1999. Their songs contain a relaxed but catchy beat, all of which are filled with witty lyrics. Their flow is so consistent – all songs on the album are enjoyable. If you want to throw on a hip hop album to chill to, Self Vol 1 is perfect.

Blackwater Park by Opeth

Listen to Bleak

In retrospect, picking this album to listen to tonight wasn't a good idea. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for metal. The thought of listening to two Opeth albums back to back was too tempting to give up though. However, had I been in the mood to listening to metal - Blackwater Park would probably be one of the better options. Trying not to be biased considering my mood for not wanting to listen to metal right now – I think I enjoyed Opeth's quieter sound on Damnation better. That being said, Bleak is still one of my favourite Opeth songs. The rough vocals that lead into such a soothing chorus really make you appreciate the chorus a lot more. Overall, Blackwater Park offers the heavier metal sound and growling/screaming vocals that weren't on Damnation. If you're in the mood for that (and I'm sure a lot of metal fans can listen to this kind of music any time of the day), Blackwater Park is right up your alley.

Damnation by Opeth

Listen to Windowpane

Yet another album michael recommended but I never got around to listening to until a friend from college recommended Opeth to me. He gave me two songs to listen to – Windowpane and Bleak. After listening to both of them, I knew that I had to listen to both of their respective albums. It's hard to distinguish Opeth's belonging genre. This album is a lot softer than other songs I've heard by them with growling vocals. Ever listen to a song with a guitar riff so good that you want to close your eyes to enjoy it? Damnation gives plenty of opportunites as the tracks are filled with beautiful melodies. Listen to the bridge in Windowpane by Opeth, bloody amazing and the rest of the album is just as sweet.

The Old Prince by Shad

Listen to Brother

There are so many good Canadian rappers these days. I just fear that they get swept under the radar from the numerous American rappers that are on the billboards. Shad is a great example of amazing Canadian rap. I decided to listen to The Old Prince because Brother was on it – the first Shad song I heard. Brother is still my favourite song of Shad's. Regardless, The Old Prince is a great album overall. Every song has a catchy beat and filled with Shad's witty lyrics. I will be listening to his other two albums sometime in the near future.

Freshmen Adjustment by Kanye West

Listen to Home

I thought I had heard everything there was to Kanye, I'm glad I was wrong. I remember there were a bunch of references in Last Call (On the album The College Dropout) to songs I've never heard of. All of these songs were on the mixtape Freshmen Adjustment, along with older versions of songs on his albums like Hey Mama, Homecoming (called Home on the mixtape), All Falls Down and Through the Wire. It's quite entertaining to hear the original and compare it to songs on the College Trilogy. Maybe I should say tetralogy – Good Ass Job is scheduled to be released September 14th, 2010.

Me and My Monkey on the Moon by Kojima Mayumi

Listen to Hatsukoi

I never would have heard of this artist if it wasn't for this commercial. It's a shame that Kojima Mayumi doesn't have more popularity outside of Japan. Alas, it comes with being a foreign band – naturally I'm sure there's some great Canadian music that people in Japan are discovering now. I couldn't even find a wikipedia article on her. I think it would be fair to describe her music as jazz, with some light rock? Her happy-go-lucky melodies make me wish I knew Japanese (only if the lyrics are happy too, there are some things better left unknown). The tone of some of her songs are similar to Hatsukoi, otherwise they are a lot more uplifting. I enjoyed the album a lot, but Hatsukoi is still my favourite song.

Robot Hive/Exodus by Clutch

Truth be told, Michael actually recommended this album for me to listen to about a year ago. Motivated by the blog, I finally got around to listening to it a few times. After listening to Robot Hive/Exodus once, I really wasn't sure what to think. It was clear that I loved it instrumentally, but I didn't know how I felt about the lyrics and vocals. Neil Fallon's deep voice does work well accompanied by the hard rock. The first band that it reminded me of was Queens of the Stone Age; maybe it's better to say Queens of the Stone Age on crack. I chuckled at their song 10001110101 as it reminded me of the binary solo in The Humans are Dead by Flight of the Conchords. Not too sure if michael agrees with me, but if you enjoyed QotSA and don't mind listening to something a little heavier – be sure to give Robot Hive/Exodus by Clutch a listen.

The Spirit of Apollo by N.A.S.A.

Listen to Strange Enough

I wish someone had told me about this album earlier, Christian you've been holding out on me! N.A.S.A. (North America South America) is a hip hop duo however, the album The Spirit of Apollo has at least a dozen guest artists. Method Man, RZA, KRS-One, Kanye West, DJ Qbert, the list goes on. Never a dull moment on this album, except for the last track which is fifteen minutes long. I kid of course, at the end of N.A.S.A. Anthem is a long break for a secret track, always a nice treat. The Spirit of Apollo is a must-own for any hip hop fan.

Be Human by Fightstar

Listen to The English Way

Jen and I have long discussions of the latest bands we've been listening to, we're also both big on British bands. She just introduced me a band from London, England called Fightstar and I'm enjoying every minute of Be Human. I absolutely loved The English Way, the second track on the album. The background vocals are beautiful and remind me of Blue by Yoko Kanno. This album has it's fair share of songs with some growling vocals, but it's unreasonable to think of Fighstar as a metal band. There are many songs with soothing vocals; Overall, the album is very energetic. I think it would be fair to relate this album to Bloc Party's first album (Silent Alarm). In fact the last tracks on both albums are quite mellow until the end of the song. I highly recommend listening to Be Human, checking out Fighstar's other albums is now on my to do list.

Eyelid Movies by Phantogram

Listen to Mouthful of Diamonds

As soon as I started listening to this album (Mouthful of Diamonds is the first track), I had to look Phantogram up and find out just what genre I was listening to. Electronic rock describes it perfectly and the two go together quite well. Think of it as a rock band with electronic added to it. Fans of either genre should check Phantogram out however, I think rock fans would appreciate this band more. The synergy of the rock and electronic sounds amazing on every track in Eyelid Movies. Now that I think about it, Bloc Party`s third album was electronic rock but I ended up only liking one track on the CD. Maybe I`m a bit biased because I really enjoyed Bloc Party`s first two albums but I digress, be sure to check out Eyelid Movies by Phantogram. Big up to Anton for introducing me to them.

Another Spin Around the Sun by Edwin

Listen to Alive

I've listened to a little I Mother Earth in the past, but I didn't even know Edwin (I Mother Earth vocalist until 1997) left and went solo until The Angry Beard pointed it out. I'm not sure if the album grew on me over time or it just so happened that the tracks got progressively better, but in the end I enjoyed listening to Another Spin Around the Sun. I caught myself tapping to the beat or bopping my head quite a few times to a number of catchy songs on the album. I'm a sucker for secret tracks on CDs; Another Drink was the perfect song to put in as a hidden song. Unfortunately I don't remember any I Mother Earth songs to compare the band to Edwin's solo stuff however, Another Spin Around the Sun is definitely worth listening to.

Recovery by Eminem

Listen to Space Bound

I was pleased to see that Bakakim recommended Recovery. Having only heard Not Afraid and Space Bound, I was keen on listening to all of Eminem's latest album. There is no denying that Eminem is a musical genius; I started listening to his music just over ten years ago and over the decade, Eminem never ceases to please. Well to be honest I wasn't too keen on his last album (Relapse), but Recovery makes up for it. The song No Love (feat. Lil Wayne) samples Haddaway's What is Love? I never thought I'd see someone use that song in rap but, it's actually a pretty decent track. There's not much else to say other than if you like any of Eminem's music – definitely pick up this album.

Underwater Cinematographer by The Most Serene Republic

Listen to Oh God

Recommended by Godlovesme666, Underwater Cinematographer really made me think of Death Cab for Cutie and Dredg. It's nice to hear more Canadian music, it feels as though a lot of the rock bands everyone raves about are American. I enjoyed the sound that The Most Serene Republic had to offer. It felt like a steady rock band but with some experimental music intertwined. My only regret is not having better headphones to appreciate this album to its fullest. Although the instruments sounded terrific, the vocals weren't all too memorable. In fact my favourite song on the album was an instrumental song named Epilogue, it was a very nice treat to the ears; I must invest in new headphones! All in all, if you're looking for a new rock band to get into, Underwater Cinematographer just might be worth giving a shot.

The American Jewels by Marina and the Diamonds

Listen to Are You Satisfied

Do you like La Roux? How about Little Boots? (If you haven't heard of either of these artists, check out the songs Tigerlily by La Roux and Ghosts by Little Boots). Marina and the Diamonds was recommended to me because I like both of those artists and I was pleasantly surprised with the number of songs I enjoyed on The American Jewels. The album starts off with Are You Satisfied, a very catchy song that really shows off the range of Marina's voice, think of it as a preview of what's to come. I can't help but think of 80's pop when I listen to this album and I love 80's pop. Fans of La Roux, Little Boots and maybe Lady Gaga (not too familiar with her stuff) should give this album a listen for it is worth every penny.

Recommend an album!

Oh God how did this get here? I am not good with computer.

I think I will make this first blog post a spot for people to comment and leave album (and artist) recommendations for me to listen to.