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.