Lights & Music are on my mind

This remix isn’t as hard as the original but it definitely puts a smile on my face and makes me wanna move, need I say anymore?

Cut Copy – Lights & Music (Boys Noize Happy Birthday Remix)

5 Best Albums of 2008

I’ve decided to write one category which focuses on the five best albums (in my opinion) released in 2008. I have justified my list to myself by listening to all these albums once more and appreciating them again like I did previously in the year.

So here they are…

Best Five Albums of 2008:

Lykke Li – Youth Novels
Released: June 2008

Lykke Li was no doubt my favourite artist of the year. Her album, Youth Novels, was introduced to me by two of my favourite Swedes. Since then, I’ve posted six blog posts revolving around her.
This album, along with her performance and style, is innovative and irresistible. Even though she had a hard time starting out at first, I believe her motivation and passion have paid off and I think will continue to do so.

Lykke Li – Breaking it Up

Metronomy – Nights Out
Released: September 2008

This album was unexpectedly well-done. Via Hype Machine, I mainly focused on Metronomy’s remixes when I first started listening to them (which are usually always good). Then, I got a hold of “Heartbreaker” and became obsessed. I just recently listened to all of this album and I was very impressed. It takes its listener through scenes of medieval electronica to modern love-dance melodies. This album doesn’t appear to be on anyone else’s “end of the year” pieces but I think it definitely deserves a spot in my top 5 best albums of 2008.

Metronomy – A Thing for Me

Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
Released: May 2008

One of my close friends introduced me to Cut Copy’s second album, In Ghost Colours. This band has been frequently played at the clubs I attend which has made me enjoy their music even more because it’s ideal for dance parties of any type. This album will forever remind me of Vancouver now. Even though they hail from Australia, the Vancouver “scene” has submitted this album deep into its roots.

Cut Copy – Lights and Music

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Released: March 2008

Surprisingly, I discovered MGMT on the Canadian music channel, Much Music, when their song “Time to Pretend” was released as their first single in March. I immediately looked them up and discovered the rest of the album which I digged right away. Since the release of this album, MGMT’s fanbase has grown extremely.

MGMT – Electric Feel (Youtube Link)

Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
Released: February 2008

I was introduced to Plants and Animals while listening to CBC Radio 3 (oh so Canadian). This band was short listed for the Polaris Music Prize and I had fate that they would win but unfortunately, they did not (though, Caribou was a fine choice anyway).
Parc Avenue has been a critically acclaimed album of this year. The acapalla arrangements, numerous instrumentals and nature-like lyrics supply this album with an original sound.

Plants and Animals – Feedback in the Field

Now, we’re ready for 2009!

Vancouver, I’ll see you next year

I will miss you but I’ll be back later, little one.

This song will forever remind me of you:
Cut Copy – Strangers in the wind

Cut Copy and The Presets Concert

The concert I made such a big deal about and still am making a big deal about

My friend and I arrived at the Commodore Ballroom too early (once again). We chilled out for a bit and tried to take pictures of ourselves but failed every time so we decided to get some redbull. After we got our redbull, the first band, Heartbreak, started to play. They consisted of two people, one guy who appreciated anonymous Canadian dance music and another guy who just played around with his laptop, synths and occasionally contributed the odd back-up vocal. They were pretty good but what made them so good and entertaining was the singer. He was dressed in tight dress clothes and knew how to dance. This guy was really getting into his music; so into it that I couldn’t help but laugh a little (but I was laughing with him, not at him…).

After Heartbreak played, the crowd started to move closer to the stage and The Presets came on within half an hour. They started off with “Talk like that” and followed up with “Down Down Down”; these two intense songs started the concert off nicely and it got more intense as the night went on. The Presets had hypnotizing lights and images of creepy skulls on a video screen which went perfectly with their chilling, electronic music.

Once the Presets finished up their set, Cut Copy got to the stage in due time. But once they came on, it was really hard to dance in the crowd. All we could do was jump around and hit other people. So we decided to move to the back so we could dance to our full potential. Once we got there, we could appreciate the concert and music a lot more because we didn’t have someone’s elbow on our shoulders.
Cut Copy was excited and ready to take on the crowd with their melodic dance music. They also had captivating lights and interesting, colourful images on a screen. Out of all the songs they played, I enjoyed “Out there on the ice” and “Lights & Music” the most (maybe because they are my two favourite songs). Cut Copy’s live music produces more feelings of elation than I thought possible.

And now, I can’t stop listening to the Presets or Cut Copy. I’m mostly loving “Talk like that” by The Presets. The alluring beat and inappropriate lyrics keep me moving and working on lame school work I’ve procrastinated.
“Talk Like That”

Never miss a beat

As I was mindlessly researching for a mandatory course, I was listening to Cut Copy’s remix of The Kaiser Chiefs – Never Miss a Beat. After about four minutes into the song, I had an unavoidable urge to start dancing in my computer chair. I thought, “that was pretty sweet” then continued on with my research. The playlist was on repeat so when it came to that song a second time, I found myself unintentionally dancing in my chair again. That’s when I knew; I must write about this remix.

This remix starts off pretty good but it doesn’t get amazing until it hits around four minutes. As you can see from my previous statements, that’s when the real dancing gets started. It’s almost like:

You’re sitting in a chair at a dance party. You don’t know anyone at this party and you’re shy. You’re just there because you are (no questions). You’re grooving to the song wishing you had someone to dance with just because you wanna dance! Then all of a sudden, this excited, animated person grabs you out of your chair and starts dancing with you. You guys have this unprepared, synchronized dance routine that surprisingly works perfectly. And the rest of the night goes down in dance history.

That is, this song in a nutshell.