Porcupine Tree Give Listeners Some Finnish Fun

Porcupine Tree - Transmission 10.1: Ilosaarirock (Live)

Overall: 8.7/10
Sound: 8.5
Quality: 9
Impression: 8
Live Impression: 9
Production: 9
Tilt: 8.8

Porcupine Tree's stranglehold on heavy progressive rock supremacy has only gotten tighter. With the band's recent masterpiece, Fear of a Blank Planet, combining the proggy production techniques of old with a more user-friendly metal backdrop, this Hertfordshire-based quartet is adding more depth to its already diverse and outstanding catalogue, all while adding more fans along the way.

Recently as well, the band has created their own record label, on which their collection of live albums can be found. A series of XM Satellite Radio broadcasts, a re-touch of Lightbulb Sun, a live EP in Florida and a live album in Warsaw, Poland, have all been released on Transmission records. Most recently, the band has put the final touches on a live set at the Ilosaarirock festival in Joensuu, Finland. Recorded on July 14th, 2007, shortly after the studio recording's initial release, the record touches on much of Fear of a Blank Planet (including all 18 minutes of Anesthetize), with a few favourites thrown in to spice things up.

The highest point of this record is probably the clarity of the recording. In general, a festival recording in an outdoor venue (especially for a record) has the potential to be uneven and poorly mastered in studio. Intereference, problems with equipment and just poor vantage points in a stage atmosphere can cause a great band to sound horrible on a live record. Wilson mixes the tracks masterfully, giving the appeal of a live set and still capturing the atmospheric PT sound. The production quality is always stellar with a PT record. Flawless transitions and crisp 5.1 sound pierces the ear in all the right locations.

Musically, the band stuck to the basics. Each track held true to the original recording, down to layered keyboard effects and intricate guitar solos. While I would have liked a little more freedom on solos and improvisation to give the crowd something more to cheer about (with the exception of great solos in the set's finale, Halo), the current material on Fear of a Blank Planet was more than enough to please. A spacey intro opened the set with the album's title track which viciously and venemously veered into the heads of the audience. Going through a good chunk of the new repertoire (including all 18 minutes of Anesthetize, a track which Steven Wilson asked the audience to indulge) as well as some of the old favourites (Lightbulb Sun, Open Car, Blackest Eyes), Finland observed as complete a PT set as ever.

Much like their current releases, Porcupine Tree focused on a more metal sound. Tracks like the teenaged anthem Fear of a Blank Planet, the majority of Anesthetize and Way Out of Here (all off their latest release) all delved into PT's metal repertoire. Extended solos on both Anesthetize and Open Car are to be noted. Both were executed flawlessly and made lasting impressions on the audience. However, Wilson did bring out the acoustic guitar to play Trains as a first encore for an excited Finnish crowd, eager to hear In Absentia's masterpiece. In the end, after a stellar rendition of Halo, fans could do nothing but endlessly shoud, "We want more." I couldn't agree more.

Listening to new band or genre of music is like buying a new pair of shoes. For that first little bit, the shoes are uncomfortable for the most part: the back rubs against your heel, your toes can't readily move and the rubber doesn't conform to your foot properly; all the same though, you love that superficial aesthetic quality you can't get anywhere else. However, once you've worn them for several weeks, the aesthetics still gleam but it's more than that: you have a profound appreciation for the feel and look of your shoes, not just the sense of having them.

This feeling was given to the fans in Finland on that night in July. For many, this was the first time they had ever heard or listened to Porcupine Tree; many never owned a CD, heard a single or even knew what kind of music they would end up playing. What they ended up hearing was a spectacular rock performance from start to finish: well rounded and solid from beginning to end. While all of it was somewhat linear and didn't exude an exciting feel at all points, for lack of a better phrase, they got one hell of a show.

As Wilson conclusively puts it, "Thank you. We'll see you next time. Have a great evening. Have a great weekend. Bye. "

Zeuhl: Progressive Jazz Madness/ BWAAAH!?!?!?!?

In progressive rock music, one of the most understated genres is zeuhl. While some have called this oddly outlandish music transcendent and magical, many progressive listeners cannot comprehend exactly what it is trying to achieve. And thus the debate begins: is zeuhl really a jazz-inspired music phenomena or do these musicians have no idea what the fuck is going on?

First things first. Zeuhl is classified as a blend of genres of progressive rock and jazz alike. Links to fusion, avantgarde, RIO (rock in opposition), neoclassicism, jazz, choral music and even music as far off as funk and soul have been connected to its collective entity. More bizarre than that, the themes of authoritarianism, surrealism and science fiction writings encompass its literary aspects. Musically, it can be recognized for its homage to the early works of John Coltrane and Igor Stravinsky, an intense bass presence, songs sung in the constructed language Kobaïan , a dominant piano and vibraphone, and chanted.

I believe I speak for a lot of people when I say, "What the FUCK does that mean!?!?!??!"

In a completely unjust attempt at describing zeuhl, imagine a slightly up tempo drum riff and a throbbing bass line. As this moves forward, throw a variably motile piano concerto over it all and plug a guitar player in the back, working a solid groove on a delicate riff. Once there, imagine variable female and male vocals chanting in a far off language. Throw between 2 and 15 minutes of solos and improvisation in the middle, similar to any jazz piece, and top it all off with a grandiose conclusion. On average, zeuhl will appear as such.

Where the origins of zeuhl music begin, so too does Magma. Formed in 1969, Magma is the most influential body in the genre. The band is headed by classically trained drummer, Christian Vander, his wife Stella and continuously varying cast of musicians (notably vocalist Klaus Blasquiz, bassist Jannick Top, string player and composer Didier Lockwood and former Gong bass player Francis Moze).

Vander's music is written entirely in his own invented language, Kobaïan. Through the use of this language only, Vander tells a tale of refugees fleeing Earth, condemned to destruction. to settle on the planet Kobaïa. Eventually, these people settle and discover that they are not alone on this distant planet. Each of Magma's 9 studio works recount the lives of the Kobaïan people and the trials they must face. Much of Vander's language has been translated, but there remain aspects yet to be revealed.

With an expressive nature to its avantgarde music, Magma drew many fans and contemporaries. Between 1973 and 1984, bands such as Eskaton, Zao, Univers Zero and Art Zoyd have drawn from Magma's works, some singing in Kobaïan but none capturing Magma's initial essence exactly. As this period drew to a close, many of the members of Magma delved further into their solo projects, leaving their genre-defining super group behind. Christian and Stella Vander together formed the Christian Vander Quartet along with the jazz offshoot Offering throughout much of the 80s and occasionally performed around France with Magma during that period.

That being said, a new wave of zeuhl music was about to take shape. In 1985, Japanese drummer Tatsuya Yoshida discovered Vander and Magma and became entrenched in zeuhl. A progressive rock musician and composer himself, Yoshida, along with several bass players, created Ruins. Ruins developed a unique style, singing traditionally in Kobaian, but also riffing and free styling further than any zeuhl band thus far. Along with Ruins, Yoshida formed Koenjihyakkei: a similar zeuhl-based band, with less chaos and more progressive styling.

This was the beginning of zeuhl's second wave. Japanese avantgarde prog bands turned towards zeuhl and freestyle jazz as a source for inspiration, creating unique sounds in the process. Ruins and Koenji begat avantgarde quartet Happy Family, Yoshida band YBO2 and more recent zeuhl-inspired creation Bondage Fruit. The Japanese underground is growing slowly on the zeuhl genre, but one thing is certain: Vander's mastery survives.

The intricacies of music know no bounds in the zeuhl genre. A diverse variety of musicians, classically trained and not, have taken liberties and created some of the most intriguing music imaginable. No matter how it is perceived, that fact is undeniable.

Metric's Fantasies...and every Canadian indie's as well

Overall: 7.6/10
Sound: 7
Quality: 7
Lyrics: 9
Impression: 7
Production: 8
Tilt: 7.6

Two artists are looking for direction. One has poetic license running through her veins. The other is a Brit studying at the Juliard School of Music. How they met in Toronto and started collaborating, I'll never know. But that's not even the most incredible thing about Metric. Classically-trained musicians delving into mid-80's synth pop in the 2000's music era seemed bizarre, unorthodox and completely taboo. Oh yeah, and it was amazing too.

The band's latest effort, Fantasies, is an example from the already vast repertoire of Metric diversity. From the opening drum beats on Help I'm Alive, you can tell what you're in for: a rich soundscape, brim with synthesizers, potent drums and driving guitars. Emily Haines provides the cherry on the indie rock sundae with a voice to die for, brim with as much vivacious expression as intriguing contempt. Yet as you peruse through Sick Muse and Satellite Mind, you notice something: Metric is evolving. Where once there was almost a pretentious attitude that made listening to the band an abrasive ordeal, Metric has seemingly returned to a natural state in which they can thrive. They are people once again: performers and no longer drum machines.

Headlining this work is Emily Haines' lyricism. While deeply routed in romance and sexuality, like much of Metric's previous work, Haines broadens her horizons, delving into anxiety and depression, the nature and definition of success, obsession and idol worship in 21st century society. One thing I deeply respect about the way Haines performs is the reduced nature of her voice. Listening to a catchy powerhouse track like Gimme Sympathy, Haines' voice almost feels like a backing track compared to the piano/guitar combination; as much as she's speaking for the music, the music is speaking first. However, she shines most in songs like Collect Call: this woman feels fragile singing, "I know it's a lie, I want it to be true/The rest of the ride is riding on you," and those emotions easily reflect on the listener.

Musically, the album spawns from the same formula seen on Old World Underground and Live It Out. A guitar or piano backdrop commences a synth-filled orchestration of sonic intensity on tracks like Gimme Sympathy, Gold Gun Girls and Stadium Love. While this traditional Metric signature gives the band its unique and personable sound, it becomes a little dry and overdone by the time you reach track 7 (that was the biggest vice of 2005's Live It Out). What differentiates Fantasies is the maturity brought to the table: songs like Help I'm Alive, Twilight Galaxy and Collect Call make the journey seem less arduous with a mellow spin to accompany. The variation gives the listener gaps to anticipate the next high rise, which is unique to the album and separates it from the rest of the Metric catalogue.

While the listener flows down this album like a new wave river, they reach the end and are confused to get off. While Stadium Love comes off conclusive, the entire album concludes in around a half hour easily: much less than enough time to get into the groove. As soon as that final track finishes, the listener immediately feels like they missed something; that doesn't go away on the second listen either. Metric, to me, has always been like chocolate: immediately satisfying but that feeling is quickly replaced with self-doubt. It took me two or three listens to really see the high aspects of this album as it all went by so quickly and with such instant gratification (I was whistling Gimme Sympathy right at the end...that's about it). Not to say the music is empty, it's far from it. Instantly though, you won't get much from it and that's a problem.

In its entirety, Metric treads new terrain with Fantasies. Haines' lyricism is no longer completely lost in translation and the depth in the musical expansion has grown exponentially. The band is real now and they've accepted that role with open arms. More profound soundscapes would be recommended for the band to reach its vast potential, but until then, it's fans will be more than happy with letting loose and grooving out to songs like Poster of a Girl and Succexy. It's been said that the most difficult music to make is prolific pop: music that, when given 3 minutes, sends both a catchy beat and an excellent message. Thus far, Metric has shown Canada and the rest of the world exactly that.

The Juno Awards: Canadian Music and Who Really Cares?

In a week's time, the ultimate night in Canadian music arrives: The Juno Awards on CTV. Countless stars will gather in one of the country's music hotspots (Vancouver, B.C.) and celebrate the greatest our country has to offer musically...and honestly, who gives a fuck? While I offer my sincere congratulations to those nominated and the eventual winners in all categories, who will really watch the Juno Awards? The hilarious Russell Peters will host and the likes of Nickelback, Sam Roberts, Simple Plan and Sarah McLachlan will all be performers, but will anyone really watch for their 3 minute spots throughout a night where 39 awards are handed out? Who will vote for Fan Choice and cheer when their favourite band wins?

What has the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) really given Canadian fans to cheer about?

The answer: very little. The reality our country faces musically is that we're 33 million people dispersed over the second biggest single country landmass in the world. While we have produced some immensely talented artists and artisans (Paul Anka, The Guess Who, Oscar Peterson, and many MANY others), our ability to maintain a diverse range of fans spanning countless musical genres is virtually impossible. Canadian artists remaining in Canada need to scrape and claw for even a limited amount of radio play and recognition; more frequently, their talent is exported to the United States, where stars are born and roots are forgotten.

Take a band like Nickelback for example: a home-grown western band from Alberta with a standard, radio-friendly sound and some decent song-writing talent to begin with. Here in Canada, it doesn't take long for a recipe like that to be picked up by radio stations all over the country. From "Leader of Men" to "How You Remind Me", the band dominated charts and sold hundreds of thousands of copies of their reasonable music. However, in 2003, with the band's release of The Long Road, Nickelback went in another direction. They dropped their stoic storytelling for cheapened lyrics and bland riffs. A constant joke of the band became to compare how similar their songs were, as How You Remind Me and Someday were virtually identical in craft and chord progression. While it was their third album on Atlantic subsidiary Roadrunner Records, the once intriguing band became oblivious, lost in their own fame and fortune. The followup in 2005, All the Right Reasons, sold more than 7 million copies in the US (to go with 600,000 in Canada) and brought the band to the top of the world in every sense; gotta love corporate irony. Now, while the band makes many stops in their Canadian tours, their Canadian status has been uprooted and long forgotten. American branding takes our music and gives us nothing back.

Then, there's the greenness of our country: we love recycling. We've become so used to the same pretentious tripe-ridden artists playing on our airwaves, we give way and room to each new record they make. The most prime and easily hateable example: Céline Dion. Ms. Dion was born a songstress and will die one, topping charts and raising Canadians to tears (both of joy and agony) with her shrill performances. We all know the Titanic soundtrack, but her more accessible music stems from her blatantly commercial singles. We hear the distinctively française vocals from Dion, but in a manner that apparently someone, somewhere, is able to enjoy. Titanic was in 1997; twelve years later, guess who's nominated for Single of the Year? And Céline's not the only one. Nickelback frequently finds their way there, Bryan Adams is back (with a Greatest Hits album, no less), k.d. lang, Great Big Sea and Simple Plan are all present in the nominees for top performance honours.

Why do we look to the past? There's a limited future. Our most recent nominees: City & Colour, The Lost Fingers, Hedley and Sam Roberts (who is almost excluded for already winning 4 Junos). Dallas Green is the new face of Canadian songwriting. Draped with tattoos and soft vocals, Green geniously transitioned from the hardcore act Alexisonfire to a more predominant position as an emotive singer/songwriter and excellent guitar player. Armed with stimulating lyrics and intriguing performance values (and Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, for some reason), expect to see a lot of Dallas in the coming years. The Lost Fingers are the most interesting nominee this year (and, if anything, the musicians to watch at this year's Junos). The Quebecois jazz ensemble covered renowned songs of the 80's (the likes of Michael Jackson, AC DC, Wham! and yes, Celine Dion, were all covered) in a distinct Jazz manouche or gypsy jazz styling, popular in Paris from 1930 to 1950. Lost in the 80's has achieved platinum status in Quebec alone and is up for Album of the Year. There is a bright future in these acts, but is it enough to stimulate a Canadian music revolution? I don't think so.

Additionally, bands no longer see the need to stop in Canada. Realistically, we have 7-10 vast metropolitan centers in this country, and usually 3 or 4 of these venues are hit by major tours. Bands seem to travel to Vancouver (as it's near Seattle) and Montreal (as there's a vast music following in that area) and little else. Why just last summer, Radiohead only hit Montreal and Vancouver; an additional date in Toronto was added by popular demand. Trust me, there are a LOT of Radiohead fans in Canada, myself being one, yet the entire nation seems to be overlooked. It's not that we're invisible on the musical world map, there just aren't enough fans in this country to sell out stadiums on a regular basis. As much as this affects American bands, it affects Canadian bands tenfold. If an aspiring Canadian musician wants to achieve fame of any kind (and wants to avoid selling out on Canadian Idol), they move to either Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal and try and gain credibility in a scene where thousands of other musicians wish the same. While many successful artists have spawned from these venues, the roads are arduous and pay is minimal; it's nothing but heart and music.

That being said, some of the best Canadian music is found underground. You can search for some of the surface scratching Canadian content (City & Colour, Feist), go down to about humus level (ARCADE FIRE, Broken Social Scene), find some fossils among the sediment (Black Mountain, The Most Serene Republic) and then the deepest of the deep, the liquid- hot magma, which I currently have no samples for. But, I digress.

That's the problem the Juno awards face: the industry they celebrate needs access. There is something deeply flawed in the Canadian music industry: be it our willingness to easily conform for press coverage, our difficulty stimulating a more accessable underground music scene or simply just a lack of population, it's hard for Canadian records to see the light of day and be broadcast for our home and native land to take in.

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What's more, Canadian performer Matthew Good has publicly criticized the Juno Awards in a recent interview, citing their sheer commercialism and lack of acknowledgement for talented artists not breaking the platinum record barrier. The interview can be seen on Yahoo! Music, HERE!!!!!!!!!

Canadian Post-Rock

One of the most diverse and least known genres on the scene is post-rock: an extreme minimalist approach to modern progressive rock, using alternative musical methods to create unique sounds. Post-rock encorporates elements of many different genres, as far spread as classical, country and metal. Its origins are found in alternative music, most notably in drone bands such as The Velvet Underground, and in krautrock especially. Bands such as shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine, Public Image Ltd, Slint and Talk Talk have all been identified as the originators of the post-rock movement and are considered influential by most bands associated with it.

Oddly enough, some of the greatest post-rock bands known to listeners come from right here in Canada. Montreal has the most diverse post-rock scene in music, with such bands as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Do Make Say Think, A Silver Mt. Zion and Fly Pan Am, all calling the Paris of Canada home. Each of these bands appear on the Constellation, an influential indie record label that has been noteably anti-establishment for quite some time (on the of GSYBE!'s newest albums, for example, the record lable created a chart linking AOL, Vivendi and Sony-BMG to arms dealers worldwide, thus increasing war with every purchase).

GSYBE! especially has been a founding contributor to the scene in Montreal. The band began with Efrim Menuck, Mauro Pezzente and Mike Moya in 1994 but grew to as many as 20 members as the band began recording, many of whom played live shows and never played again. While the band contains a mostly formulaic rock foundation (guitar, drums, bass), their music is rich with diversity (glockenspiel, French horn, trumpets, a full orchestral string and percussion section, etc). Members of the band are highly anti-political, despise corporate media and rarely give interviews. Members and former members have contributed to albums by A Silver Mt. Zion, Hrsta and Set Fire to Flames; in this sense, they are all considered side projects of GSYBE!.

On the world stage, post-rock has exploded. Bands such as Scotland's Mogwai, Iceland's Sigur Ros, Texas' Explosions in the Sky and Chicago-born Tortoise have all developed post-rock internationally. Sigur Ros especially has put Iceland on the map musically (along with Bjork, of course), developing elaborate soundscapes and enlightening melodies. Conclusively, when it comes to post-rock, you can't get enough minimalism.

Music and Film: Arts in Motion

The 81st Academy Awards got me thinking about how incredible the power of the motion picture has become in the modern era. Since Thomas Edison first invented moving pictures and The Jazz Singer first brought sound to the film screen, the American fascination with the film industry has been incomparable. However, as the power of the motion picture became as dominant as it did, it's beyond a script and cinematography, it's most ideal component was, by far, music.

This got me thinking: how prevalent have the Academy Awards become in reputable music? We hear tunes every day, those magical mosaics of music that resonate in our ears and leave an everlasting impression. But do we know where they came from or what they reall mean?

There was a period in film where the musical was an elaborate part of award-winning cinema. Fantastic musical numbers like "Over the Rainbow", "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", "It's Magic" and "White Christmas" were all part of musicals and all part of the hearts of many. Even songs like Pinochio's "When You Wish Upon a Star", Mary Poppins' "Chim Chim Cher'ee" and "Chatenooga Choo Choo" have been part of Oscar nominees and winners and are unmistakeable to any music fan.

Then, we move into the modern setting: cinema moves into technicolour, special effects are blooming and the Western and War movie genres are blossoming. Yet music is still phenominal, with unbelievably memorable songs like "Moon River", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and Dr. Doolittle's "Talk to the Animals". Finally, today, in the CGI-enriched, plot-less action-filled blockbusters, a song is still able to captivate. After a trend of Disney wins (Under the Sea, Beauty and the Beast, A Whole New World, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, Colours of the Wind, You'll Be In My Heart and If I Didn't Have You) in the 1990's and early 2000's, the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox, and the great Bob Dylan have also contributed excellent tracks. Even artists like Eminem and Three 6 Mafia have contributed Oscar-winners that have stuck with fans eternally.

This Oscar season, be it Slumdog or Wall-E, that song will have an unbelievably lasting impression on the public who pay $10 for pure magic.

Featured Song: Köhntarkösz (Part II) by Magma
Christian Vander is an incredibly interesting person. Not only is he the son of a renowned French jazz pianist, he has developed himself into a renowned drummer and songwriter himself. What separates him from general musicians is that he has developed his own language and sings in it as well. This has been the basis of Magma for the past 40 years. Magma is a genre creating, jazz-fusing spectacle of outstanding and bizarre sounds. For most listeners, Vander's music has a WTF factor of about 14, but move past the bizarre storytelling and vocalizations and the presence of incredible jazz, scat vocals and the fusion of good old fashioned rock n' roll are clearly present. Köhntarkösz (Part II) blends drums, organ and piano with ridiculous vocalizations and strings that make 16 minutes of purely bizarre work into something concrete and surprisingly listenable.

Perspectives on Pop Music / Animal Collective (February 10th, 2009)

In today's capitalist, sex-selling, media-driven society, what better way to sell records than pop music? Simplistic, catchy beats power into the skulls of the masses with incessant frequency and attractive stars (with extravagant egos to match) are the icons that deliver it. Today, I delve into the enigma of modern pop music: the subliminal horrors that entices the human race, the modern icons that put sexbombs of the past to shame and what exactly attracts us to this whole mess. Nothing moves product better than a healthy dose of "I'm better than you," does it?

What has been defined as pop throughout the ages has changed by generation. Between big band, country, the dawn of mainstream rock (from Chuck Berry to Led Zeppelin), new wave, grunge and Brit pop, radio play has recorded the evolution of music before our very eyes. However, to truly grasp the concept of modern pop, I believe we have to go back to the dawn of the boy band: The Jackson Five. Nothing against Michael Jackson, his music was captivating and incredible even before he dominated the charts solo, but the Jackson Five was the start of an exponential increase in materialistic music. All the chart-topping records, their expansion and materialism among the African-American community, they even had their own TV show! All in all, it was the dawn of the boy band as we know it.

From here, where else could we move but to New Kids on the Block? Maurice Starr, accredited with the dawn of the boy band era in pop music, put together catchy, memorable lyrics with supposed heart throb guys (some of whom went on to display Janet Jackson's breast, some of whom went gay, but that's not the point here) and a pretentious approach to seemingly ordinary music. Bands like N'SYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Westlife and O-Town became overnight sensations and sold millions of records.

At the same time, however, another trend started: the pop starlet. While every era of music has had sex appeal, never has the appeal stemmed from such a young age. Artists like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera took control of the scene with simple songs and schoolgirl outfits. Aguilera even took it a step further, making "whore" seem like an acceptable term (ironically, the controversial Dirty and the powerful ballad Beautiful were both on the same album). This could only lead to the inevitable: pop dominance of modern music. Nu-metal bands like POD and Linkin Park, along with pop punk bands like blink-182, Green Day and The Offspring, all received airplay, but they were nothing compared to the colossus that was pop.

Today, the trends continue. While bands like Nickelback are challenging the pop stereotype and soft rock like Coldplay and The Fray continue to surprise (mostly through Grey's Anatomy), powerful stars like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lady GaGa and various others overpower us with their infectious beats and sex appeal. However, there is also the emergence of the anti-star, beginning with Pink and progressing through Katy Perry and Lily Allen; the beats remain incessant but their situation is acknowledged and enlightened through mockery and some genuinely fascinating influences.

Additionally, between 2005 and 2009, the evolution of "Disney pop" has become apparent in the masses. Incessant tripe such as the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus hit the masses early with family-friendly pop music that parents can appreciate and are more than happy to convert into a Hannah Montana life. If there were anything beyond the ownership of the Disney corporation driving this music, there may be a shred of appreciation, however, this is corporate music at its most refined, targeting those easiest to target. I'll have none of it.

So why do we do it? What inside us sells our soul to the contempt-driven mess that is pop music? Most likely, the biggest culprit is access. The apathy towards music in society is apparent; no one wants to browse the Internet or go to a record store and take a chance on music anymore. We're perfectly content with the mix of incessant beats that blare from the radio into our waiting skulls, who are eager to absorb and retain those melodies. And what receives radio play? The music that generates the most revenue. Today, big budget bands only get bigger while those struggling to make it scratch and claw for even a single time slot; some make it, many don't. Ironically, most of these bands have a vast sense of what music really is, whereas those on the radio barely have a clue.

And so I sit, listening to bands no one's ever heard of in my basement, wondering where the world's music is? We all have different tastes and different perspectives, and I can appreciate all of them, but what perspective can the world have on its melodies when corporate America chooses them for it? The answer, it seems, is sung to a different tune.

Featured Song: "My Girls" by Animal Collective

Off their new spin, Merriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective sound more like an actual band rather than an experimental freakshow (experimental freakshow in the best, most critically-acclaimed way). My Girls, the second track, sounds the most like a single I've heard from the band, with an intreguing beat that sounds almost other-worldly over a bizarre, familial set of lyrics. I can't get it out of my head.

Featured Album: "Merriweather Post Pavillion" by Animal Collective

Already dubbed as the best album of 2009 (we're in February, for those who keep track), Animal Collective throws us something the experimental band from Baltimore has never done before: a completely listenable album. Fusing somewhere in between experimental, psychedelic and noise rock, the niche they have carved on critics' Top 10 lists over the past 5 years has been unmistakeable. Yet, where Allmusic and Pitchfork have fallen in love with them, the listeners haven't (I'm still trying to figure out 2004's Sung Tongs to this day) . But fear Animal Collective no more music lovers, they've finally perfected their craft. Between them and TV on the Radio this year, experimental noise rock has grown leaps and bounds in the listenability department.

As for the music itself, organized chaos is still the best way to describe it. Primarily, overlapping electronic and instrumental samples hit the listener in every direction, but fuse together with Avey Tare's unique vocalization. Look to songs like My Girls, Summertime Clothes and Lion in a Coma for the album's most hook-ridden tracks; and to In the Flowers, Daily Routine and Taste for a more experimental brand. My personal favourite is the spacey soundscape of Bluish, with My Girls coming in at a close second. All in all, if you can appreciate this genre of music, or even if you can't, this is an excellent place to look for something new.

Overall: 9/10

Sound: 10
Quality: 9
Lyrics: 8
Impression: 8
Production: 10
Tilt: 9