Pardon my dust…
I’ll be tweaking the look of the blog in the next while, please be patient.
Love,
Cam
I’m Not Into The Calgary Public Library Ad Campaign
So how do we make reading cool? Watercolors and bad script typefaces? YES!
Yes, shockingly I don’t like this new campaign by the Calgary Public Library. The message is good, “Everything you’re into.”, whatever you like you can find a book or movie or whatever about that topic at the library. That works. It’s just the execution and look of this campaign that’s absolutely terrible.
This ad should be targeting people who currently are not using the library, young people…it should be hip and cool, bold…maybe even clever or funny. It should attempt to draw a new audience to this aging institution, and draw more attention to the modern offerings of todays library (public internet access, free programs). It could maybe even leverage some popular young adult library content like Twilight. It should not appeal to your 75 year old great aunt with it’s soft watercolor tones and bad script typefaces. Those are the people who already use libraries (in between attending craft bazaars at their local community centres)!
There were some aspects of this campaign that were good, they did buy some ad space in supermarkets and shopping carts that ran with messaging that juxtaposed food items with literary offerings (Everything you’re into. From cream pie recipes to Curious George. From ham to Hamlet). That’s probably a pretty good way to grab a captive audience in the produce section. But still, something with a better look would be far more effective.
Misguided attempt at an ad campaign aside, I’m still a huge advocate of the library. $12 for a year of borrowing privileges is the best entertainment dollar you can spend in this town. So I won’t be shamefully turning in my library card just yet. But next time around I hope they better spend their $35,000 on a decent rebranding…hopefully something I could get into.
I’m Here – Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze has a new short film entitled “I’m Here”, which recently made it’s debut at the Sundance festival. According to We Love You So “It’s a robot romance and a futuristic fable rooted in the universal emotions of first love, ruminating on youth, identity, autonomy and loss.” Looks pretty cool to me. Debuts online in March at the official website www.imheremovie.com.
Machotaildrop!
For the record, this movie looks amazing.
New Work: Dirty Deeds
Just finished the logo and a little placeholder site for Dirty Deeds Landscape Construction, currently working on the full website and some other small items for them. In the meantime, check it out and sign up to get the sharply worded pre-launch email…and if you need some landscaping or construction services come Spring, give Kris a call!
Best of the rest….
Here’s the albums that didn’t quite make my “Best of” list, that are still really great. It starts with some indie/alt picks, moves into more rockin’ territory and closes out with a handful of hip hop releases that had my head bobbin’ in ‘09. It’s really a testament to how great this year was when some of my favorite bands (Wilco, Built to Spill) don’t make either list. Check it out!
Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Self-Titled
Came really close to making the list, pure indie pop bliss with a cherry on top.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Critically I can’t help but say this is one of the best albums of 2009. Problem is I didn’t really listen to it enough (on purpose) for it to make the big list. But honestly, everything Karen O touches turns to gold. Shiny, shiny gold.
Sonic Youth – The Eternal
Really strong new album from the alternative mainstay. Not as solid cover to cover as Dinosaur Jr.’s album but really good nonetheless.
Drummer – Feel Good Together
Patrick Carney (Black Keys) side project comprised entirely of drummers. They prove they can do it without those pesky frontmen, cranking out a surprisingly solid alt-rock album.
The Thermals – Now We Can See
I like this album quite a bit, but I just can’t love it. Good but not great, it never really gets there for me…too safe, not enough edge. Can’t put my finger on it.
Obits – I Blame You
Listen to it alone, so you can crank it up and rock out with wreckless abandon. Fantastic.
Japandroids – Post-Nothing
Not many albums released this year were as raw and rockin’ as this Vancouver duo’s wonderfully noisy output. Except for maybe…
Titus Andronicus – Airing of Grievances
Punk. Rock. Loud and brash and reminiscent of early Clash. For real.
Doom – Born Like This…
Pretty good year for hip hop, and Doom is consistently one of the best MC’s around.
Mos Def – The Ecstatic
Mos Def comes back from Hollywood and pumps out a solid album (and some solid guest appearances), hilighted by an awesome Kool Keith collab.
Raekwon – Only Built For Cuban Linx… Pt. 2
Suddenly it’s the mid-nineties again and it’s a new Wu-Tang Album!
Blakroc – Self-Titled
The Black Keys meet a plethora of hip hop guest MCs with generally good results…Black Keys might be band of year without even releasing an album, solely on the strength of their three side projects…
Best Music of 2009
This year I’ve chosen my favorite music of the year based on what I actually found myself listening to the most, as opposed to what are critically (or technically) the “best” albums of the year. So without further adieu, here they are, in no particular order…
Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
Their second album since reforming in 2007, Dinosaur Jr. really returned to form this year, releasing what I would consider to be their best album. Farm showcases the band’s maturity as they effortlessly jump from catchy guitar epics to silky ballads and back again. The guitar solos are classic J. Mascis, the songwriting is stellar, it’s really essential Dinosaur Jr.
For me, this was definitely the album of the summer (maybe the year? a close second anyways…), as I found myself listening to it over and over on the highway (Highly recommended as a road trip album!). The standout track is the opener, Pieces, but really there isn’t a track here that doesn’t stand out.
The Mountain Goats – Life of the World to Come
I really didn’t like this album at first, but now it’s somehow found its way onto my “best of” list. That is what you’d call a grower. It’s basically a theme album based on biblical themes John Darnielle has gleaned (and wrestled with) from specific bible verses which serve as the song titles. While thematically heavy, it’s really quite understated sonically (even for a Mountain Goats album) but I’ve found it definitely rewards repeated listens as I’ve found myself returning to it frequently throughout the fall and on into the short, dark days of December.
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band- Self-Titled
Blend some wailin’ 70’s guitar riffs, a 14 year old drummer, some unexpected twists and turns, and the strained harmonies of frontman Benjamin Verdoes and you get something that resembles the unique sound of MSHVB. Not your mother’s indie band, this Seattle quintet delivers eleven tracks of spastic indie rock that never quite settles into a category. Fave tracks include the slow building Cheer For Fate, and the intense Albatross, Albatross, Albatross. Really quite a sensational album from start to finish, regardless of what the jerks at Pitchfork say.
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains
There might not have been a better debut in 2009 than this short self-released album from NYC indie starlings Cymbals Eat Guitars. They’ve been compared to acts like Modest Mouse a lot (seems most new bands get compared to Modest Mouse), but I’m not sure that’s a very accurate comparison… What we have here is a rare new band who has carved a sound of their own in the crowded indie landscape. Layer upon dense layer of sounds contributes to a unique sum of sound, the least of which is not Joseph D’Agostino’s fantastic vocals. This album has it all: sprawling indie epics, jangly singles and some obligatory amp-burners. Best of all these guys are really young (20), so we’ve really just hit the tip of the iceberg here. Start with Some Trees (Merrit Moon) and Wind Phoenix (Proper Name) and go on from there once you fall in love.
BONUS! A couple entries from Jason Dorn at our sister blog, This Revolution Looked Better on Paper, that didn’t quite make my grade but are fine releases in their own right:
Death – …For the Whole World to See
This disc actually is a certified diamond in the rough, recorded in 1975 and unreleased until 2009, this disk showcases the emerging punk scene, even if it was slightly a head of the curve. The story of this disc is as such, three brothers start a garage band, record half an album’s worth of material, get into a fight with the record company, forget about the album and grow up to live their lives. This has happened to 100’s of go-no-where garage bands before, and it’ll happen again. The startling thing about this disc is what’s contained on it, amped up garage rock in the vein of the stooges, and hints of the punk that bands like the Bad Brains & Black Flag would go on to record just a few years later.The thing that this disc showcases the best though is that punk-rock in the 70’s wasn’t just an explosion one night in a dingy New York club. There were other bands tinkering with a similar sound in their garages at the same time as the Ramones and The Sex Pistols.
The Thermals – Now we can see
This album is so strong I even recommended it mid-year because I was enjoying it so much. Months later and I’m still enjoying the heck out of it. Somehow this albums got a “diamond in the rough” quality to it. It’s just low-fi enough to sound like something a hopeful musician would be selling CDRs of out of a bus shelter. And yet the songs are polished and complete, never sounding forced or over-processed, and just sloppy enough to be endearing.Truth be told I’m shocked this album isn’t overplayed yet, I’d expect stations like x929 to be all over it by now and I’d be sick of it, luckily this hasn’t happened.
Dan Auerbach – Keep It Hid
I’m an unabashedly huge fan of the blues-soul-rock of the Black Keys, so of course Dan Auerbach’s first solo album would be among my favorites of the year. If you’re familiar with the Black Keys, this album won’t be much of a stretch in terms of sound and style – it’s a raw soulful rocker in the style of the Keys. 14 solid tracks of Auerbach baring his soul and emoting through his guitar much to the delight of my ears. There just isn’t a white man on the planet with more soul than Mr. Auerbach. Some choice cuts on this one include Mean Monsoon, My Last Mistake and Street Walkin’.
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Veckatimest is a psychedelic dynamically layered masterpiece. Composed together by all band members, with all sharing vocal duties creating a thick, haunting wall of soaring harmonies. Grizzly Bear really has no peers that I know of that I can compare their sound to. It can probably be best described with words like eerie, ghastly, haunting, harmonious and beautiful. A really good album – chill music great to work to. Favorite tracks include the opener, Southern Point, and the singles Two Weeks and Cheerleader.
Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns
Sometimes you discover a band so close to home through a channel not so close to home. This is how I came across the RAA, by first hearing them on woxy.com (in Cincinnati, now based in Austin, TX). A Toronto band whose lead singer hails from Edmonton, they released a real indie pop-rock gem this year – I’d go as far to say it’s the best album released this year just edging out the aforementioned Dinosaur Jr..
What really sets this album apart from the other indie rock it may be grouped with is the fantastic and frantic drumming, which sets the groundwork for a set of finely written songs woven with themes and locales familiar to any Alberta resident (Franks Slide, Lethbridge, Edmonton). My favorite tracks reside in the #4 and 5 slots, the percussion driven Don’t Haunt This Place and it’s follow-up track The Deadroads.
The buzz surrounding the RAA continues to build as they gather glowing reviews and sell out tour dates across the USA. They’re currently featured in a TV ad for Whistler, and are slated to be a featured performer at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. If you missed this record somehow this year, I’d highly recommend you check it out.
Overall 2009 easily goes down as one of the best music years of the decade. While in previous years I’ve struggled to come up with a top ten, or even five albums of the year, this year it was hard to keep the list to a manageable size. Next entry I’ll briefly run down the best of the rest with limited commentary…because I just can’t leave it at this, too may great albums this year!