The Latest Obsession: Take Me to The Riot by Stars

Welcome to my latest (and long-running) obsession. today I'm blogging about Take Me to The Riot by Canadian indie dahhlings, Stars.

This, ahem, 'riotous' track was the first single shipped from 2007's In Our Bedroom After The War and began streaming on Pitchfork way back in July '07, long before the album's release date. From that first tantalizing stream I have been gripped by the sheer pace of this track, and have been including it on mixtapes and playlists for well over a year.

So, why should you care about the song? Well... Besides the twinkling piano opening and the gently intertwined octave-split vocals of Broken Social Scene proteges Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, there's the feel of the song; this is a work that unravels at a gently building pace, before a crashing, energetic burst of music takes over. Then of course, there's the brilliantly thought out, sing-a-long inducing chorus:

Saturday nights in neon lights
Sundays in the cell.
Pills enough to make me feel ill
Cash enough to make me well.
Take me, take me to the riot!
Take me take me to the riot!
And let me stay...

Ready to get taken to the riot? Grab the tune here:

Stars - Take Me to The Riot

I love Stars; from the Sheffield accent of Torquil singing about flat caps to the Final Fantasy re-working of Your Ex-Lover is Dead on the remix album Do You Trust Your Friends?, the band is full of hidden joys. Any friend of mine worth their hipster scout badge will know Elevator Love Letter from 2003 release Heart is both my favourite song possibly of all time, and top of my iTunes "25 most played" list at any given time. This is basically a heads-up: expect to see that song featured as an obsession at some point in the future!

Stars were generous enough to offer the album in digital format before its hard-copy release in 2007, so if you fancy owning just the electronic copy, get yourself here and buy it. For a proper hold-it-in-your-hands real copy with beautiful art-work and liner notes (including a story!), you can again buy it here! See? It's fun to support music!

Metal Wednesdays: 27th August 2008

Ok, ok; so it's Thursday. But you know how it is; I totally meant to post this yesterday but my girlfriend made me breakfast in bed, then we went to the cinema, and there was this Spanish bar having happy hour and cocktails were drunk... You get the picture. So here, in all its glory, I present The Post I Should Have Posted Yesterday:

Happy Wednesday homies! Welcome to the latest installment of our Metal Wednesday's series, and today we're talking about those sexy Finnish boys, Northern Kings.

Mentioned in the previous Metal Wednesday post, Northern Kings is something of a Euro-metal supergroup, formed from the diaspora of bands Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Charon and Teräsbetoni.

As you should be aware by now, I have more than a little fond spot for Marco Hietala of Nightwish fame so for me the album was a bit of a must-have. My girlfriend is also a mahussive Sonata Arctica fan; check them out, they're actually pretty awesome, and minus an odd obsession lead singer Tony Kakko (featured magnificently as a quarter of Northern Kings has with a mysterious girl called 'Dana', the band do achieve moments of greatness that bear more than a slight resemblance to early Sabbath or Iron Maiden. The long and short of this is; I like Northern Kings. In fact, for cheesy metal covers of mostly 80's songs (uh-oh, I didn't mention that's what it is, did I?), the album, Reborn, is infinitely listenable, and infinitely surprising.

While ironic cover-versions have been somewhat killed in the last few years, there's still enough fresh interpretation (and genuine, non-ironic love for the chosen tracks) on this album to get you to track 13. I will admit, however, to a dip in concentration during the middle of the album, with cheese-fests like I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight and the ghastly Phil Collins' dreariness that is In the Air Tonight providing little to enthuse over. Stick with it, though; final track Brothers In Arms is a joyous affair for what is actually quite a sad Dire Straits original, riotously affirming the damn good fun these guys must have had with Reborn, and the fun you're going to get if you grab a copy.

Enough of all that nonsense, here's a couple of tracks:

Northern Kings - We Don't Need Another Hero
Northern Kings - Don't Stop Believin'

As always, these songs are for sample only; please be kind and go buy the CD: Reborn by Northern Kings

Vacation Songs

Hello campers! First of all, my apologies for Metal Wednesday's no-show yesterday, we're taking a trip to the seaside and that means no time for blogging and mucho mucho mucho packing, arranging and sorting out the kitten etc! I can assure you next week we'll be back on track with a proper Metal Wednesday kicking off our return (probably no posts till then, sorry my guys and guy-ettes).

Now, as a peace-offering to you all for my lack of posts in the coming days I've put together a little bundle of vacation-inspired tracks for you to delight in. Summer might not be quite as hot as expected here in the UK, but we can still hitch a ride to Rockaway beach...

A little about the choice first; 'Rockaway Beach' is from The Ramones' 1977 album Rocket to Russia and has one of the best sing-a-long choruses for a car trip. Plus, as with most Ramones songs, you can learn it in about 30 seconds, so even the uninitiated can join in. 'Summer Skin' is from Death Cab's seminal album Plans and lusciously explores the fleeting world of summer romance over a lazy bass-line that bores into your mind. 'Holiday from Real' is a bouncy piano-driven track by Jack's Mannequin, side project of Andrew McMahon, originally from Something Corporate. It's getting featured here mostly for the line "She lets me drive her car so I can score an eighth from the lesbians out west in Venice". Our final track, 'Packing Blankets' by Eels is more about packing up your past and starting again than packing your suitcase, but it's so endlessly cheery it works perfectly for a road trip. Check the lyrics:

Today is a lovely day to run
Start up the car with the sun
Packing blankets and dirty sheets
A roomful of dust and a broom to sweep up
All the troubles you and I have seen

The Ramones - Rockaway Beach
Death Cab for Cutie - Summer Skin
Jack's Mannequin - Holiday from Real
Eels - Packing Blankets
Bonus! The Ramones - Endless Vacation

As always, please be supportive of the artists, and if you like their work, you can buy it at the following locations:

Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology by The Ramones
Plans by Death Cab for Cutie
Everything in Transit by Jack's Mannequin
Dasies of the Galaxy by Eels

Something to look forward to... Antony and the Johnsons

As has been much talked about lately, Antony and the Johnsons are set to release a 5 track EP called Another World on October 7th under Secretly Canadian, followed by a new album (at last!) in January next year. It's been three years since the band's second full-length, I am a Bird Now hit the stores and became a Mercury Music Prize winner (woot!) and fans of the warbley-one are in for a treat if recent side-projects are anything to go by.

I know I'm not the only one whose been spinning Hercules & Love Affair's stomping Blind non-stop since it leaked, hooked on the funky drag-esque vocals of Antony Hegarty himself, coupled with a stabbing bass-line and brass section that spills sonorously away into the air like a samba as Mr. H urges us to feel it.

While we're on horns, Bjork's latest single from last year's Volta is scheduled to be The Dull Flame of Desire, a brooding duet with Antony Hegarty. The track is a bold coupling of two unique voices against an almost militant brass orchestra and tribal drum which at over 7 minutes long displays the dextrous tonality of Antony's voice brilliantly. The track comes out on September 29th, but you can hear it here, courtesy of The Selector:

Bjork featuring Antony Hegarty - The Dull Flame of Desire

Now for a real treat, give Antony's I Fell in Love With a Dead Boy a listen. This track is a sublime exercise in subtlety as Antony's restrained vocals are gently backed by a melancholy piano that carries on some seriously intimate lyrics dealing with a truly impossible love:

Antony and the Johnsons - I Fell in Love With a Dead Boy

P.S. By now you really ought to have I am a Bird Now and for the sweet cool-fire of Icelandic desire, why not grab Bjork's Volta while you're at it?

Regina Watch...

As you all may know, I took the name of this blog, Dance Anthem of the 80s from a little known Regina Spektor song, in which Ms. Spektor goes walking, through this city, like a drunk but not. In honour of that fact, I thought I'd see what everyone's favourite Russian New Yoiker was up to these days...

It's been two years since the last album, Begin to Hope was released, and we've all been patiently waiting, going through the live sets to wonder what favourite misc track might eventually get committed to analogue and kick off a new album. However, following a collapse on stage late last year and subsequent development of vertigo, it seems we may have a little longer to go before that dream gets realised. However, with the only up-coming show scheduled this week for the 23rd at San Francisco's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival perhaps we can begin to hope some studio time is being booked? (Excuse the pun).

Until then I point you to this fantastic website which includes a vast catalogue of live recordings and demo's for those of you too eager to await any real news. My personal favourite among these live rarities has to be 'Aquarius' which isn't actually available at the ReSpekt site mentioned, so I shall post it here. The pause where she gets the song slightly wrong and says 'sorry' is completely adorable, and totally what I love about live music.

Born of a sign that carries vessels
But in a month that brings just ice
I know I question things too quickly
But I've never wondered if I've loved

Regina Spektor - Aquarius (Live)