Snakes + Ladders

HELLO CHILDS,

it’s been a year since I started this blog, so seems about time we added something NEW – you’ll see on the right we’ve got a mix up with 40 tracks from some of my favourite bands and friends that we’ve done shows with. each track is downloadable (bands: just email me if you’re not cool with that) – give it a listen peeps!!!

I’ll be adding new tracks as more shows get announced – and HOLY CRAPP we have a lot going on in April/May/June: eight shows culminating in an NXNE showcase that will be absolutely mindfuckingly awesome. after that we’re DONE for the summer, and I’m focusing on actually playing music again.

oh I also want to start doing semi-monthly mixes for yall, but all I listen to right now is Flow 93.5 and my parents’ folk records from the 60’s. good idea???

OK, see you all at Gobble Gobble / Rich Aucoin / Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt saturday, gonna be nuts!!!

-Daniel Moon King

so this’ll be my third year at SXSW, that big BBQ party down in Austin, Texas. me and my bro are touring down with the Arbutus Records gang – so that big US tour announcement for Doldrums + Grimes is coming up soon!

but first, I want to share my psychednicity with you. here are some bands to check out for those who are/are not planning on being in Austin for the festival.

BATHS – saw him a couple of times at CMJ. killed it.
EAR PWR – I’ll plan on seeing them accidentally this time, for reverse psychological effect.
GOBBLE GOBBLE – the most fun live band ever
BUTTS – the funniest two-piece girl-garage-punk band ever. they should actually do comedy tours, seriously.
HANSON – I actually saw them before at SXSW in 2008, and they didn’t play mmmbop… fuckers. fingers crossed for this year.
JAPANTHER + THE DEATH SET – probably the perfect bands for SXSW, seen them tons o times but will never NOT see them if given the opportunity (especially if they’re on the same bill)
PICTUREPLANE – awesome awesome, I think Teengirl Fantasy is playing too though I didn’t see them on the lineup.
PRINCE RAMA – are probably playing 25 shows or something.
THEE OH SEES – are either playing 34 shows or just 2.
PAT JORDACHE + TUNEYARDS – still never seen Tuneyards! but maybe they’ll do a Sister Suvi reunion? that’d be sweet.
AUSTRA + OWEN PALLETT – the best part about SXSW – getting to hang with some of your bestest buds in somewhere really random, far away and warm (in this case Austra’s bassist D-WOLF and Owen’s soundman N-GIF who are also incidentally two of the only homies reading this who understand the reference in the title, sorry)
ANAMANAGUCHI + CADENCE WEAPON + BRAIDS + SEAN NICHoh fuck it there’s way too many good bands playing so just come ok? I mean the lineup doesn’t include SUM 41, REM, Muse or Hole like it did last year – but that doesn’t mean it can’t still be hilarious! in fact, I think the festival organizers have outdone themselves this year by booking Young Adults, Young Buffalo, Young Empires, Young Magic, Young Man, Young Prisms, and Young The Giant together. it should also be noted that both Dance Gavin Dance and Dance Laury Dance will be playing. dance-off??

anyway, we have this big tour announcement coming up with Doldrums + Grimes in march, and I’m booking a ton o stuff in Toronto for afterwards in april/may/june, NXNE will rule etc then I’ll probably get outta town for awhile again. oh yeah and we have way more exciting developments for Snakes + Ladders in the next few months, so keep following along as the the story may very well include you.

oh also, for the record I’m totally copyrighting the band name “Spoon Death”. suckaz.

1. Teengirl Fantasy – Hoop Dreams

this is just the best. awesome vid too.

2. Simon and Garfunkel – America

the “American Empire” of the 20th century… weird to think about!! apparently something like 70% of Americans polled agreed that their country is now in decline. would anyone have even asked the question when this song was written??… also, that chord change when S+G sing the word “America” is effing gorgeous.

3. Yolanda Be Cool – We No Speak Americano

ultimate party jam of the year. played it at maddy’s uber-fun Rufio-From–The-Movie-Hook-themed holiday housefest last night. thanks to Anamanaguchi for turning me on!!

4. Sean Nicholas Savage – Kisses Like A Girl

Sean is the greatest young songwriter of our time. BOOM. this is from the Daps Duo show last winter. [*nice segway Daniel! in fact, we're putting on TWO shows with Sean in Toronto this month - january 14 at the garrison (co-presented with Wavelength) and january 15 at !059]

5. Arcade Fire – Half Light II (No Celebration) // Crystal Castles – Baptism

well, I forgot about that Yolanda Be Cool track, so I’ll just combine these two cuz they’re
both canadian, mega-popular, divisive (well ok, most everyone seems to like Arcade Fire) and
unlike most of the rest of this list, actually came out in 2010. not really sure why I ended
up choosing this particular track from The Suburbs, it’s just the one that’s stuck with me
the most I guess.

where I want to be

just got back from a week of shows with my brother (aka Doldrums) in Montreal, New York City and Baltimore, DAMN THAT WAS FUNNNN big thanks to all the bands we played with and Seb, Kate, Christoph, Alon, Brendan, David, Silent Barn buddies, Sarah, Mackswell, Dillon and MOVES, Fin and Burt, you guys all rule!! peace love and shiny things.

and now, some more songs:

6. Cloud Nothings – Morgan

I wish I wrote, played on guitar and jumped up and down on my bed, this song:

7. Buffalo Springfield – Expecting to Fly

swoon!!

8. Pavement – Major Leagues

pavement, blah blah, summer, blah blah, pavement.
“relationships: hey hey hey”

9. Baths – In Ruins (remix for Fol Chen)

when that slo-mo helicopter bass kicks in…. shivers up and down my spine…

10. Weezer – Pork & Beans

whatever whatever whatever. sheezer.

11. Mew – The Zookeeper’s Boy

ok so this band is like… super epic… and it’s annoying that for a song where I didn’t understand (or care) about the lyrics, they’re put right up on the screen (and they are kind of blah)… but the music reminds me of the front view from the Millenium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back… your whole field of vision is shaking!! the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3720 to 1!! never tell me the odds!!

12. The Vaselines – Rory Rides Me Raw

I wasn’t really sure which Vaselines song to put in here, but I sang this at an open mic at the Tranzac earlier this year so I thought it’d be funny.

13. Lady Gaga – Telephone (Britney Spears demo)

some morning mid-january I woke up to discover that I actually really liked Lady Gaga – and even some of her songs too! (maybe the “Bad Romance” video came out then? I can’t remember.) anyway… Britney’s a ROBOT, who’d have thought?!?!

14. Hole – Use Once and Destroy

ooh BIG GUITARS. BIG. me like. my friend Ryan now has the most sad/unfortunate story about almost meeting Courtney this year, ask him if you’ve got a tissue and a couple of hours.

15. Japanther – Challenge

I think I’ve quoted that “Brooklyn? I don’t wanna go to Brooklyn!” line like 1500 times now, it’s just getting annoying. I’ve gotten to play with these guys a several times over the past year-and-a-half, they absolutely SLAY live, the most fun ever. plus they turned me on to the joys of juicers and frozen banana ice cream. and oh look, there I am!!

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION: I think I’m actually gonna go get some new clothes!! for the first time in like, years!! (ask me in a couple of weeks if I actually went through with it)

Daniel

when I was a kid I would go to the zoo and make lists of all the animals in each exhibit, and how many of each I could see. so I’m gonna throw it out there that list-making is somehow linked to the “like” button in my brain. telepathy being what it is, I made a list of the 25 best songs I heard since this time last year. now, you don’t have to be Kim Peek to realise that this list has nothing to do with songs that were actually RELEASED this year. if Simon and Garfunkel reunite and do a track that I consider one of the best since 2 Unlimited, let me just swallow a couple of cats and roll over twice before I shake your hand and say “yes, I should’ve made it a best of 2010 list”. until then, use your ears, not your brain.

16. Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – Empire State Of Mind

I don’t need to tell you again how much I love New York, I’m sure it’s getting annoying. but I will. when I was there in january I heard this song at least once every day for a month without getting sick of it. THAT’s a chorus. roll credits.

17. The Buzzcocks – Ever Fallen In Love

I think I wrote like 10 songs that sound a bit like this one after hearing it.

18. Florence + the Machine – Between Two Lungs

I heard this lying on my back on someone’s floor in the dark in february. that big wordless vocal at the end is pretty shivery.

19. Oh No Ono – Helplessly Young

wish I wrote this one too.

20. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood – One Velvet Morning

my brother airick and friends dan and april made a band called Phedre earlier this year… I think the name might come from this song, or at least I started hearing it everywhere around the same time… nancy sinatra can tell me about flowers growing every minute of every day for the rest of my life, it’s heaven.

tape edited by a chimp with a rusty razor blade?

21. Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle – Your Love

a DJ at the Silver Door spun the best house and disco i’ve ever heard from about 3am to 6am, after Doldrums and Hellaluya played there during Pop Montreal this year. a friend of mine played me this track again a few weeks later in NYC from on original radio broadcast of Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk (I think it was) spinning in chicago in the mid 80’s. we drove around the city and felt it roll like a ship at sea.

22. Here We Go Magic – Tunnelvision

this is staring out the window of the bus

23. Neko Case – This Tornado Loves You

never listened to her much before and mostly knew her as Ryan’s drinking buddy but I think I’ve found my Favourite Voice Ever… and HOLY SHIT THE LYRICS… and HOW IS THIS STRUCTURED? WHAT IS THE CHORUS?? VERSE?? this is my house on the texas prairie..

24. Owen Pallett – Keep The Dog Quiet

I’ve seen owen many times, but at his Bowery Ballroom show in january he really blew me away… it keeps me thinking about the next level, it is human and yet inhuman, icy untouchable but fuzzy if you get there.

25. The Smiths – Please Please Please (Let Me Get What I Want)

this is a very dangerous song – it puts you in a miserable spiral of despair there is no fucking way you can ever crawl out of except by deleting it entirely. which I did. and that is why people love the smiths. kind of like the way some people love roadkill.