well the next few weeks are gonna be really, really crazy
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-this friday feb 17 I’m playing drums in HUT (which is one of Daniel Lee [Hooded Fang, Tonkapuma, Phedre etc]’s projects. it kinda sounds like The Clean. and we cover The Clean. anyway we are opening for Fucked Up, it’s part of Wavelength’s 12th anniversary festival, which is happening all week, and has four more really great shows. more info on it here.
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-friday feb 24 is the Daps Records Revue at the Great Hall — L Con followed by Moon King followed by Doldrums followed by Hooded Fang followed by the live debut of Phedre — a sick lineup, to be sure. tickets are onsale now from Rotate and Soundscapes. we are gonna try out the new Moon King tracks live and I might wear a cape.
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-saturday feb 25 is Maddy’s birthday party. the theme is “anything but clothes”.
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-monday feb 27 is Dorian’s birthday party show (tho his birthday was in january but whatever) and it is gonna be REALLY REALLY FUN and there will be more info on that soooooon
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-march 3 Tonstartssbandht are finally coming to Toronto and of course I’m leaving for NY that day. go see them, cuz I can’t … they are playing with Tropics and Wyrd Visions, not sure the venue but here’s the FB event
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-march 6 we are doing another big Revue show, in New York this time, with Moon King, Hooded Fang and Odonis Odonis all at Glasslands —- get tickets!! gonna be sick!! T.O takeover USa
-march 8 I am playing with Doldrums, opening for Trust at Mercury Lounge in NYC
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then I may go on tour for three months, or I may not, we shall see lolololololol
hey so I’m watching this movie Buffalo Rider right now and I just wanted to share it with you, like why would I go out on a friday night when I can stay in and watch this… it’s kinda funny sure, but movies like this are my favourite, this is so soothing and peaceful, like the story of Buffalo Jones makes sense to me and nothing else does right now…
gotta do a double feature soon with Where The Buffalo Roam which is also one of my faves … anyway I’m gonna go back to watching this now
so I’m in full hibernation mode right now. making some cassettes of albums I really like from my itunes, and then deleting the rest, so I can start off freshhhh. call it a new years revolution if you will.
mostly though, I am recording and working on all this new Moon King stuff… there’s a lot of really fizzy 12-string guitar, a lot of MIDI harps, and a LOT of chorus effect. I’ll play some for you soon.
I was in NYC this week for our show at Big Snow, had a total blast, nice to see friends and it was weird revving up from the aforementioned slowed-down heart rate into NYC time (which is 1000-times faster than normal life)…
so I’ve put up all of Moon King’s dates from 2011 here, if you’re someone like me who loves looking at band’s first shows.
alsoooooo got some more new trax up on the playlist, I’m experimenting with just putting “stuff I’m listening to” rather than just my friend’s bands … [update: that is not gonna work... tons of copyright claim emails, I guess Madonna and Girl's Generation do not appreciate the luv]
< ------- this is a cool poster by Airick Woodhead
the first track on the playlist is by PHEDRE, the superband with Dan and April from Hooded Fang and my brother Airick (Doldrums/Archaeopteryxxx/Dick Officer)… they are making their live debut at this amazing show happening Feb 24 in Toronto at the Great Hall. me and Maddy are playin too, gonna be a big fam jam for sure. apparently Phedre will appear instantly onstage in a pillar of golden light, that’s what I heard anyway. they are basically genies.
oh and Pitchfork and Gorilla vs Bear really like the Phedre song + video (by Jesse Ewles) which is awesome, maybe now they will write about our real bands haha
Moon King will be embarking on a little runaround next week with our good friends Anamanaguchi ((WHO ARE COMPLETELY FREEKIN AWESOME IF U HAVEN’T SEEN THEM PLAY)) — you should come cuz I’ll crowd surf ontop of you during their set, and I weigh like 120 lbs so you’ll be fine, see for yourself:
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anyway here are the daters: Jan 19 OTTAWA at Saw Gallery w/ Anamanaguchi, Extreme Animals
Jan 20 MONTREAL at Il Motore w/ Anamanaguchi, Extreme Animals
Jan 21 TORONTO at Wrongbar w/ Anamanaguchi, Extreme Animals
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u may have also noticed there is nothing on the Moon King bandcamp site anymore, I took it all off cuz I am deep into recording new songs and we have no more 7″s left anyway (except some are in stores apparently). so keep checking back and I’ll post some new songs soonish, k??
ps thanks to everybody who came to the NYE and WITB shows, they were totally amazing… best couple days of the whole year, luv
Detroit Techno legend JUAN ATKINS will be DJing after our showcase at the Drake Hotel this Thursday, December 29.
if you aren’t familiar with his work, just wiki it up: “Juan Atkins (born December 9, 1962) is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music,[1] specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson.”
here’s one of his most widely known tracks, “No UFO’s”:
we’ll also be screening the 1977 Japanese film HAUSU (aka HOUSE) — I first encountered it at a rep cinema in NY, as part of a theatrical re-release that proved much more popular than it’s original release (since everyone is crazy now.) watch, and make sure you make it till the scene where the girls are floating on the door in the sea of blood in the living room trying to escape the animated cat with lightning bolts in it’s eyes.
here’s the trailer:
the original, dreamy, creamy lineup for the show is still intact:
Moon King is playing some holiday shows in T.O this week as a foursome, with Steven Foster on drums, and Airick Woodhead on things::::
Thursday Dec 29 at the Drake Hotel for the annual “What’s In The Box” music festival, w/ Donlands & Mortimer, Doldrums and Odonis Odonis — 1150 Queen st w // $5 // we play at 8pm
. Saturday Dec 31 at the Tranzac’s NYE party, w/ the Elwins, Rouge, Maylee Todd and many more — 292 Brunswick Ave // $15 // we play at 10:45pm
. Saturday Dec 31 at No Years: the End of the Academy, w/ Hut, Hussy, Odonis Odonis, Teen Tits, Cartoons and more — 225 Sterling rd unit 19 // $10 // we play at 2:15am
OK, so once a year I’ll stop talking about myself and my friends, and post up all the songs I’ve really been listening to the most over the past year … which apparently consists mostly of over-produced, hyperactive pop hits … ’tis a markedly different list from last year, which was filled with really dark + intense songs … sorry to get all inward-eye for a second, but perhaps it’s a reflection of my year, which was honestly a helluva lot more fun than 2010. thanx to you, dear reader + friend, for making this year a little lighter for me.
again, this is not a list of songs from 2011 … in fact I think a lot of them are from 2010 … but whatever … oh and if you’re a giant nerd, download all these songs here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/nd0tit
one of the weirdest experiences of the year was discovering this smash hit from 1986 and then having the singer die just a few weeks later … it is so important that you watch this video, Darryl Pandy is one of a kind, makes you want to laugh and cry and scream all at once
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. Britney Spears – “Till The World Ends”
OK, real talk people – three or four songs from Britney Spears’ last album were some of my favourite songs of 2011. this shit is the most subversive mainstream music has been for ages, completely psychotic and paranoid and dehumanized and mechanical and futuristic and post-apocalyptic (especially the video of course) – the same feeling I get from plenty of “DIY”-styled shit but blown up to a million-dollar budget. I liked this for the same reason I liked Transformers 2. except Transformers 2 doesn’t make me want to squirm like a sex-crazed honey bee.
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. Purity Ring – “Lofticries”
this sets the bar so incredibly high. the most chills-inducing music I’ve heard all year. and a really fucking cool and elaborate live show too…
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. Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”
no matter how vapid and shitty you may think Katy Perry, the lyrics to this song dumb down some pretty heavy stuff::: “let’s go all the way tonight, no regrets, just love … this is real, now take a chance and don’t ever look back!”
sounds like rave logic to me
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. David Lynch – “Good Day Today”
I definitely HAD to include this… the theme song of the Grimes/Doldrums tour in march, documented by Marilis Cardinal HERE… one of the best experiences I’ve had with friends, on tour, in the sun, driving across america, evvvvah … really set the tone for the rest of the year I think
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. Robyn – “Indestructible”
also: “Call Your Girlfriend” and “Time Machine”
Robyn is killin it right now, enough said
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. Tears For Fears – “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”
also: “Head Over Heels” and “Mad World”
is it just me or was 2011 the year that everyone seemed to randomly re-discover Tears For Fears???? I met so many different people who seemed to be super-excited about them… like they are some “cool new band from Brooklyn”… just one of those things I guess…
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. Aphex Twin – “Ageispolis”
also: “Xtal” and“Pulsewidth” … the whole album really… I think I listened to that record more than any other in 2011. I was never really into Aphex Twin beyond those crazy Chris Cunningham videos, then my friend Sebastian put on this record while we drove into the sunset in Texas on the Grimes/Doldrums tour… extraterrestrial peace and tranquility and warmth!!
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. Fucked Up – “Queen of Hearts”
ok, ain’t gonna lie, I could not make it through David Comes To Life even once… it’s just too damn long!
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. Braids – “In Kind”
my brother played me a recording of this new Braids song they did at Hillside he had on his Zoom … this song is just scarily beautiful, makes my hair stand on end and my skin feel cold… the version from the Polaris awards is amazing too, watch it HERE
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Marnie Stern – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
so triumphant!! ebullient, even!! I won’t stop believing, Marnie I won’t!!!
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Madonna – “Get Into The Groove”
some of my favourite moments from Doldrums sets over the past year have been when Airick just stops the music and plays “Get Into The Groove” in it’s entirety
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. Cyndi Lauper – “Money Changes Everything”
look who it is!! that last high note ahhhhh!!!
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Bjork – “Possibly Maybe” (Lucy Mix)
I watched all these videos again after writing about them, and this one … just WOW … people do NOT make vids like this anymore … also when she sings “electric shocks” it sounds like she just got zapped by an eel and it gives me chills
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Cocteau Twins – “Heaven Or Las Vegas”
also: “Sugar Hiccup”
I’ve loved this band for awhile, but really got into them this year … originally cuz they sounded a bit like Jane Siberry
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. Jay-Z and Kanye West – “Why I Love You”
yah, I know, it’s that other song … but have you LISTENED to that other song?? it is not as good.
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Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams”
another song that people will always love … but this year it seemed to be EVERYWHERE…
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. Oneonitrix Point Never – “Returnal”
it’s really blowing my mind that this guy is somehow becoming a household name by making freaky ambient music … why does it stand out so much??? I dunno, but this track certainly does
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. Pixies – “Trompe Le Monde”
there is just no reason why the Pixies SHOULDN’T be on this list. this is a really cool vid.
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a good way to cap off this list I think … another track often played in the middle of Doldrums sets, an incredible climax, and an amazing voice
Arbutus Records
// Montreal label operates with fiery passion and good humour. home to Grimes, Silly Kissers, Sean Nicholas Savage, Tonstartssbandht and more
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