Five Star Songs; The Primitives- Thru The Flowers

Beautiful, sunny and warm, holiday Monday here in Toronto, and what better way to cap off this day than to play some 80's indie pop from The Primitives. The Coventry band were best known for their hit song "Crash" here in North America, but they had a string of really great singles throughout the 80's in the UK. "Thru the Flowers" was the first single they ever released in 1986 on Lazy Records, however just before they signed with RCA records, they re-released a more polished single of the song, which also appeared on their 1988 LP Lovely. Check it out below, especially if you are into bands like Veronica Falls, Fear of Men or The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

The Primitives are still together and touring. Let's hope they come back to North America in the near future.

Five Star Songs: The Walkmen- Heartbreaker

This song goes out to all of the long suffering Toronto sports fans (including myself)-second year in a row of heartbreaking exits from playoff series.

"Heartbreaker" is taken from the 2012 LP Heaven, possibly the last album The Walkmen will ever release.

Five Star Songs: Shout Out Louds- Hard Rain

Another iPod discovery, "Hard Rain" came on my shuffle last week and totally surprised me. The song is the last track from the 2007 Shout Out Louds' Our Ill Wills LP, and features singer Adam Olenius' whisper voice, punctuated with the heart breaking sweetness of Bebban Stenborg's singing that all melds into a raucous guitar smeared ending. One of those songs from an unappreciated album that I totally rediscovered this weekend. Check it out below:




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Five Star Songs: School Of Seven Bells- Sempiternal/Amaranth

I meant to write something regarding dream pop band School Of Seven Bells and death of Benjamin Curtis from cancer last week, but I was too busy to get around to it. Cancer is a mean motherfucker, especially when it strikes down a young and talented person no matter what he does for a living.

Even though I am of fan of Secret Machines, I didn't really fall in love with Curtis' work until he started School of Seven Bells with Brazilian by way of Brooklyn singer Alejandra Deheza, along with her sister Claudia. ( I also didn't know he was a drummer for 90's alt rock band Tripping Daisy until after he died). Curtis passed away at the age of 35, but he was a seasoned veteran of the music industry admired by many artists including Paul Banks or Interpol, Robin Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins and even U2's The Edge.

Unfortunately, I never got to see School of Seven Bells when they came to Toronto to play live, something that I will regret for the rest of my life. Thank goodness there is YouTube to keep alive a genius like Curtis' amazing work. Watch below a concert from 2012 that the band recorded in Berlin and make sure you stick around for the encore to watch the band play an epic shoegaze version of "Sempiternal/Amaranth".

Five Star Songs: Aztec Camera- Walk Out To Winter

It's only the second day of winter, and in Toronto, the weather has been absolutely abysmal. Last weekend - a week before winter even started- the city had a huge snowstorm which left it blanketed in 20 centimetres of the white stuff. As soon as all of that snow melted another storm came barreling in from Texas and has left the city plastered in ice. The storm blew in last night and has left thousands of downed trees and multiple power outages in its wake. Not a good start to a season that is often unpredictable in this area of the world.

Canada is often stereotyped as a cold, snowy land where we only get warm weather four months of the year. In many parts of the country that is true, but in Southern Ontario there have been many winters where we have received little to no snow. I remember a couple of years ago laughing at our friends in the Northeast United States who were hit with several Nor'easter storms. This left cities like New York and Boston snow bound while just a few hundred kilometres away in Toronto we were enjoying unseasonably warm weather, and what precipitation did fall was mostly rain.

Now it looks like it is our turn to suffer. December has been extremely cold and stormy and it looks like we may be in for the winter long haul. Might as well embrace it, after all, winter can also be very beautiful.

Scottish indie pop band Aztec Camera knew this and wrote one of the best winter love songs ever. "Walk Out to Winter" was written by the genius Aztec Camera singer Roddy Frame, and was featured on the band's 1983 LP High Land Hard Rain. How could you not like lyrics that are as genius as this:

"Met in the summer and walked 'til the fall
And breathless we talked, it was tongues
Despite what they'll say, wasn't youth, we hit the truth

Faces of Strummer that fell from the wall
But nothing is left where they hung
Sweet and bitter, they're what we found
So drink them down"

Listen below:

Five Star Songs: The Walkmen- Red Moon

Ughh... The Walkmen are the latest great band to announce they are going on the dreaded infinite hiatus. Once again, let's hope these guys will be back sooner rather than later. Writers of some of the best love songs by an indie rock band this century, the band's lyrics seems to possess a certain yearning that could only be perfected by the smoky voice of lead singer Hamilton Leithauser. A great example is the You & Me soft ballad "Red Moon", which, by the way, was featured in a Season 2 episode of Breaking Bad.  Listen below:

Five Star Songs: Kleerup - Until We Bleed (Ft. Lykke Li)

Just because I am in love with Lykke Li and think that everything song she sings is magical. "Until We Bleed" features Li's beautiful voice and is taken from Swedish producer Kleerup's eponymous 2008 album, an LP that also has songs featuring Swedish leading ladies Robyn and Neneh Cherry.

Five Star Songs: Frightened Rabbit- Swim Until You Can't See Land

Finally caught Scottish indie pop band Frightened Rabbit in concert the other night even though this is the third time the group has played Toronto in the last couple of years. Both of their earlier shows at The Mod Club and The Phoenix sold out quite quickly and it was tough to get tickets. This time the show did not sell out and the vacuous venue The Kool Haus looked only half full. The band played a lengthy 1 hour 45 minute set made up of songs form all of their albums and EPs, not just songs from their recent LP Pedestrian Verse.  They even reluctantly played their biggest hit, the celibacy celebrating song "Keep Yourself Warm" even though singer Scott Hutchinson stated that at the beginning of the tour that they were not going to play it.

One song I was disappointed they didn't sing was "Swim Until You Can't See Land", my favourite track off of The Winter Of Mixed Drinks LP. The track can be interpreted as a redemption song for someone who is trying to forget the past. It's a song that anyone who has ever ended a relationship or hit hard times can appreciate, especially if they are trying to overcome that adversity. Listen to the track below:

Five Star Songs- Asobi Seksu- Walk On The Moon

So sad to hear that dream pop/shoegazer band Asobi Seksu have announced they are going on indefinite hiatus. The group made the announcement on their Facebook page last week by posting "Thanks for all the memories guys. Hope to make more down the line. We miss you all.” which left fans thinking they were breaking up. However, they later clarified their statement by writing “Saying goodbye for the forseeable future, but we may write for Asobi again in a couple of years…” (Ironically, the last thing the band did was release a cover of Japanese sludge metal band Boris's song "Farewell.") 

Let's hope that they get plenty of rest in the next couple of years and that they come back even stronger.

"Walk on the Moon" is my personal favourite Asobi Seksu song. The track is taken from their 2004 debut self titled album.

Five Star Songs: The Smiths- I Know It's Over

This is my first posting for The Smiths, and with all of the great singles the band has ever recorded, I decided to pick a deep cut from The Queen is Dead album. Why? Because " I Know It's Over" might be the most melodramatic (overdramatic?) song that Morrissey has ever written. If you ever lost a friend or a lover you can probably relate to this song. Read the lyrics below and then listen to the original song plus a haunting live cover version from Jeff Buckley:

Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as I climb into an empty bed
Oh well. Enough said.
I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
Oh ...
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
See, the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to slit me
Do you think you can help me ?
Sad veiled bride, please be happy
Handsome groom, give her room
Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly
(Though she needs you
More than she loves you)
And I know it's over - still I cling
I don't know where else I can go
Over and over and over and over
Over and over, la ...
I know it's over
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real
And you even spoke to me, and said :
"If you're so funny
Then why are you on your own tonight ?
And if you're so clever
Then why are you on your own tonight ?
If you're so very entertaining
Then why are you on your own tonight ?
If you're so very good-looking
Why do you sleep alone tonight ?
I know ...
'Cause tonight is just like any other night
That's why you're on your own tonight
With your triumphs and your charms
While they're in each other's arms..."
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
Over, over, over, over
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind
Over, over
Love is Natural and Real
But not for you, my love
Not tonight, my love
Love is Natural and Real
But not for such as you and I, my love
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my ...
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can even feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my ... 

Five Star Songs: Sisters Of Mercy- This Corrosion

Seriously....go see the movie The World's End. It may not be the best movie of the year but is sure is the most fun. It might also be proved to be the best soundtracked film of the year and if you are fan of British music from the late eighties and early nineties this is a must see movie. I think I counted at least fifteen songs throughout the film plus a couple more over the end credits, including tracks from The Soup Dragons, Teenage Fanclub, Suede, The Sundays and The Housemartins, plus major scenes revolving around Primal Scream and the Sisters of Mercy.

The lead character in the film named Gary King -played by Simon Pegg - is a forty year old slacker who wants to relive his early years by gathering up his old friends and going on a pub crawl bender. The first scene in the movie revolves around Primal Scream's "Loaded" which is a track that starts off with the sampled lines "Just what is it you want to do. We wanna be free. We wanna be free to do what we wanna do. And we wanna get loaded. And we wanna have a good time." that is taken from the Peter Fonda film The Wild Angels. This happens to be the King's philosophy in life and plays a another part in a scene later in the film.

The character Gary King is also a big Sisters of Mercy fan and sports the band's T-shirt throughout the film. Although, Pegg's character is proven to be pathetic for being a forty year old man who never grew up, his style of wearing goth clothes still made him look pretty cool.  The one Sisters of Mercy song in the movie is "This Corrosion" and it doesn't appear to the end credits.

You can read a great interview with the movie's director, Edgar Wright, regarding the soundtrack at Indie Wire.

Five Star Songs: Bauhaus- Terror Couple Kill Colonel

This little gem came up on my iPod the other day.....

 "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" is unmistakably goth and is the third single released from the dark UK band Bauhaus. The song was inspired from the Red Army terrorist group that used to operate across Europe and were responsible for the murders of both prominent and innocent people.

Five Star Songs: Dirty Projectors- Two Doves

Lots of love for this song over on my Tumblr page. The post has a total of 118 notes (and counting)....Not bad!!!

After "Two Doves" started getting all of this attention on Tumblr, I decided to do a little bit more research on the song. The only thing I knew about the track was that it is a an album cut from the excellent Bitte Orca LP and it features the beautiful voice of Amber Coffman.

It turns out the MTV Hive website has an interesting post on the song, and all of the influences Dirty Projectors songwriter David Longstreth used to come up with it. Longstreth used bit and pieces of various songs from 60's artists, most notably Nico and her track "These Days" which was originally written by Jackson Browne. Interesting article - read more here and listen below.

New Music: Jeff Buckley & Elizabeth Fraser- All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun

At the time of Jeff Buckley's death, the iconic singer-songwriter had oodles of unreleased material including demos, bootlegs, and live concert recordings. A lot of these recordings have been leaked over the internet over the years and are widely available on sites like YouTube.

One of those songs was a duet Buckley did with Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins titled "All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun". There is not much information about this song other than the fact a tape of the track was discovered in Buckley's personal collection. Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, who now owns the right to the singer-songwriter's music has stated that she will never release the song. On Jeff Buckley's website a fan posed a question to Mary regarding putting the song out and she stated "I agree with all of you that "All Flowers In Time" is a lovely song, but we never had a proper studio recording of it, and the demo recordings we had were too personal and not suited to past projects." That is too bad because it is such a lovely song. Listen below:

Five Star Songs: Hot Chip- Playboy

"Playboy" may be the funniest and quirkiest songs that UK dance band Hot Chip have ever written. As a matter of fact, the song appears on their debut album Coming On Strong, and when that LP was released a lot of people thought they were a bit of a joke act. The reason was that they were a bunch of white electro nerds who wrote silly songs and were influenced by stylized hip hop and R&B. If you look at the lyrics of "Playboy" you can see why. The song starts with a T.S. Eliot quote from the The Wasteland and then transforms into comical macho rap bravado- but the kind of bravado only a bunch of geeky British musicians could exert. A rap song (errr...electro pop song) that gives a shout out to Yo La Tengo.....perfect.


April, the cruelest month
I reckon this much could be a contender
There's only so much sorrow a man can take
I can't change my face, don't you remember

You know when I was on the road
That me and you was on the rocks, so low
Should never have got talkin' all that jive
Now there's only one way for me to stay alive

Drivin' in my Peugeot, hey
20 inch rims with the chrome now, hey
Blazin' out yo La Tengo, hey
Drivin' 'round poppin' with the top down, hey

Drivin' in my Peugeot, hey
20 inch rims with the chrome now, hey
Blazin' out yo La Tengo, hey
Drivin' 'round poppin' with the top down, hey

So long to contentedness
I reckon next time I'll march in favor
So long I've felt a blessedness
No more is this a taste I want to savor

I know how I dig you on
You can know only see, so far
But never was there more to say
Less, to do, before, turn away

Drivin' in my Peugeot, hey
20 inch rims with the chrome now, hey
Blazin' out yo La Tengo, hey
Drivin' 'round poppin' with the top down, hey

Five Star Songs: Niki & The Dove- The Fox

"The Fox" by Swedish electro pop band Niki & The Dove keeps coming up on my iPod shuffle and it sounds better and better every listen.

The track is taken from last year's excellent Instinct LP which is available on iTunes.

Five Star Songs: Spiritualized- Cop Shoot Cop

Just because.....

The epic psychedelic space rock closing track from Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.

Five Star Songs: Pixies- Where is My Mind?

So, Kim Deal unexpectedly quit the Pixies last week. Not much information about this other then a message on the band's Facebook page. She will be missed in their live shows (not that they were planning on touring) , especially her haunting voice whenever they play "Where Is My Mind?" Brilliant song.

Five Star Songs- Propaganda- Duel (Extended Mix)

The death last week of Andreas Thein-an original member of German synth pop band Propaganda-had me reminiscing about one of my favourite 80's groups. I remember late nights listening to CBC Radio programme Brave New Waves and hearing Propaganda played regularly.

The two songs they played the most were "P-Machinery" and "Duel," both big hit singles in1985 and both featured on the band's excellent A Secret Wish LP. "Duel" was the bigger hit in England where it peaked at number 21. The dark song has some of the best lyrics written in that era for that music genre: "The first cut won't hurt at all / The second only makes you wonder / The third will have you on your knees / You start bleeding / I start screaming". Listen to the extended mix to the song below:

Propaganda started in Dusseldorf Germany (also home to Kraftwerk) and were originally an industrial band who recorded one single "Disziplin" that was a tribute to Throbbing Gristle's "Discipline". The power of that song led them to relocate to England and sign to Trevor Horn's infamous ZZT label-which was also home to Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Art of Noise.

The band didn't last long in it's original form, breaking up in 1987 after singer Claudia Brücken left to pursue a solo career (she later formed the band Act with Thomas Leer). The band regrouped with new members and released one final album in 1990 titled 1234.

There have been a couple of reunions where most of the original members got back together, including in 2005 performing at a tribute concert to Trevor Horn and his record label ZZT and in 2007 they appeared on a German TV show.

In 2010 they reissued A Secret Wish on a two disc CD. You can find it on Amazon or check your local record store.

Five Star Songs: Broken Social Scene- Anthems For a Seventeen-Year Old Girl

Back in 2009, Toronto indie collective Broken Social Scene were scheduled to play a concert on Olympic Island in the city's harbour, but because of a municipal strike the show was cancelled. Turned out this was a good thing because the band decided to reschedule the gig at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre on the same night and they made the decision to do the show for free. The evening included all of the band's hits (plus many songs from their yet to be released LP Forgiveness Rock Record) with special guests and part time members Feist, Metric, Stars and Jason Collett

When Broken Social Scene ended their last tour in 2011, the band announced they were going on indefinite hiatus and they even tweeted at a concert in Brazil that that would be their last live performance. But I guess things change because the record label that BSS singer Kevin Drew is co-owner, Arts & Crafts, is having their 10 year anniversary this year and to celebrate will be holding a concert in downtown Toronto that will include his band. BSS will be playing their classic album You Forgot It In People in full- front to back.

This had me reminiscing about that free concert in 2009- one of the highlights was when the band played YFIIP track "Anthems For A Seventeen-Year Old Girl". The amazing performance included guests Feist, Amy Millan of Stars and Emily Haines of Metric who all took turns on the microphone singing the twee indie pop song.Watch the clip from the performance below.

You know that BSS will be pulling out all of the stops this weekend and if it is half as good as they were in 2009 than people who are attending will be in for something special.

The Field Trip concert goes down Saturday June 8th at Fort York Toronto and will also include sets by The Darcys, Ra Ra Riot, Bloc Party, Gold & Youth, Stars, Feist and more.