My Top 10 Hottest Canadian Bands 2008

As I mentioned in my last post, last Friday I (Heart) Music had posted the annual Hottest Bands In Canada list. I gave a few comments about my choices and omissions, etc. but after noticing that Mike at For The Records put up his personal choices, well, copycat that I am, I figured that I'd do the same.

Each of us who contributed to the list were basically given only two rules: the bands had to be Canadian, and they had to have a particularly "hot" year. We were aloud to define both of those terms anyway that we liked. The first one was pretty self explanatory, but determining what would be considered hot, well, that's another story. I basically decided that it meant that my personal views should be set aside (for the most part), and the bands in question had to have received quite a bit of recognition from the public, other artists and the critics and fans. I mostly stuck to that criteria, except now that I think about it, maybe my number one choice was based on more personal opinion that I consciously intended:

1. Cuff The Duke – Cuff the Duke was everywhere in 2008. They’ve opened for Feist and Calexico as well as playing backup for Hayden and holding their own with Blue Rodeo and Basia Bulat. Their live show is amongst the best that I’ve seen all year. They have the youthful vigor of a new band, but the musical abilities and tightness of a band that’s been doing this for decades. (And on a personal note, any band that can make me nostaligic for Oshawa is worthy of some form of recognition.) Myspace

2. Feist – Although last year was a particularly hot year for Feist, she managed to keep that momentum going in 2008. She appeared on SNL at the tail end of ’07, was on Stephen Colbert in April, will be headlining the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Diana Ross and won 5 Juno awards. However, what really makes 2008 an especially hot year for her is the fact that she got to sing with the monsters of Sesame Street. It took R.E.M. 16 years and 11 albums to get there. Feist did it in 9 years and 4 albums. Myspace

3. Shad - I know a lot of people that felt that Shad should have won the Polaris prize that he was nominated for this year. The fact that it wasn’t necessarily hip hop fans that felt this way really says a lot about how all encompassing his appeal really is. Like Cadence and K-OS before him, Shad has introduced impressive rhymes and beats to those who wouldn’t usually spend a lot of time with hip hop. Myspace

4. The Dears – What makes these guys so hot is the fact that they’ve struggled through a year of difficulty and adversity which included severing ties with both their label and most of their band, yet they still came out on top by releasing an album as inventive and brilliant as Missiles.
Myspace

5. Neil Young – It’s never easy for an artist to remain relevant throughout a career spanning 40+ years, but in many ways Neil is now more relevant than ever. He has the ability to play a large stadium and still make you feel as if his show was prepared just for you. Myspace

6. Caribou – Although I’ve got my personal views on all things Polaris, there is no denying the fact that winning this prize is a sure fire way to get your name on the map. Although Dan Snaith was already there in many ways, being included in every Polaris related conversation certainly adds to your hotness factor, and to do so with a style of music that many people find indefinable is twice as impressive. Myspace

7. Amos The Transparent – There are two kinds of hot: the kind that you notice immediately and the kind that sort of sneaks up on you. I’ve been following these guys closely and I’ve noticed that people will literally stop what they’re doing and become instantly awestruck when they hit the stage. They’re still a relatively small name right now, but they undoubtedly gain new fans with every show that they play. Myspace

8. Ruby Coast - For a bunch of kids fresh out of high school to put out music that is miles ahead of some of their (more popular) contemporaries, one has to wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg. There may be no limit to what they can accomplish. Myspace

9. Broken Social Scene – Technically they didn’t even release an album this year, but when slapping the tagline “Broken Social Scene Presents…” to the front of your name guarantees that you’ll receive double the exposure, that’s pretty impressive. Myspace

10. Crystal Castles – Unfortunately my personal opinion doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on a band’s overall hotness factor so my list begins with a band that I don’t get, but for some reason a lot of people do. Although I’ve never been one to listen to video game music for enjoyment, a Crystal Castles show seems to have become synonymous with crazy antics and controlled chaos. They’ve successfully used negative publicity to their advantage, and you’ve got to respect that (to a certain extent anyway.) Myspace

Lykke Li, Crystal Castles, Art Of Fresh, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, etc

Well this has been sort of an off week for me. I don't know if I'm coming down with something or if I'm still suffering from a bit of a non alcoholic Nuit Blanche hangover, but my energy level has been virtually nil since Monday. Sadly, that means that I was in bed on Wednesday and didn't get to the Vesta Varro show, as I had initially intended. I will however attempt The Dears show tonight (had to pay for this one so the motivation level is a bit higher) and hopefully Murray et al will have my full attention.

In the meantime, I finally got around to listening to a few CD's that bloggers and other forms of music media have been singing the praises of over the course of the last year or so, and although I don't think that I have the moxie to throw up any full reviews of these ones, I would certainly like to give you my two cents.

All of my friends have been touting Lykke Li ad nauseum, and I have to admit that the incessant gushing has caused me to ignore this one longer than I should've. I also heard that she was in town several months ago supporting El Perro Del Mar and that many in attendance left after her set and didn't stick around for the headliner. Being a huge El Perro Del Mar fan, this news made me mad. However, I would now like to go on record as saying that I have been ignorant, and I hope that my friends can forgive me for sporting such unqualified attitiude. The fact is that Youth Novels is a stellar album, and the mood and feel of the album reminds me of Charlotte Gainsbourg's 5:55 release a couple of years ago. Her vocals are hushed and understated, and the album is the sultry warm blanket of a downtempo sunset, immediately making me feel comfortable and at home.

Lykke Li is playing The Mod Club on Friday October 24th.
Myspace: Lykke Li

Crystal Castles is another band that I put off listening to due to the hyperactive hype surrounding them, but in this case, upon listening to the album, I feel like I'm justified this time. I'm not one to give many bad reviews, but I just have to admit that I'm not getting it. When I was young, there was kid who lived in my neighbourhood that we used to tease for holding his tape recorder up to his Atari video game system and recording the musical accompaniment to Pac Man. He'd then throw this into his walkman and listen to it for enjoyment. That's what the Crystal Castles sound like to me. The gimmick gets old really fast and the album is just plain boring. It's too bad because ultimately, regardless of my earlier comments, I really wanted to like this band. The controversy surrounding them regarding plagiarism issues and the like has intrigued me, and I love cheering for the underdog. But first and foremost, I've got to enjoy the music and in their case, I just don't. Ultimately though, one man's opinion isn't going to change anyone's mind and the fact remains that the Castles are huge and they keep getting bigger so, y'know, good for them and all that stuff.

Crystal Castles are playing Circa on Friday October 24th.
Myspace: Crystal Castles

As I've mentioned before, asking me about hip hop is sort of like asking Pauly Shore about wise career moves. My knowledge on the subject is very limited. All I know is that when it comes to hip hop, I know what I like and I know what I don't like. And I like Art Of Fresh. The duo consists of D.O. and Slakah The Beatchild, the latter of which I've gotten to know quite well in a musical sense and have grown to be very respectful of. What I like about him is that he keeps his brand of soul / R&B/ hip-hop, etc from sinking to the lowest common denominator, keeping it clean and slick sounding without relying on overproduction and too much manufactured instrumentation. This keeps his music sounding organic and real. Admittedly not every song on Back To The Earth turns my crank, but tracks like Get Free, Out This World and We Can Do It have enough of that old skool vibe to keep me entertained.

Myspace: Art Of Fresh
Finally, while we're in a rhythm and blues frame of mind, I have been incredibly negligent in not listening to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings a year ago, when 100 Days 100 Nights was officially released. This is soul music in its purest form: raspy voiced, delta blues based huskiness, designed to take you back to a time when the soul sound was identified by funky horns, subtle drums, shout-along backup singers and an undeniable groove. Sharon plays the role of female counterpart to James Brown very successfully and although the idea of perfectly capturing that 60's New Orleans vibe is a ludicrous notion to say the least, Sharon should pride herself in coming pretty darn close and providing a reasonable alternative for those who long for a newer version of that sound, without sounding too new.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings are playing Kool Haus on Wednesday October 29th.
Myspace: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings