Junos 2011

My heart hasnt been this full in a long time, and thats all thanks to the amazing Juno weekend that just stormed through Toronto. With 40 years under its belt, this year was truly one to celebrate - its the year Neil Young graced the Juno stage after almost 30 years to receive the Allan Walters Humanitarian Award, won 2 Junos including artist of the year, and I also watched as Daniel Lanois called him up on stage to share his Juno Gala Producer of the Year spotlight; the year that Arcade Fire is an internally celebrated band; the year that Drake hosted the event and opened with skype-singing "I Will Remember You" with Bieber; the year Shania Twain was inducted into the Hall of Fame via Bryan Adams; and the year the performances included a collaboration of City & Colour, Jim Cuddy & Sarah Harmer, to name a few, for a "Love Letter To Toronto" tribute, Broken Social Scene, Tokio Police Club, Down With Webster and Hedley....and finally, the year old money become the new dolla dolla bills.

Like I said, my heart is full, because especially this year Canadian music has been celebrated internationally, and this past weekend proved that there is not better way to do so properly than on home turf.

David Ramirez

Currently I'm sitting in bed at 830, wishing my Juno leftovers away watching movie trailers, as you do... and came across Between Notes which appears to be a Once inspired tangled love story between two musicians which mainly takes place on a park bench, as good romance does. As it turns out, the two main actors are infact artists, and I was pleasantly surprised on how quickly David Ramirez melted my alcohol stained heart.

Beatboxing Pixies Cover

A Juno post to come soon....for now put this in your ears. Beware, its addicting.

Covers

A beautiful cover of one of my all time favorites. My, my, my….



And one more cover for the halibut.. can I just mention I was at work looking for this embed, and I couldn’t remember Anya’s name, the only thing I could remember that this version was featured in Gossip Girl…needless to say it was awkward when I was watching the “Gossip Girl threesome scene” titled youtube video when my bossman sat down next to me.

The Sheepdogs

This Saskatoon rocktet just mozied its way through sxsw, creating quite the buzz trail. Not to mention, they are currently the only Canadian band to be in the top 8 for Rolling Stone's Do You Want To Be A Rock Star? competition, with prize including a cover, a place at Bonnaroo, a showcase on Jimmy Fallon and a record deal (which these days seems to be the least glamorous part of the prize) The contest is completely voter driven at this point, so make sure to show your support.

Their name is reminiscent of their sound which is heavily influenced by 70s southern classic rock (think Allman brothers) and reminds me of a day under the southern sun... yes, for some reason the deep south reminds me not only of fields, bbqs, jazz scales and straw hats, but also sheepdogs.

Neon Hitch

I saw Neon this past fall when she opened for a friend's tour and its safe to say I'm hitched. (Bad pun, I realize, but give me a break I haven't even rolled out of bed yet) Her catchy electro beats are a great addition to any playlist.

If her music isnt enough to sell you, how's this for badass - she grew up in a band of travelling street performers, ran away to India at age 16, hopped over to NYC and landed straight into the music scene, singing behind Ke$ha and Rivers Cuomo. (could there be any two people more opposite spectrum?) and now has a pet unicorn. Okay, so I made up the last part and really just want that for myself, but can you blame a girl?

Stay tuned for this one to explode, folks.

Dog is Dead

Oh hey Two Door Cinema Club, meet Dog is Dead. This three man (electrical) band from the UK came into my life in the closing scene of the season finale my obsessions, Skins, and are instantly addictive. They've toured opening for the likes of Local Natives, Mumford & Sons and OK Go, but these cats only have an EP under their belts.

The gig videos of them boast for a sweaty mess of a live show, and will be one I keep my eyes open for when they hop across the pond.

Lets be honest, who doesnt love a little saxophone and glockenspiel action? Its so electric, indeed.

Post Patty's

Call it post patty’s day depression, but the only thing getting me through the day today is mellow and somewhat emotional songs that are the opposite of Irish so I can drown in the thoughts of last night’s Jameson… a true sign of success in my books. Today is nothing but pain as the leftover leprechauns are still jigging on my brain…but common little sirs, you need to take a rest for another 364 days already.

If you care to join on my attempts to ease the aches, just hit play and kick back. My Guinness.

Kimbra

Kimbra showed up on my twitter feed today and has quickly moved to my ipod. Not everyone gets to move that quickly because lets be honest, a girl needs to have standards, but theres also exceptions to every rule and this Melbourne native is one of them. Although her lyrics are enough to scare most people into a run, it just happens to be a super catchy tune that I will be listening to while heading quickly, but light-heartedly, in no particular direction.