For me, 2008 was definitely a year of two extremes: amazing, and dreadful. Luckily, it had more happy moments than sad ones. In fact, it never really had sad moments, but a lot of the bad things that happened just happened to be awful, whereas there were a handful of fantastic moments and some okay ones on the good side; however, I don’t wish to dawdle on the bad things because, considering the state of the world right now, I think 2008 had a century’s worth of negativity stuffed into it.

Easily the best thing about this year was going to see Goldfrapp in September. Anyone who knows me in the slightest knows just how much I truly adore their music and so going to see them live was truly an amazing experience. This moment in my life will be hard to top, but going to see Feist two months later in November was an equally enthralling experience.

Yes, 2008 was definitely a big year of firsts for me. First time seeing Goldfrapp, first time seeing Feist, and I got my first job in the summer. I’m still at that job, and since my first posts about how much I liked it, I’ve grown to despise it to an extent. 2008 saw me get my driving license, and so it marked the first time I have ever driven a car. And to finish it all off, and on New Year’s Eve nonetheless, 2008 was the first time I ever got really, really drunk. Not that I’m proud of that one…

But even so, as the title of this post suggests, 2008 left me very tired. Maybe it was just the alcohol New Year’s Eve, but even in all of the good times, I was left pretty exhausted from it all. I’m not saying that I had a bad year; I’m saying that I need to get my energy up for an even better 2009!

Britney Spears. What comes to mind when you think of her? Maybe it’s the infectious pop of “Oops!… I Did It Again” and “…Baby One More Time”, or the undeniably amazing “Toxic”. Maybe it’s her somewhat floppy acting attempt in Crossroads. Or maybe, like the rest of world, it seems, your mind is flooded with images of head shaving, crotch flashing, and millions of other papparazzi exploits. In the years since her infamous Madonna kiss and In The Zone, the world has watched as Britney released herself from the constraints of her heavily protected life and just went wild. She began to fall into emotional pit after emotional pit, her career plundering along with her. A comeback seemed impossible.

Yet in 2007 there was a slight buzz going around that, despite showing no signs of improvement, an album was on its way. A comeback seemed to slowly become a reality, but after a horrible VMA performance of her new “don’t call it a comeback” (because, really, it wasn’t) single “Gimme More”, and the release of her first in album in 4 years, Blackout, Britney continued to spiral downward. Hope was slowly starting to dwindle and the world was losing one of its best pop stars. As 2008 approached, however, it seemed as though Britney was making a recovery. Despite losing her license and her father taking full control of her life, as well as having to deal with her mother’s tell-all book and her 16 year old sister’s pregnancy, Britney began to emerge from the rubble. She went into rehab, and spent late spring and all of the summer in 2008 in the studios working with dozens of producers.

The result is Circus, a truly triumphant return to form and definitely a comeback for Britney Spears as the pop princess she used to be. A mixture of the sleek club groove of Blackout and the more hip-pop leanings of some of her back catalogue, Britney has not only released easily one of her best albums to date, but she also sounds truly involved with the music, despite only writing a few tracks herself. Unlike her previous albums, especially Blackout, it doesn’t feel as though Britney just showed up for a couple of days to drop the vocals and let the producers do the rest.

Opener “Womanizer” is an immediate, in-your-face anthem. Sleek, sexy, and pure pop goodness. It is a sure sign that Britney is on her way back to the top, especially since it was her first #1 Billboard Hot 100 single since “…Baby One More Time” 10 years ago. Following it is “Circus”, a track that harks back to older Britney with its clear RnB influence. The dance break near the end also signals for fans to watch out for a wicked routine during the tour. After a stellar opener, Britney decides to slow it down a bit with “Out From Under”. While some will easily skip over this track and head straight for the upbeat material, it is actually very good. Unlike most pop ballads, “Out From Under” sounds very earnest and should be released as a single at some point during this album’s era. The break in this slower material, however, is brief as right after “Out From Under” comes “Kill The Lights”.

“Kill The Lights” starts an excellent four-track run in the middle of the album. It is easily one of Spears’ best songs, ranked closely along the likes of “Toxic” and “Oops!… I Did It Again”. Take the sleekness of Blackout and “Womanizer”, up it four times, and add genuine sexiness into the mix and you get an idea of what your up against. “Shattered Glass” follows, and it too feels like a mix of old and new Britney. Then we have the somewhat controversial “If You Seek Amy”, whose chorus is so deliciously trashy you want to hate it but can’t. After this high tension three track run is the cool-down with “Unusual You”, which is a very well done mellow slow groove.

From here, Circus goes into a filler section, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less enjoyable. “Mannequin” has an odd allure to it with it’s sci-fi, heavy club beat; the S&M inspired “Lace and Leather” sounds like a poppier version of the funk beats from Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex / LoveSounds; “Blur” perfectly fits the bill as the pop ballad awkwardly placed anwhere in the album; “My Baby” shows off a surprisingly good vocal effort from Britney. And the bonus tracks are also nice additions, although the inclusion of “Radar”, which was actually a main album track from Blackout, is odd. All is forgiven, though, as it is actually a fantastic song.

So it’s all here: great production values, great writing, and Britney actually sounding involved with her music for the first time since 2004. Circus is a truly fantastic album, and definitely one of Britney’s best ever. With a tour planned for 2009, the comeback everyone doubted has finally happened. Even though there will be detractors, it is undeniable that even the sourest of critics are glad to have their pop princess back. Hell, with a set like Circus, Britney Spears has solidified herself as the new Queen of Pop.

Recommended tracks: “Womanizer”, “Out From Under”, “Kill The Lights”, “Shattered Glass”, “If You Seek Amy”.

92%

Not that I don’t like my website anymore, but I have felt very little drive to blog. I’ve been so focused on other things and trying to help other people deal with their problems I’ve totally ignored problems of my own.

So, just a quick hi, because honestly, I have nothing to say… Something’s not right when that happens, I’m sure.

P.S.: All you who can, pick up the new Holiday music collection at Starbucks; it features a very special “Winter Wonderland” by Goldfrapp.

So then, I got to thinking of who I would ever work with if any opportunity came up. I might have some pretty outrageous ideas here, but still, I’m sure it’s possible my dreams could come true. You never know what the future holds.

First and foremost, Goldfrapp is a group I would do whatever it takes to sing with or for. Alison and Will have both been expressing interest lately in doing either an opera or some choir pieces. To me, this is a great idea to expand their obviously talented capabilities into other musical horizons. If auditions were ever held for their opera or choir, I’d ship myself off to the U.K. (because that’s where they’d likely be) and sign up right away.

A music producer whom I really admire not only based on his talent but on who he is is Andrew Butler, the man behind the Hercules & Love Affair project. One thing I love is good electronic music, but singing over it would be damn near impossible in most cases with my opera voice. If anyone would be able to help me pull this feat off, it’d be Andy Butler, either alone or as part of Hercules & Love Affair. Hell, he pretty much did just that with Antony Hegarty on the song “Blind”.

Speaking of which, I’d love to be able to do a duet with Antony Hegarty. His strong, yet delicate, quivering voice never ceases to amaze in its ability to express true, deep emotion. If that never happens, I’d probably end up doing a cover of his song “Hope There’s Someone” because it is easily the simplest and yet one of the rawest expressions of sadness he’s written.

After turning Moloko chameleon Roisin Murphy into a full on jazz/cabaret chanteuse, and all over some of the most inventive jazz infused electronica ever crafted, Matthew Herbert is definitely one man I’d love to have the opportunity to work with. If he was able to discover such a distinctive type of sound from Roisin Murphy, I wonder what qualities he’d work off of in my voice.

Finally, I’d also love to do some work with pop classical composer Van Dyke Park, who did all the orchestration with Joanna Newsom on her fantastic and ambitious album Ys. His playful, lush, and slightly avant-garde compositions are nothing short of amazing.

So there’s my dream list of collaborators. If any of you were ever making music, who would choose to work with and why?

Anyways, I like to have music on pretty much all the time. It is especially helpful for when I’m working. It doesn’t matter what the task is (chores, cooking, homework, website maintenance), I always have something playing. Most of the time, I tend to put together playlists for the occasion and they usually contain most of the same songs.

Pacing isn’t really important here as most of the music is relatively upbeat to keep the energy flowing. The only time I won’t listen to upbeat stuff is if I’m reading, in which case, I need slow, somber music that isn’t as distracting. Moving on, here is a nice little playlist (sorry, no free downloads) that you can put together for a good work time soundtrack.

1. “Ooh La La” by Goldfrapp
2. “What Do You Want (The Breakfast Song)” by Annie
3. “Blind” by Hercules & Love Affair
4. “Yadnus” by !!!
5. “Satan Said Dance” by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
6. “Monster” by You Say Party! We Say Die!
7. “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” by Spoon
8. “I’m A Lady” by Santogold
9. “2080″ by Yeasayer
10. “Down Boy” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
11. “I Fly” by CSS
12. “Melody Day” by Caribou
13. “Call Me” by Blondie
14. “Indigo” by Moloko
15. “Jimmy” by M.I.A.
16. “Genesis” by Justice
17. “Ready For The Floor” by Hot Chip
18. “Couleurs” by M83

I won’t be surprised if you blame me for being a little too hipster in some of my choices, but this does make for a nice backdrop to whatever tasks require you to stay awake. Of course, this is merely a suggestion, but I find music definitely helps with my productivity. Also, don’t feel it necessary to use these songs in the listed order.

I want to skip my birthday this year…

Then there are things we get for free that, really, we shouldn’t. Music, for instance, is easily the most popular download on the net and has been for well over a decade. It’s illegal, of course, but free. Now the allure is different: not only is it free, but now we’re beating the man to the punch.

Anyways, I really should get to my point. I have some free, legal music for you via the Urban Outfitters blog. They have this new project called Lstn where they compile a playlist of a bunch of up and coming indie artists, post them on their website, and offer them for free in convenient .zip packages for everyone to download.

• Lstn #1
• Lstn #2

A lot of the songs are incredible, and others merely okay, but they’re free, right? And we’ll all try anything once, especially if it’s free.

I added an important accessibility feature known as a site map. That page is going to be really hard to update as when you’re continually adding content, you kind of push the site map to the side. Last, but not least, I’ve updated the links page with a few more links in each section.

I’d also like to make a list of my current favourite website layouts that I’ve come across over the past few days of web surfing. Enjoy the eye candy!

• Neonglow: It’s simple and striking all at once.
• Intensify: The layout is very interactive without being overbearing.
• Qiann-Yu: Classic, elegant, beautiful.
• Eruanna: It’s creative without trying to hard.

As you can tell, it uses pretty much the identical styles of the last layout. This new version, however, is one that I find way more serene. Also, the text is slightly easier to read on it and overall it looks like I put more effort into it.

I can’t get my damn search form the work, though. I had one that worked on an older layout of mine, but no matter what I do, it just won’t search my website! Oh well, it looks pretty. I know, how useless is that? Until I get that sorted out, though, you all are just going to have to deal with a pretty, but useless, search bar.

Edit: Phew! Got the search bar working, so now it’s pretty AND useful! It was a silly mistake of which I won’t mention.

I also got that problem with the comment form fixed. I frigged around with it earlier and I guess I sort of disabled it. Sorry about that. Comments works again. I’m such a klutz; I shouldn’t be allowed to make websites.

Also, I feel I should mention where I got that tree design from because I obviously did not make it myself. Vecteezy is truly a fantastic resource for free vector art and I found the tree in this set. Enjoy!

I’m just so bored. Also, I miss food. All I can really do is drink lots of water and some juice, and sometimes have a Popsicle, but I can’t eat anything. That, and I’m not even hungry yet. This is a pretty rough way to lose some weight.

I don’t even care because I am dropping that course no matter what it takes. That thing they got to teach us is failing epically and no one is stopping him. Everyone is going to do terrible, and whenever we complain, he blames everyone but himself. He is the problem.

He is the problem.

I repeated that on purpose because it’s important to realize that he is the problem.

• Even though I had to work today, it wasn’t that busy. Now, when there are no customers, it gets pretty boring but it was the right balance of business and quiet today.
• I was let off about an hour early today.
• My friends came to visit me near the end of my shift, which was nice considering they were probably high.
• One of my favourite independent artists, Jesse Stephens, posted a new song this week called “Safe From Harm (Angel)”, of which I downloaded today and fell in love with.
• My parents went to a party and brought me back a dessert that is so good I want to bathe in it.

So there you are, a happy post. Now I’m off to kill myself to finally rid myself o this awful cold.

My personal excitement for Goldfrapp to arrive in Canada started long before the Danforth Music Hall date was announced in late July of 2008. Ever since their fourth album, Seventh Tree, leaked at the end of last November, I was waiting for tour dates to be announced in early 2008 around the time of the album’s official release.

Imagine, of course, my disappointment when they were only playing three dates in the states and the rest were European concerts and festival dates throughout the summer; however, I kept on wishing and hoping that one morning my phone would vibrate with a Goldfrapp newsletter announcing a Canadian date.

And vibrate it did. On the morning of July 21st, 2008, at around 10:15 AM, I was awoken by my phone because I had received an e-mail. After reading it, I immediately jumped from my bed to confirm that these two Canadian dates were, in fact, genuine. They were. I asked my mom to go. My mother couldn’t take me. Crap. But then there was my father, who, after much puppy-eyed begging, succumbed to my will and agreed to take me to what could loosely be describe as the most important moment in my life.

“If this means that much to you, I can’t say anything but yes.”

Fast forward over months of planning and waiting to the evening of September 14th, 2008, outside the Music Hall in line with other anxious Goldfrapp fans. My father and I waited for an hour and a quarter until the doors opened. After they did, we pushed and pushed to try and get the best seats possible. Any seat would have passed, but I wanted to have a good one. I needed one where I could stare straight ahead at Alison while she performed. I sat and waited until that moment for what felt like eternity.

“Who’s opening for them?”
“Oh, you know, that guy…”

Great Lake Swimmers were actually a very suitable opening act for the atmosphere Goldfrapp were trying to create for this album. While they looked quite out of place donned in what most people wear on a day to day basis with Goldfrapp’s washed-out, pastel circus backdrop, they sounded rather nice.

In fact, their sound is nothing but nice. Much like Coldplay, they sound as though they would never hurt you, even if their words hinted otherwise. Their straight-forward, guitar based folk-rock was soft, almost silky, and totally familiar. Soft drum shuffles, short, expected guitar solos, and chord progressions that 8 year old children know by heart litter their music.

And it was good. Their final song was the most intriguing as it used some different instrumentation and, most importantly, meant Goldfrapp was next.

“Here is where we start…”

And so Goldfrapp came out. The band members found their places on stage while the audience applauded generously. Then Alison made her way on stage, a nervous smile spread across on her stage. “Hello” was all she spoke, echoing in her microphone over an ocean of applause; the music began.

“Paper Bag” is a great opener to an evening with Goldfrapp because it sets the mood. It means you can expect an amazing show when they start off with an amazing, not-so-well-known song from their overlooked, but gorgeous, debut Felt Mountain. While Alison sounded a little too breathy, as soon as the song finished and they began “A&E”, things looked brighter. Much brighter.

Alison was at her best vocally that night. Not only that, but she never seemed so happy, energetic, and into her music like she was at this performance. She did some stomping during “Utopia”; she swayed romantically during a vivid performance of “Cologne Cerrone Houdini”; she dramatically flung her body around and moved to the beat of “You Never Know”; she did a warped version of the robot during “Satin Chic”.

After “Satin Chic”, the band calmed us down again with one of the best three songs in a row they could have conjured up: a heart wrenching performance of Seventh Tree’s standout “Eat Yourself”, followed by an awe-inspiring “Clowns”, and finished with a tripped out, extended “Little Bird”. And then it picked up.

“Yeah baby!”

“Number 1″ heralded the beginning of a new section of the show. The part where the show leaves the dreamy, gorgeous atmosphere of the first half to enter Goldfrapp’s dirtier, sexier side. The band was slightly disappointed at our lack of energy. One woman, slightly tipsy (I know from observing her drinking at the pub next to the hall), ran up front to dance directly in front of Alison.

Alison, impressed at her show of energy, had the lighting people light up the hall after the song so people could watch the woman saunter back to her seat, wide eyed and grinning at her feat of impressing Miss Goldfrapp. The band then played a glorious rendition of “Happiness”, with Alison and company bouncing about to the beat.

Noticing the need to finally get the audience up and jumping, the band pulled an expected stop and played “Ooh La La”. Everyone stood up, clapped along, and sang to the song. It was glorious, and got Alison really excited now that she got us standing up. “Caravan Girl” had us remain standing up, although slightly less energetic. It was the closing songs that really had us pumped up.

“Train” is already a great song, but needs to be heard live. It’s raunchy, dirty, sleazy, sexy sound is perfect for the live setting. Alison, noticeably tired, still managed to strut around and contort to the music and lyrics. “Strict Machine” had her writhing up and down her maypole-esque microphone stand. And nothing is sexier than seeing Alison shake her tits at you during the chorus.

“Cheers!”

And then it was (seemingly) over. We remained standing after “Strict Machine” and gave a non-stop standing ovation to Alison and the band. We knew they were going to come back; they always do. It would be cruel for them not to after what seemed liked hours of constant, riotous clapping in their honor.

“This is only lemonade, you know ;)”

They came back. We remained standing for their final two songs, regardless of them being slow burners. An album version of “Monster Love” filled the hall, particularly during its gorgeous chorus to which everyone began swaying. And while Alison may have fumbled the words to “Some People”, it made a lasting impression as the night’s final song.

“… And where we end.”

I could also add more album and song reviews, as I do have a few lying around my computer written anywhere from last week to last May. Also, I might change the layout. I don’t really feel like it, though. This is one of the first layouts I’ve had that I’ve felt really comfortable with. This is easily just change for change sake, so I’ll ignore any layout urge I have.

Although, I am going to be really busy with school. Being the yearbook editor brings a certain amount of responsibility on your shoulders, along with being in some demanding courses. I guess I’ll just see how it all goes. I do have three weeks off soon because of my tonsillectomy, so that will surely give me some time to make adjustments here.

First off, I should warn you that I am truly a lover of electronic music first. Secondly, I also adore pretty much every type of music out there (except “emo” stuff; I prefer not to listen to terrible singers whine about absolutely nothing) so, with that in mind, I’m going to try and be a bit more diverse with the music in this post.

Goldfrapp’s Felt Mountain

Goldfrapp recently released their fourth studio album called Seventh Tree. It is a gorgeous album, filled with lush, calming, and sometimes heartbreaking music. Before that, their second album Black Cherry and their third album Supernature went on to achieve great success in the U.K., as well as success on the U.S. Dance Charts. This was due to their more approachable sound.

But all this success has covered up their best record, the instant-classic Felt Mountain. When it was first released, critics instantly fell in love with it, but it didn’t sell very well. It’s a shame, really. Beyond the gorgeously crafted music that combines elements of Baroque, opera, cabaret, and trip-hop, are lyrics that are at times weird, sinister, and eerie. In lieu of their later albums’ successes, more copies of Felt Mountain are being sold.

Sally Shapiro’s Disco Romance

While it has become an underground hit, I’m surprised this album didn’t hit Europe as hard as it should have. The North American reissue, which is by far superior to the Swedish original, was beefed up with three new songs that added even more warmth and heartbreak into the mix. Disco Romance is a love album that encapsulates those feelings of clinging to past loves. It’s hard to let go of those relationships, and there is no better way to deal with nostalgia than over Italo Disco beats.

Anyone who listens to this album should melt inside. Even heartless bastards like myself fell in love with Sally Shapiro, and it’s one of those albums that gets you through tough times, even if it wasn’t designed that way. My speakers are probably sick of hearing this album, but I most certainly am not.

Peaches’ Impeach My Bush

Peaches made a very raw, rough and in-your-face debut called The Teaches of Peaches that made a big impact with credits. It was a first to see a woman being so overtly sexual in the confident, cock-sure way Peaches was; however, her second album failed to have the same impact, only delivering on a few tracks and ultimately sounding cheap - dangerous territory for Peaches.

She made, in my opinion, an uproar of a comeback with her third album, Impeach My Bush, which streamlined and digitized her sound into something sleek and sexy - something Peaches hadn’t yet achieved. This was the album that should have made her huge. And while she has a huge underground following, I personally feel she deserves to be recognized on a higher level than small club venues.

Moloko’s Career

Moloko always struggled to be noticed. While it was apparent their main intention wasn’t to sell hits, they should have at least been modestly successful earlier in their career. The potential for them to be chart friendly hit makers was established after the release of “The Time Is Now”. It was a massive hit for the group, and made their third album sell very well in its first week.

But as great as that song was, what about the true Moloko experimental edge? How come “Fun For Me” wasn’t made into a ’90’s anthem like most trip-hop numbers? Why didn’t people cherish the fact that Moloko made jungle music bearable on their sophomore album I Am Not A Doctor? How come Statues, which combined all of their best elements into a sleek, pop-forward record, didn’t become huge?

As they toured Europe for their last album, Statues, Moloko became quite well known - only to end their career in the process. What about over here in America? Well, aside from some critics who noticed them, both positively and negatively, the most you hear about them is “Molo-who?”. It’s a shame, though, since their experimental ways created several blueprints for other artists to build on and turn into huge successes.

Also of Interest:

• Don’t Sleep On It Pt. 1