Mother Mother - O My Heart

Alright, so this review is probably a little late since Mother Mother's second album came out last year, but I only discovered the band two weeks ago. O My Heart has to be the best album I've heard in the past year, which is saying a lot, because there have been some good ones. Of course, like you all, I had been hearing the single "Body of Years" on the Edge every day, and thought it was catchy, but didn't care enough to even find out who the song was by. Then one day, a friend tells me that he downloaded the Mother Mother album, and it's weird, but very very good. Sounds right up my alley. Listening to that album for the first time was like the first time I heard the White Stripes.

There are a few hard-hitting rock songs on the album, such as the opening track, "O My Heart," which combines loud, in your face guitars with a catchy pop-esque beat. It'll get your head boppin' right away. Most of the other tracks are more acoustic-based, often layered with eloquent string and horn sections that don't go way over the top like some other bands I could mention. The song "Body" (not to be confused with "Body of Years") has an addictive marching verse filled with staccato violins, and melds into a very ambient chorus full of day-dreamish harmonies.

The lyrical content is outstanding, in my opinion, which is a rare thing amongst new bands these days, whose songs are often just whining in rhyme about their parents getting divorced. Instead, Mother Mother seems more interested in writing actual poetry. Proper lyrics. It's about time we got a band like this. If I were to recommend a couple tracks to you, I would say listen to "Body," and "Hay Loft," the latter being a fast-moving rock track with hints of latin music in it.

Five stars. Give Mother Mother's O My Heart a listen today. You won't be sorry.

RIP Martin Streek

That's right, as reported by Eye Weekly, long-time personality of 102.1 The Edge, Martin Streek, was found to have taken his own life yesterday, July 6, 2009. I don't have much to tell you that you won't find in that article, but I can rehash some of it, and share a few words of my own about Martin.

Being that Martin was let go from The Edge a little over a month ago, his suicide can hardly be written off as a coincidence. The man had a CFNY tattoo on his butt, for crying out loud. It's no secret that he was devoted to the station. When I would email Martin on Saturdays to get on the guest list to the Phoenix, it always felt more like I was emailing a buddy, rather than some faceless radio personality. I recall a particular email that went back and forth between myself, him and Darrin Pfeiffer about Darrin's mom last summer.

I don't have too much else to say on the topic. Not many details are out there right now.

RIP Martin. You will most definitely be missed.

As a personal tribute to the man, I'd like to invite you all to light your zippo and take in this video. I chose "Today" by The Smashing Pumpkins, as it seems most fitting. Back in the early 90's when alternative was taking off, Martin was a big supporter of The Smashing Pumpkins on the Edge, and I know he was a big fan of the band. Also, the song was written by Billy Corgan during a suicidal point of his life. The song's about resisting the urge to take your own life when things seem bad. I wish Martin had had that strength.

First Post: Beck is Rad

Alright, so it should be fairly obvious this is my first post on the new site. I will try and migrate the articles from the old rocklog.ca to here, so you can all check them out. Enough about that boring stuff though.

The second obvious statement here is that Beck is rad. I know, I know, why blog something everyone already knows? Well let me tell you why Beck is so rad. In 1996, Odelay amazingly beat out the Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness at the Grammys for Best Alternative Album. In 2009, he's started The Record Club. No, it's not a new band. Well, not exactly. The Record Club's goal is this: Get together, pick an album, and re-record it, in one day. No rehearsals, no nothin'. Once the recording is done, beck.com and therecordclub.com will post one song from the album per week. The first album they chose to re-imagine was The Velvet Underground & Nico, otherwise referred to as "the Banana LP" amongst fans. Right now you can hear "Sunday Morning," and "Waiting for My Man" on the sites mentioned above.

It's a decidedly cool idea, but seriously, how good can the recordings be when they're pressed for time, and have never played the songs together? This thing could end up being a terrible flop. The songs are kinda cool to hear, but I always enjoy hearing fresh renditions of old songs. But this isn't the kind of thing that Beck et al. could sell for money. Cool to listen to though, and I look forward to hearing the rest of the Velvet Underground covers.