I just picked up a copy of Vampire Weekend’s debut album, and it’s ace! I heard of New York City’s latest indie rock band to take the media by storm a week or two ago, and downloaded their album a few days back. After a few listens I was seriously hooked by their unique, indie, afro-beat influenced tunes - and just had to get my hands on the CD (yes - if I like something I download, I buy it!). They’ve been compared to Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ - for their afro-beat style, as well as a few other groups I’ve heard of, but have never really listened to.
Vampire Weekend consists of Ezra Koenig, Rostam Batmanglij, Chris Tomson, and Chris Baio. They met while going to Columbia University - and seem to be genuine ‘Ivy Leaguers’. They definitely have style as well - they were featured in the recent GQ issue, and look very preppy in that shoot. They are self-proclaimed specialists in “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Upper West Side Soweto”, “Campus”, and “Oxford Comma Riddim” - and one listen shows you just how musically talented they are (if you check the album insert, they all play multiple instruments).
It’s hard to choose favourites on this CD - almost every track is amazing. That being said, my current faves would have to be: Oxford Comma, Campus and M79. Listen to them below. For more info on Vampire Weekend, check out their official site. If you’d like to purchase a copy of their album (which I highly recommend you do), it should be available at all major retailers, both in store and online. Remember….make this weekend a Vampire Weekend!
Christmas is a time for family and friends, holly and ivy and plenty of cheer - and of course music! Whether it be in restaurants, stores, on the radio or even in peoples houses, the music leading up to the 25th takes on a Christmas cheer. I always enjoy listening to such “festive” music - not just the classics, but also new compositions. While it’s always nice to break out those Sinatra and Bublé albums (heck, I’m listening to one now), I really enjoy hearing more modern tunes from bands I listen to regularly - like The Killers or Keane (to name two I’ve recently been listening to).
Below I’m going to provide you with some listening goodness - a few Christmas themed songs I’d like to let you listen to. Hopefully you’ll enjoy them as much as I do. I’ve also included some background info on the bands/songs below, mostly courtesy of wikipedia.
The Killers - A Great Big Sled (feat. Toni Halliday)
“A Great Big Sled” is a song by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. It was recorded in mid-November 2006 with record producer Alan Moulder as a one-off track and the band’s Christmas 2006 single. Moulder’s wife Toni Halliday, the former lead vocalist of Curve, features on backing vocals.
The song was released December 5, 2006 (2006-12-05), as a download from the iTunes Store. All of the proceeds from this song went to AIDS charities as part of Bono’s RED campaign. A music video was released for the single, containing “candid” clips of the band members participating in various holiday celebration.
The Killers - Don’t Shoot Me Santa
“Don’t Shoot Me Santa” is a song by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. The song was released November 27, 2007 (2007-11-27), as a digital download. All of the proceeds from this song will go to AIDS charities as part of Bono’s RED campaign. It is The Killers’ second Christmas download single following 2006’s “A Great Big Sled”.
Bennie K - The Christmas (ザ★クリスマス)
BENNIE K is a J-Urban female duo that consists of rapper CICO and vocalist YUKI, both of whom love American hip-hop music. They met while YUKI was in Los Angeles undergoing voice training. They made their debut in January, 2001 with the single Melody, released on the For Life Music label. This track is off their fourth album, Japana-Rhythm.
For any of you who missed the Domenic Troiano Tribute concert which aired last week on CBC Radio 2 - FM 94.1 “Canada Live”, I’ve posted a recording below. Click on the play button to begin listening.
To those unfamiliar, this is a tribute to guitarist/composer/producer Domenic Troiano, who passed away in May 2005 at the age of 59. It was the 2nd annual tribute in his honour, taking place at the Palais Royale, featuring many performances from both family and friends.
Late last month, the stunningly beautiful Alice Panikian, was crowned Miss Universe of Canada 2006, at the Casino du Montreal. The 6’1”, 20 year old and professional model was representing Toronto in the event, and was up against 48 other contestants from across the country. Alice was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and immigrated to Canada when she was five years old. She’s in her second year at York University, majoring in English and Communications.
The 2006 Miss Universe Pageant (in which many countries will be represented) will take place on Sunday, July 23, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Last year’s winner was Canada’s very own Natalie Glebova (who was also from Toronto). The event has never been won back-to-back by one country, but I think it may just happen this time. Take one good look at Alice…how can’t she win? . In any case, I would like to wish her best of luck in this event, and also congratulate her for how far she’s come already, definitely something to be proud of! Good Luck Alice!!!
For more information about the event, go here. Also, if you’d like to see a video slideshow of all the contestants (for the Canadian event), just download it here (Please note, the movie is an .AVI file and is encoded with the XviD codec, in order to view the video in WMP, install the XviD codec first). Alice stood out as a definite winner (in my opinion), but that’s not to say it wasn’t close! See for yourself.
A few days ago I was lucky enough to come across a few songs by the female solo artist S-key-A. After listening to them, I’ve come to the conclusion that this 20 year old Osaka, Japan, singer is very talented. S-key-A has great vocals in both her native language of Japanese and also English, in which she sings fluently. Using both languages really adds something to the music, and is very popular these days in Japan. S-key-A also writes almost all of her own music, which is really cool. More and more artists are relying on writers to write for them, but when an artist writes their own they can really sing to it, because it’s theirs, it has more meaning.
Her music is in the r&b genre, often with guest appearances by other hip-hop singers which are all very well arranged. S-key-A has been involved in many different performance competitions and events, even going to the United States to study. Her musical influences include Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears. She is currently studying at University in Osaka, Japan.
I think S-key-A is a great singer with lots of potential. I can really see her performing with artists like m-flo in the future. I wish her the best of luck. Always follow your dreams!
Here are three of S-key-A’s songs. Please give them a listen and let your friends know about her too, I’m sure you will enjoy!
“Dance with me” written by tazz + S-key-A, produced and additional vocal by tazz (for S.D.P)
“playgirl” (remix) written by S-key-A, produced and additional rap by STY (for SMLOmusic)
I just picked up a copy of Vampire Weekend’s debut album, and it’s ace! I heard of New York City’s latest indie rock band to take the media by storm a week or two ago, and downloaded their album a few days back. After a few listens I was seriously hooked by their unique, indie, afro-beat influenced tunes - and just had to get my hands on the CD (yes - if I like something I download, I buy it!). They’ve been compared to Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’ - for their afro-beat style, as well as a few other groups I’ve heard of, but have never really listened to. 
“A Great Big Sled” is a song by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. It was recorded in mid-November 2006 with record producer Alan Moulder as a one-off track and the band’s Christmas 2006 single. Moulder’s wife Toni Halliday, the former lead vocalist of Curve, features on backing vocals.
“Don’t Shoot Me Santa” is a song by Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. The song was released November 27, 2007 (2007-11-27), as a digital download. All of the proceeds from this song will go to AIDS charities as part of Bono’s RED campaign. It is The Killers’ second Christmas download single following 2006’s “A Great Big Sled”.
BENNIE K is a J-Urban female duo that consists of rapper CICO and vocalist YUKI, both of whom love American hip-hop music. They met while YUKI was in Los Angeles undergoing voice training. They made their debut in January, 2001 with the single Melody, released on the For Life Music label. This track is off their fourth album, Japana-Rhythm.
For any of you who missed the Domenic Troiano Tribute concert which aired last week on CBC Radio 2 - FM 94.1 “Canada Live”, I’ve posted a recording below. Click on the play button to begin listening.
Late last month, the stunningly beautiful Alice Panikian, was crowned Miss Universe of Canada 2006, at the Casino du Montreal. The 6’1”, 20 year old and professional model was representing Toronto in the event, and was up against 
. In any case, I would like to wish her best of luck in this event, and also congratulate her for how far she’s come already, definitely something to be proud of! Good Luck Alice!!!
