5 Reasons Glasvegas Rule

Hello Friends,

Last week Glasvegas offered a free download of their latest single 'The World Is Yours' on their site. The song is incredible so go there when you have a second.

In the last 2 years I've probably played their debut 50 times from start to finish. It had to go on the back-burner so that I could still enjoy it at a later date.

Since this track became available I've had to return to the debut and get my fill as we wait for the next album. It's also allowed me the chance to dig deeper and find some great rare cuts from the band and covers that are mind blowing.

The band are set to release their 2nd album sometime this spring and I for one am ecstatic. In the meantime here are 5 reasons Glasvegas rule.

• Geraldine *Epic rock n' roll anthem if I've ever heard one
• Flowers and Football Tops *Stunning video
• It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry
• Be My Baby *Haunting cover of Ronettes from the 60s
• Geraldine Acoustic *WOW

Thanks for reading/listening.

Gregg

Violent Femmes

Hello Friends,

I heard a DJ spin 'Blister in the Sun' by the Violent Femmes last night and it blew my mind. I don't think I'd heard this track in at least 10 years. The song instantly took me back to grade 7 when I was a mere 12 years of age.

They were a big band in the eyes of my elementary school friends. The grade 8 girls were really into the likes of Depeche Mode, Housemartins, Violent Femmes, Jesus & Mary Chain and The Cure to name a few. It was at a time when CFNY was a radio station that played the Violent Femmes bookended by De La Soul and Blue Rodeo. The CFNY Roadshow even did a few dances at our school at that time.

This was the same year I went to my first concert. Depeche Mode at the CNE stadium on their Violator tour. Violator is easily one of my Top 10 albums of all time. I digress...

Here a few Violent Femmes songs to jog your memory...

• Add It Up
• Kiss Off *My personal fav from that album
• Blister in the Sun
• American Music *the later years

Here's a couple videos that also remind me of this great era that helped me to evolve and fall in love with music.

• Depeche Mode - 'Policy of Truth'
• The Beautiful South - 'The Song For Who Ever' *Pencil Case Song:)
• Midnight Oil - 'Blue Sky Mine'
• The Cure - 'Love Cats'

I love that these all still stand up today.

Thanks for reading/listening,

Gregg

J. Cole

Hello Friends,

I am hooked on J. Cole's 'Friday Night Lights' mix-tape. It reminds me very much of the first time I heard Common, The Roots or even Kanye's first album 'The College Drop-out' for that matter. It's not just another mix-tape - it's easily one of the finest.

I will never claim to be an expert in any genre of music - let alone Hip Hop. I just know what I like and when I really like something I can't talk enough about it - and will do so with whomever's willing to listen. This album is chalk full of cameos and guest appearances including Kanye West, Erykah Badu, Drake, Pusha T, Big Sean to name a few.

I had the pleasure of seeing J. Cole on stage with Drake at Radio City Music Hall in NYC this past September. It was a beautiful thing to see a homecoming for a local boy on such a massive stage. The crowd went nuts when he joined Drake for 'Who Dat?'

My colleague Scott told me about J. Cole this time last year. He introduced me to 'Who Dat?' by way of a link. It was a stellar song - but I thought that's all this guy had. I honestly thought it was another 1 hit wonder scenario. I'm now sold and think that this young artist is going to play a big role in changing the game and bringing it to the next chapter.

An album is always meant to be heard in the order it appears on the track-listing - and that's how I recommend you listen to this one. BUT since we live in an A.D.D. world I have also taken the liberty of selecting 5 tracks for you to check out J. Cole and see what you think.

• You Got It
• Too Deep For The Intro
• Before I'm Gone
• Higher
• Who Dat?

RapCity recently returned to MuchMusic to what appears to be a very happy Hip Hop community. Along with it comes a new host in @Trexxx1LOVETO. The show premiered last Thursday at 10pm and will live at that time moving forward. I for one am excited to see how it transforms and brings Hip Hop's scene into the spotlight each week.

Enough work plugs - the reason I brought it up is because when I was listening to J. Cole's mix-tape at my desk the other day when Trexxx came over to throw in his two cents. He pointed out a few lyrics to me that I don't think I'd have appreciated had he not done so. Here's a quick one...

• "Partially functional, Half of me is comfortable, The other half is close to the cliff, Like Mrs. Huxtable."

Thanks for reading/listening.

Gregg

5 Exciting Tunes from 2010

Hello Friends,


Today is a good day because it's the day the courier dropped off my latest issue of Q Magazine. This magazine really is my Bible in terms of legit tunes and great in-depth looks at new and old artists alike. This month's cover story is of Canada's own Arcade Fire as they received the highest honours for #1 album of 2010.

2010 was indeed a great year for music with releases like Arcade Fire's 'Suburbs', Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', The Drums' self-titled debut, Brandon Flowers' 'Flamingo', Band of Horses, Grinderman, LCD Soundsytem, Foals, The Black Keys and many other albums.

Here are a few stand-out exciting tracks to reflect on 2010 and hopefully get you pumped about what 2011 has in store for us.

1. Arcade Fire - 'Ready to Start'
2. The Naked and Famous - 'Punching in a Dream'
3. Cee Lo Green - 'Bright Lights, Bigger City'
4. Temper Trap - 'Lost Love' *love this innocent video
5. Darwin Deez - 'Radar Detector'
6. James Blake - 'Limit To Your Love' *cover of Feist:)
7. Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks'
8. Wilder - 'Skyful of Rainbows'

Thanks for reading/listening,

Gregg

5 Forgotten Albums Revisited

Hello Friends,

I've got a new laptop, new headphones and a few gift cards to the iTunes music store. This means 2011 is already that much better for music from where I'm sitting.

The beauty of an iTunes gift card is that it forces you to explore music more. It would be too easy to go to the top rated and top download sections - but when you have a budget to work with in that space you always want to make sure you choose wisely.

It's kept me busy for at least 5 hours yesterday. It actually had me cross referencing CD collections and old mixed discs to see if I had things or not. It turns out you do need CDs to trigger the memory at times. The iTunes store is much like any other store in that real estate is everything. You really need to spend time and sift through the A-Z sections to find the depths of this store.

Here are 5 albums I dug up and think you should check out or reinvestigate when you have time.

The Cardigans - 'Long Gone Before Daylight'. This album was one of the first I had the pleasure of marketing in 2003. It's a truly beautiful album from start to finish. The video for 'For What it's Worth' is unreal and is so much cooler that the song 'Lovefool' that put this band's name on the map.

Common - 'Like Water for Chocolate'. Conscious Hip Hop meets Neo Soul. This was my introduction into something very cool. Common, Talib, The Roots, Jazzfatnastees and all things Okay Player came with this package and really gave me a better understanding of Hip Hop. Check out the classic video for 'The Light'.

Amy Winehouse - 'Frank'. When this album came out Amy was being marketed alongside 2 jazz artists, Jamie Cullum and Katie Melua. She did her first showcase at Top of the Senator here in Toronto and I, along with a roommate, sat front row to see this Gina Gershon looking soul singer perform. She was amazing and tiny back then. In recent years I witnessed a cracked out cockney twig of a woman mumble her way through an interview on MTV Live. I cannot believe what she has become. Here's a look at her first video for 'Stronger Than Me'. This album is still a classic regardless of how she turned out and worth another listen.

Scissor Sisters - 'Scissor Sisters'. The first single was a cover of Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' and I did not like it one bit. The second track I heard from this album was a very different story though. It had the power of a young Elton John and the depth of a Floyd track. 'Mary' is truly a great introduction to this amazing album and a start to exploring their full collection.

Beck - 'Sea Change'. I couldn't get into Beck when he first stepped on the scene. I don't know why - but his music just never left me wanting more. In 2002 he released Sea Change and it knocked me on my ass. This album is meant to be heard on a car as you drive off into the sunset. The lead track 'Golden Age' is the perfect track to unwind to and forget about your troubles. Not unlike 'Golden Age' the other stand-out track from this one is 'Guess I'm Doing Fine'.

Here's to another great year in music.

Thanks for reading/listening.

Gregg

My Top Picks of 2010

Hello Friends,

What a great year in music. It finally feels like things are taking a turn for the better across all levels of this business and it's nice to see. Maybe it has to do with less struggle and more open minded artists adapting to their surroundings? Perhaps the collapse of Limewire and new rules surrounding Copywrite Reform are helping? Social media is definitely a big part of it and has brought artists closer to their fans than ever. Twitter allows them to create excitement instantly and that is huge.

Whatever the case it's working and the music that came out in 2010 was amazing.

Like anyone at the end of a year I like to reflect. I have some 'Best of Lists' I'd like to share with you all - and they are as follows...

Top 6 Concerts (5 is never enough)

1. Roger Waters @ Air Canada Centre
2. Mumford and Sons @ Lee's Palace
3. Two Door Cinema Club @ The Phoenix
4. City and Colour @ The Molson Amphitheatre
5. Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles @ The Queen Elizabeth Theatre
6. Polaris Music Prize @ The Masonic Temple

Top 7 Music Videos

1. Arcade Fire - 'I Used To Wait'
2. Cee Lo Green - 'Fuck You' *unedited - the way it's meant to be :)
3. jDiggz feat Neverending White Lies - 'This Time' *very proud to say this is MuchFact :)
4. White Lies - 'Bigger Than Us' *Look out 2011
5. Dr. Dre - 'Kush' *The Detox is coming out in 2011 bitches
6. Eminem feat Rihanna - 'Love the Way You Lie (Part 1)' *These 2 owned 2010
7. Rihanna - 'Rude Boy'

Top 15 Songs

1. Foster the People - 'Pumped Up Kicks' *Canada will finally see this one's release in early 2011
2. Belle and Sebastian - 'I Want The World To Stop' *glorious
3. Broken Bells - 'High Road'
4. Two Door Cinema Club - 'This Is The Life'
5. Shad - 'Rose Garden'
6. Plan B - 'Stay Too Long'
7. Kings fo Leon - 'Beach Side'
8. Gorillaz - 'Meloncholy Hill'
9. Kanye West feat Jay Z and more - 'So Appalled'
10. Jay Malinowski - 'Santa Monica'
11. Dr. Dre feat Snoop and Akon - 'Kush'
12. B.o.B. feat Hayley Williams and Eminem - 'Airplanes (part 2)' *Eminem's verse is sick
13. Cut Copy - 'Take Me Over'
14. Biffy Clyro - 'Bubbles'
15. Ellie Goulding - 'Starry Eyed'

Top 6 Albums

1. Stereophonics - 'Keep Calm Carry On' *was only released in Canada in 2010 so can make it
2. Kings of Leon - 'Come Around Sundown'
3. Brandon Flowers - 'Flamingo' *it's amazing how a girl can influence me sometimes :)
4. Kanye West - 'My Dark and Twisted Fantasy'
5. Arcade Fire - 'The Suburbs'
6. Broken Bells - 'Broken Bells'

Thanks for reading/listening.

Happy Holidays

Gregg

I'm Still Smiling

Hello Friends,

Last night was one for those great nights in music. The stars aligned and the people came out of the woodwork for a classic sing-along.

The scene was Lee's Palace on Bloor Street in Toronto. The band was The Lowest of the Low and the mood was pure nostalgic bliss.

The night was one of 2 sold-out shows for the band as they celebrated the 20th anniversary to their classic album 'Shakespeare My Butt'. They played the album from start to finish (in actual order) and then played some additional hits. It was wonderful and I'm still smiling.

The best thing was seeing the grins on the band member's faces throughout the whole show. I don't know how they actually sang with those smiles ear-to-ear.

For me personally it was sweet to see so many familiar faces of those whom I admire in this business. People that I had heard of long before I got in to this industry and many that helped me along the way. It was satisfying to see them all happy as a bit of them drifted back to the early 90s in the greatest rock n' roll city in the World. That same city that much of the band's lyrical content is about from mentions of The Carlaw Bridge, Danforth pub 'The Only' and landmark references like "You nearly kissed me blind on Bathurst Street it's true" from 'Bleed a Little While tonight'.

I was 15 years old in 1991 and fondly remember hearing this album on CFNY while tuning in to 'The Thursday 30'. If you're not familiar with this band and album then I strongly suggest a spin from cover-to-cover when you have some time. It's simple - it's catchy and will give you a glimpse into 1990's Canadian music scene. It's guaranteed to provoke some memories of simpler times in music.

"Well I've kissed you in France and I've kissed you in Spain,

I've kissed you in places I better not name,

And I've seen the sun go down on Sacre Coeur,

But I like it much better going down on you,

Ah, you know that's true."

Rosy and Grey - The Lowest of the Low *the whole crowd was singing this one

Here's the closer from the album and show 'Henry Needs a New Pair of Shoes'

Thanks to those of you that put this anniversary together it was excellent.

Thanks for reading/listening,

Gregg