The highlight of the day was surely seeing how happy they were with each other, they were so gorgeous… but, in close second place was the genius pianist who provided entertainment! Right off the bat it was obvious the guy was talented, and had a good repertoire. For the first part of the wedding reception he played the themes from a number of films, and other general feel good music, with a few classical pieces thrown in. And then, out of nowhere, he busts out the Super Mario Brothers theme music. And I’m not talking about a little tribute, 45 seconds of Mario level 1 kind of thing… oh no. He played a good 3 minutes of dungeon level, underwater level, etc. It was superb! I gave a brief clap of appreciation as soon as he started, but when he was done fully half the room were cheering and clapping for him! What a legend. Every wedding I go to that does not feature video game theme music will pale in comparison.

For your listening pleasure, Mr Kōji Kondō’s finest works.

My favourite tune is certainly the big single, Mirando (video below). It’s phatter than the rest of the album, and has more flare at the same time. Has a great 8bit video game sound to it. Shempi is a close second, which showcases some great synth rhythms and the expected layered guitars. Gipsy Threat is a fun and furious little ditty.

It’s a bit shorter than I would have wanted, but I like more of the tracks in it than I did with Ratatat or Classics. I can’t give it more than 4/5, it’s pretty good, but it’s not incredible. Now go to listen to Mirando!

Life in Technicolor is a pretty little instrumental piece that opens the album, slowly building in intensity till some vocal “cheering” joins in near the end. It’s a great starter for what’s to come. Cemeteries of London gets the ball rolling properly, letting us know right off the bat that we’re going to see less falsetto on this album. Lyrically, this song sets the tone for the album as well:

God is in the houses and God is in my head… and all the cemeteries in London…
I see God come in my garden, but I don’t know what he said,
For my heart it wasn’t open…
Not open…

It’s like they grew up and found they had more than just a social conscience, they had souls. Follow this up by the first rendition of Lost (Lost!). Yes, I said the first rendition. If you get it on iTunes, you’ll get two versions of this track, and they’re both stellar. This one is a driving synth organ, bongo drum, hand clap beauty, VERY much feeling Brian Eno’s influence. Next up is 42 (see bottom for thoughts on meaning), with some beautiful piano and delicately rhymed lyrics. I’m a sucker for rhyme.

Those who are dead are not dead
They’re just living in my head
And since I fell for that spell
I am living there as well
…
Time is so short and I’m sure
There must be something more

Half way through, the bad ass kicks in, earning Coldplay their self described “hardest soft rock band” moniker. It’s vaguely reminiscent of Politik. Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love is a double track, with 2 songs in one. Another heavily Brian Eno influenced track I’m sure. The driving bass line reminds me very much of U2′s Pride (In the Name of Love). Lyrical content is hopeful and uplifting, and the music becomes quite dense as the track goes on, which additional guitars coming into the left channel only, and shakers on the right. Reign of Love lets a little lyrical “beautiful melancholy” out, which is a great primer for the next two tracks. It’s a very tender song, with gentle piano and even gentler guitars.

Yes starts off with a little violin teaser, before pushing into some potential laden acoustic guitars and sawing violin. Chris comes in with a very low voiced

When it started we had high hopes
Now my back’s on the line
My back’s on the ropes

Then out of nowhere comes some furiously ominous Spanish violin. It’s hot stuff. And then we continue:

If you’d only, if you’d only say yes
Whether you will’s anybody’s guess
God only God knows I’m trying my best
But I’m just so tired of this loneliness

Yes actually finishes around 4 minutes, leaving room for a hidden track, Chinese Sleep Chant. This is a pretty psychedelic rock dirge, with haunting falsetto vocals, reminds me a little of Achtung Baby era U2, though it’s lyrically very sparse. And up next is one of the title tracks, Viva la Vida (Live the Life). There’s too many good songs on this album to pick a favourite, but this one might be close. Musically you’re listening to quick violins and other strings, which fill in to what could be a full orchestra. Most of the song rhymes, so I’m sold. Up next is the other contender for favourite, the big single you’ve heard called “Violet Hill.” We’re talking heavy soft rock again here. It’s an incredible tune. Lyrically we’re shouting back to the last track in obvious content, the Crusades, religious warfare, but metaphorically it’s a lot more brooding and angry. And it rhymes, so I’m in further ecstasy.

Priests clutched onto Bibles
Hollowed out to fit their rifles

Snap. Strawberry Swing is next, which is a fun, offbeat “love song”, could have been by the Beatles, except for the blue grass guitars. Death and All His Friends, the other title track, follows up. The first minute is pretty chill, just the piano and Chris’s voice. Guitars join in after then, and some vocal ensemble, followed by a big drum build up and the main rhythm kicks in. Nicely built song, this has a lot of Brian Eno in it, which is certainly not a bad thing. Lyrically it’s very simple but poignant:

No I don’t wanna battle from beginning to end;
I don’t wanna cycle, recycle revenge;
I don’t wanna follow death and all his friends

Following that you get another hidden track, which compliments the first half very well. The Escapist:

And in the end
We lie awake
And we dream
We’ll make an escape

I believe if you’ve got the album on CD, it would end here. On iTunes, and in Japan, we get given another rendition of Lost (Lost?), as I said above. It keeps the lyrics, but replaces all the musical accompaniment of the first with just the piano. I think it’s a marvelous bookend.

Overall, I’m saying 5/5. It’s joyous, uplifting, wholesome and soul searching, and at times made me want to cry. Buy this album.

** 42. This is number of the meaning of life, from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It’s also the number of songs that Coldplay supposedly scrapped between A Rush of Blood to the Head, and X & Y.

Some Christmas presents arrived yesterday. Yesterday being care of Canada Post I suppose… one was sent December 10th :) In any case, my wonderful sister Krista gave me some iTunes gift cards, which is superb because I had been craving new music.

Right now I’m listening to the new Project 86 EP, The Kane Mutiny. It’s hot stuff.
I also just bought the “’64-’95″ album by Lemon Jelly, but haven’t had a listen through yet. Comments will come.
At this point I’m town between waiting for Eluveitie’s new album (next week), picking up some other new metal, or maybe getting “Classics” by Ratatat. Is anyone listening to Ratatat? They’re so great.

OH! And speaking of music. Go here now for some GREAT music by Noah DeSmit. Seriously. Indie Electronica Folk hotness.

Aside from that, I’ve been listening to a lot of metal, again. I’m desperately awaiting Eluveitie’s next album, and have been listening to Spirit over and over this week. I’m thinking of purchasing As I Lay Dying’s latest, and am eagerly awaiting the new Project 86 EP. I can’t believe those kids have new music again already. Crazy.

Tonight while playing Scrabble we listened to Rufus Wainwright, care of MySpace. I’d always meant to check out his music, ever since I heard him on Moulin Rouge, and Andrew Gazaneo subsequently recommended him. I very much enjoyed “Sanssouci”.

Word.

This is really exciting. In the words of one article:

Funny how it’s the musicians, and not the record labels, who seem to realize that adding value and getting people to pay for it is a business model that beats suing fans.

Highlights
-DRM free
-256KB MP3s (variable and constant rate)
-Browser based… I don’t care for an application needed to buy music, especially when iTunes is using 84MB of RAM, just to sit there and do nothing. I use Winamp to play music.
-Cheap! Their prices are cheaper right off the bat. Furthermore pricing is based on song length, with “regular” length songs dropping in at around 89c. Albums feature a discount over single tracks.
-Flexibility. Apple like doing things the Apple way, that’s why there’s no Radiohead on iTunes Music Store because Apple refuses to sell full albums without individual tracks being available. You want Radiohead? Go to Amazon.
-Simple. Amazon owns ecommerce, there’s no step that’s not necessary.
-Fast! Amazon is building some wild storage clouds (that are available for you if you’d like)… I downloaded an album in at least the same time as I’d get from iTunes, if not faster. And I’m downloading slightly larger files.

Drawback
-Only one I’ve come across is that the service is currently meant for US citizens only. Workaround on the link below.

Daring Fireball has a great write-up.

In a nutshell, by Swedish law they are providing nothing more than metadata for people. Any files downloaded are pulled from participants computers, not The Pirate Bay. Think of Pirate Bay as a phone book, maybe. So the MPAA (evil) calls up the Whitehouse and says “These Swedish kids are hurting our profits. Help.” So Uncle Sam threatens Sweden with TRADE SANCTIONS! unless they shut down The Pirate Bay. The story goes on.

I posted the other day about MediaDefender files being leaked. The Pirate Bay have found evidence in the leaked e-mails that they’re now using to sue some little companies:

* Twentieth Century Fox, Sweden AB
* Emi Music Sweden AB
* Universal Music Group Sweden AB
* Universal Pictures Nordic AB
* Paramount Home Entertainment (Sweden) AB
* Atari Nordic AB
* Activision Nordic Filial Till Activision (Uk) Ltd
* Ubisoft Sweden AB
* Sony Bmg Music Entertainment (Sweden) AB
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic AB

Don’t paint me broadly as anti-copyright. I’m anti-extortion, and pro fair-use. How many bands, artists, movie makers, authors have you heard of that feel like their children have been ripped away from them? (If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, start reading.) If movie and record companies have used illegal practices to attack others, I see no reason why they shouldn’t be prosecuted under full extent of the law. A law that’s pretty flawed… I might add.

Influenced by Trent Reznor, I feel that I should release all my music (once I create some) for public re-mixing and re-use. I think that’s great. Someone hold me to it.

“…Has anyone seen the price [of music] come down? Okay, well, you know what that means — STEAL IT. Steal away. Steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin’. Because one way or another these mother****ers will get it through their head that they’re ripping people off and that’s not right.’

Listen.

Road, by Don Johnson Big Band.

“Keep one eye on the road, the other one fixed on the one you hold”

Just got a MySpace request, and I know I’ve heard this song. It’s cool. I wonder if a hip hop artist sampled it. Don’t ask me why I wonder that.

Also… I’m working on 2 new websites! First of all, I’ve got a new jpuddy.net in the works. I’m hoping to have it complete in 2 weeks or so. It’s pretty exciting, as it’s going to be a “real” web “site”, and not just a blog. It’ll have a blog, naturally, but that’s not all.

The other site I’m working on is a bit too secret for me to reveal to you just yet… but it’s an interesting project, that’s for certain. Those who know too much must keep quiet. For at least a little while longer.

Enjoy the waiting.

PARIS, July 13 — In a rare move that plunged music industry giants into confusion, a European Union court today threw out the approval of the two-year-old merger that created Sony BMG, issuing blunt criticism of the regulators who endorsed the union…
Shareholders reacted with alarmtoday. Warner’s shares were down $4.68, or 15.7 percent, to $25.08 in late New York trading, while EMI Group’s shares declined 28.25 pence, or 9.2 percent, to close at 277.75 pence, or $5.11, in London…
Essentially, the court concluded that the commission had failed to demonstrate the legal standard that a combined Sony BMG would not develop into a monopoly position in the music industry…
The immediate reaction from the music companies came in choreographed and terse statements. “Today’s judgment does not affect the validity of the Sony BMG joint venture,” insisted the parent companies in the combination, Bertelsmann and Sony, which added in their joint statement that “we are studying the judgment carefully.”
article

Seriously interesting. We all know about Sony’s major blunder with the rootkit Digital Right’s Management scandale, so another hand slapping for them could (and I think should) be a serious blow to these feudal warlords of the music industry. If not a blow, then another opportunity for the entire music industry to have a long hard evaluatory look at their slowely deminishing role in today’s music industry. Sony naturally need to look at their changing role in almost everything they have a hand in.

I seriously recommend you check out Methodology. They have some serious talent, and I’m excited to see what happens for them next.

In other news, the hunt for my misplaced wedding ring continues apace, and there shall be no prayer night at our place this Thursday, as I shall be joining Edward King to spin records for the School of Ministry graduation ceremony.

So, having done that, I’m sure you want to go and check them out live… right?

Well! They have happen to be throwing a release party on Friday the 27th of January, supported by my good friend DJ Shagz. If you’re a diligent reader you might know that I’ve missed every Shagz related event I’ve tried to go to lately, so hopefully third time’s a charm.

What? Methodology CD Release Party w/ DJ Shagz
Where? Revival, 783 College St West, Toronto
When? 9pm-?
Cost? $10 cover, or $20 for cover+CD

I think I can only afford cover x2, but so if my wife doesn’t come along… I might just buy myself the CD. Trust me my fine friends, it’s worth your while.

“Now if you all really like to rock the funky beats, somebody in the the house say “Hell yeah!”"