sebastian troen

I seem to have a predilection for acoustic singers with hip-hop influences/roots: Everlast, Citizen Cope and now KO all come from or incorporate it for folky, soulful songs that resonate deeply with me.

KO is based in Toronto and the story is that this album is his autobiographical story of how he descended into the drug underworld (and his escape from it). The album, Let’s Blaze, is solid throughout and if you like one song, you’ll like them all. Best of all he’s on tour and coming to Vancouver in May (18th at the Media Club).

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What do you think of KO?

Get KO’s album on iTunes now!

I’ve been a fan of the Handsome Furs since I heard their first single, What We Had, from their first record, Plague Park. Now husband and wife team, Dan Boeckner (also of Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic) and Alexei Perry hit the road to support their second record, Face Control.

And it rocks just as hard, if not harder than their first one. I’ve seen them twice in concert at Richards on Richards and it’s always an intense, emotionally charged show. With Handsome Furs playing Richards again this Thursday, today’s Daily Fresh Track is Radio’s Hot Sun. Enjoy!

Oh what the hell, here’s one more from the fantastic Handsome Furs, Thy Will Be Done. Don’t say I never do anything for you.

Get Handsome Furs on iTunes now.

For today’s Fresh Track, I thought I’d throw out the killer song that will be rockin’ the parties all summer long: Lonely Island’s I’m On A Boat. This is actually a group comprised of Saturday Night Live cast member Andy Samberg and SNL writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. You may remember them from Dick In A Box or the more recent Jizz In My Pants. Those songs are hilarious but don’t have the memorable hook and melody that I’m On A Boat does, this song not only effectively parodies rap songs but manages to pull off the loud, aggressive in-yo-face style more effectively.

This is definitely going on my Get Psyched Mix. Definitely.

Here’s the song and video, once you’ve seen the video you can’t help but visualize it the next time you hear it cranking from your stereo.

And for those of you that want to follow along with the lyrics. Here you go:

Aww sh**, get your towels ready it’s about to go down (shorty, yeah)
Everybody in the place hit the f**king deck (shorty, yeah)
But stay on your motherfu**ing toes
We running this, let’s go

I’m on a boat
I’m on a boat
Everybody look at me ’cause I’m sailing on a boat (woaah)
I’m on a boat
I’m on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mothafu**in’ boat (sha-sha-shorty, shorty, yeah)

Coldplay releases a free, live album entitled LeftRightLeftRightLeft

I’m a Coldplay fan. Probably not enough of a fan to shell out hundreds of dollars for good seats when they’re on tour, but good enough that I have all their records and am happy to throw them on for some good, mindless and enjoyable listening. Are they as good as U2? Not a chance in hell. They don’t have the depth, I think. But they do have the catchy melodies and big rockstar swagger and they’re so damn easy to listen to.

Coldplay released a new, live album that’s free to download called LeftRightLeftRightLeft. So today’s Daily Fresh Track is one of my favourite Coldplay songs, Clocks.

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Oh, what the hell. Since it’s the long weekend, here’s 42 for your listening pleasure. Check out Chris Martin’s vocal prowess on the very last note.
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Get Coldplay’s LeftRightLeftRightLeft now for FREE.

Green Day

Oh boy, I’ve been waiting for this album to drop (as they say in the hood) for awhile now, ever since American Idiot wormed itself into my brain a few years ago. I was one of the first to get 21st Century Breakdown when it was released today and my first impressions are that it’s another strong evolution in Green Day’s career.

Here you go, my Track of the Day is Green Day’s title song: 21st Century Breakdown. Crank it!

[audio:21stcenturybreakdown.mp3]

Get Green Day on iTunes.