Big Bird in a Small Cage – Patrick Watson

Wooden Arms (2009)

I wasn’t on the Patrick Watson train back in 2007 when he was named New Artist of the Year at the Junos, and won the Polaris Music Prize, but I sure as hell am on the train now! I’ve been listening to a lot of CBC Radio 3 lately, and you can’t escape Watson’s unique blend of pop, rock and classical when you tune into Grant Lawrence. After hearing Watson’s new track Bejing on the radio, I went out and got both his award winning 2007 album, Close to Paradise and his recent release
Wooden Arms and feel in love with them both after one listen each.

Check out the Patrick Watson mySpace page for details on shows, as he’s touring about Canada currently. I’m hoping he’s head back out to Vancouver at some point, ’cause I missed his show at Richards when he was there last month.

Vampire – Pink Mountaintops

Outside Love (2009)

Just in time for Canada Day, I have a Canadian treat for you! Vancouver based band, Pink Mountaintops, released their third album, Outside Love, last month on Jagjaguwar. This recent contribution is worthy to help fill any CANCON quota, with both fun and happy songs, and deep and pensive tracks to suit any mood.

Pink Mountain is currently touring about the Pacific coast. Catch them if you can, as I imagine their shows stir that campfire togetherness feeling when the audience sings along:

Creatures in flight
Let’s be creatures of the night

Check out the Pink Mountaintops mySpace page for details.

I heart Twitter. I tried not to, but I FAILed. So I figured I might as well embrace it. If you love Twitter too, and you love music bloggers, here’s a list of music bloggers on Twitter, in no particular order:

• From Discodust ->  @misstoats & @aleksdiscodust
• From Rollo & Grady -> @RolloGrady
• From musicboxmix -> @musicboxmix
• From Battery in Your Leg -> @batteryinyrleg
• From Hero Hill -> @herohill
• From Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good -> @musicforants
• From Cream Team -> @creamteam
• From Ohh Crap… -> @OHHCRAPP
• From Hot Biscuits -> @hotbizzies
• From Music is Art: @musicisart
• From The Music Slut -> @mattmusicslut &@themusicslut
• From Pretty Much Amazing -> @pmablog
• From subdrive -> @subdrive
• From Tastes List Caramel -> @tlcblog & @anthoNYC
• From Mossip Blog -> @mossipblog
• From The Mahogany Blog -> @themahoganyblog
• From We All Want Someone to Shout For -> @weallwantsome1

Did I miss anyone?

Polka – Yves Klein Blue

Australian band Yves Klein Blue lend their fun little ditty, Polka, to a neat Mitsubishi commercial in which a young couple packs up their car from the second floor of their house:

While the song compliments the fun and upbeat nature of the commercial, its lyrics carry a far different tone:

Sid was at the gates of dawn
And Jimmy said ride the snake
So we bent our spoons and howled at the moon to find what science replaced
And it turns out it ain’t that much
Though I may have missed in in the haze
Oh it drips in your mind
And fills up your eyes
And you’ll never be the same

It wouldn’t be right to not post about the King of Pop today.

Spend some time in memory lane with some of his best videos:

Billie Jean (1982)

Leave Me Alone (1987)

Smooth Criminal (1987)

Black or White (1991)

Remember the Time(1992)

You Rock My World (2001)