I’ve always liked the thought of the art you decorate your home with being personal and meaningful to you.

As a kid, the walls in my room were filled with music-related posters (and a mural of WWF Divas at one point… That’s right, WWF, not WWE; I just dated myself a bit #notalotofladyvisitors). From the Beatles, to Foo Fighters (These were the actual posters!), I often looked to these images for inspiration when writing music (much like I looked to the WWF Divas for inspiration for… Stuff… Music stuff… Yeah… But I digress). As I grew up and moved out, those posters changed to album artwork.

Often times, anal bum cover an album cover can be as beautiful as the music it contains, and it’s a nice coincidence that some of my favorite albums fit this description! This week, I thought it would be fun to showcase the art I currently have up, and check out some highlights from these albums being played live (Check out the end of this post for full playlists of the live versions, and CD versions). To see up close shots of the album covers, click the song titles!

Arcade Fire – Ready to Start

This (very Canadian) playlist starts with Arcade Fire. Already a big deal in Canada, Arcade Fire stormed the 2011 Grammy Awards and won album of the year with The Suburbs, beating out mainstream artists Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Lady Antebellum. While my chosen version of the album cover may not be the one you’re familiar with, this could be because there are eight different album covers for this album.

Broken Social Scene – Forced to Love

Sadly, Forgiveness Rock Record was the last recorded album by Broken Social Scene, but it’s plethora of members continue to do what they do best in other acts (e.g. Leslie Feist’s solo career, Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan of Stars, Jason Collett, Emily Haines of Metric, and the list goes on).

Young the Giant – Apartment

When I went to Lollapalooza in 2011, Young the Giant were one of the bands who blew me away and I had to get more of after I left. Not only that, but I found out lead singer Sameer and I used the same classic Shure 55s at our live shows. That’s pretty cool. I highly recommend checking out their other “In the Open” session videos for Young the Giant and Mind over Matter. They are all beautifully performed, and shot in breathtaking locations. Definitely worth watching!

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Drain the Blood

While several bands on this list consist of 6+ members, RAA rely on three. The appropriately named Rural Alberta Advantage was formed in Toronto (get it?), but their name is a play on a past Alberta provincial slogan, “Alberta Advantage”. They have a unique sound that’s almost folky, but driven forward by drumming that would suit a full rock band.

Hey Rosetta! – Welcome

I find myself learning a lot while researching these bands/albums/songs for these posts. I didn’t know the significance of the album name Seeds, but according to Singer Tim Baker, “…the idea is that we are seeds, traveling from town to town, blowing around, settling down here and there, trying to make something for people”, and that “the songs are seeds … they’re these little things –- four and five minute things — but they have the ability to grow in your brain and be far more meaningful than just what they are.” Beautiful.

If you’re a fan of the album (if not, I suggest you become one), you should check out this article, which is a track by track description of the songs on seeds. As well, I urge you to check out Hey Rosetta!’s Fogo Sessions, similar to Young the Giants “In the Open” session, but shot in Fogo Island, Newfoundland, showcasing several songs from their latest album, Second Sight.

Arkells – Come to Light

High Noon is the newest album on this list, and now also one of my favorite albums to play from front to back. Arkells are one of the few bands I consider to have never written a song I didn’t thoroughly (and truthfully) enjoy; every song feels like a potential single. This latest album came to me at such a significant time in my life as well; several tracks off high noon were released around the time I finished my isolated work stint in the North, and the songs were all on my playlist I blasted making the 8 hour drive back to my hometown. Come to Light was written to channel classic driving songs, and for me it was just that.

Royal Canoe – Bathtubs

HOMETOWN PRIDE ALERT! Ever since I saw Royal Canoe play at the CD release for another great local band, Enjoy Your Pumas [another great band to be featured in the future], I have been trying to push their music on anybody I’ve come into contact with. They’re the most unique band I’ve ever seen come out of my hometown, which may throw some people off. The first time I heard vocalist Matt Peters turn use the BOSS VT-1 Voice Transformer pedal during “Nightcrawlin'”, I didn’t know how to feel. It was the first time I’d ever heard something like this live, and change is bad, right? Wrong. As the song crescendoed all the way to the end, and the final line was sung in a full belt, I was sold. This feature was just one thing that made Royal Canoe so unique, and worth looking into.

Cloud Nothings – Psychic Trauma

Finally, one of my more current band-obessions, Cloud Nothings. A few days ago, I was checking my most played songs in itunes, and found several songs from Here and Nowhere Else to be at very top of the list, with a shocking 400+ plays (still nowhere as impressive as this)! This could be due to the songs being on a playlist I listen to almost every day at the gym, however, they are still great songs. Their music makes me reminiscent of the phases I went through in high school, and my progression into the world of Rock. You can feel the raw emotion and energy all the way through the album, its almost as if you’re at a live show while listening.

Did you enjoy the change of pace this week? Do I still have your attention? If so, feel free to drop me a comment or follow my posts to get notified of future posts right away! Thanks again for listening!

Full Youtube (Live) Playlist!

Full Youtube (CD Version) Playlist!



Full Spotify Playlist! (Arcade Fire – Ready to Start, inexplicably unavailable on Spotify)