Celebration Rock: 12 From 2012

This has been a great year for music. Yuko and I drove to Coachella in April to experience Radiohead and Tupac's hologram; we saw Lucinda Williams at the Bowery Ballroom in New York and the Knights at the historic Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, then Public Enemy in Brooklyn's Wingate Park...back to Edmonton for The Tallest Man on Earth with the phenomenal Strand of Oaks supporting; then Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney....and we're ending the year on a high note in Jamaica following some crazy riddims. Here are 12 of my fave tunes from the year:

1. Japandroids: "The House That Heaven Built"



2. First Aid Kit: "Emmylou"



3. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: "Only In My Dreams"



4. Alabama Shakes: "Hold On"



5. Grizzly Bear: "Yet Again"



6. A.C. Newman: "I'm Not Talking"



7. Kishi Bashi: "Manchester"



8. Rufus Wainwright: "Montauk"



9. Grimes: "Genesis"



10. Low Cut Connie: "Boozophilia"



11. Leonard Cohen: "Going Home"


12: Himanshu: "Womyn"

 

Sweden: A Lion's Roar

"Stockholm's cold but I've been told
I was born to endure this kind of weather" ~ "Emmylou"

Sweden is my new favourite country. This bucolic Scandinavian land of smörgåsbords and Muppet chefs probably first entered my consciousness in a big way back when Börje Salming was manning the blue line for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Or maybe it was when I first figured out "Fernando" wasn't about a Spanish tango but Emiliano Zapata...



Along with ABBA and the immortal Roxette, Sweden has bequeathed to the world some of best music of recent years: Refused, Tallest Man On Earth, Robyn, Jens Lekman...

Refused - "Rather Be Dead"
 

Jens Lekman - "Waiting For Kirsten"



The Tallest Man On Earth - "King Of Spain"

Robyn - "Call Your Girlfriend"

But it's First Aid Kit, a duo consisting of sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg, that have captured the moment. Their latest album, The Lion's Roar, is a pure gem shimmering with lush harmonies and folk melodies....

First Aid Kit - "The Lion's Roar"

First Aid Kit - "Emmylou"


Yuko and I caught their set at Coachella this year and despite some technical glitches, they easily charmed the crowd. First Aid Kit gained prominence about four years ago with their cover of the Fleet Foxes' "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song." I thought they were great, but a fluke. Little did I know...

First Aid Kit - "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song"

Coachella: Day 3, Week 2

The final day of Coachella was one of savage musical extremes lurching from the gossamer harmonies of Sweden's First Aid Kit...

...to the feral intensity of Wild Flag...

In between, Santigold kicked ass while Girl Talk's Gregg Gillis ignited the crowd into a frenzy of dancing weenies...

Yuko and I strolled the grounds under a blistering-blue panoply of palm-studded vistas, taking in the sights and kicking up our heels....

After a few brews and a scorching set by At The Drive-In, I cooled off (just a bit) in the VIP area...

Refreshed, we found a soft spot in the grass and chilled while Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and the now-infamous hologramic Tupac brought the fest to a close...