Happy New Year from oneintenwords.com

"So everybody put your best suit or dress on
Let's make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
Lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
As thirty dialogs bleed into one"

Happy new year, everyone!

This is "The New Year" by Death Cab for Cutie from their 2003 album, Transatlaticism.

Cool new artist: Jamie N Commons

I was checking out the BBC Sounds of 2012 list and discovered Jamie N Commons (this web site was down at the time of writing).  He's got a very soulful bluesy way about his delivery.  Dark and brooding songs with a really timeless quality.  And what a great voice.

Here are some tracks to check out.

"The Preacher"


"Nina", and


"Now Is Not The Time".

Great acoustic version of Sick by The Twilight Sad

I really love when The Twilight Sad do acoustic versions of their songs.  Take the version of "I Became a Prostitute" I posted in 2009, or this tender version of "Sick" from their forthcoming album No One Can Ever Know.


Twilight Sad Music Video from Mallard Productions on Vimeo.

New Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos! have a new album out called Hello Sadness.  Here's a video for "By Your Hand".

For my money, they've never re-created the magic of "You! Me! Dancing!" but they are incredibly consistent.  For better or for worse.



In case you don't know it, here's "You! Me! Dancing!" from 2008's Hold On Now, Youngster and 2007's Sticking Fingers Into Sockets.

Fun new song from Fun.

The fun guys in Fun. have a new album coming out.  It's called Some Nights and it will be out February 21.  The first video release is for the song "We Are Young".  Check it out.

Who knew peeling an apple could be so captivating.



If you're interested in checking them out live, they've got tour dates up on their site.  They're at the Mod Club in Toronto on April 25.

One in Ten Words - the song!

At some point I had to write the post about the name of the blog. It's "One in Ten Words" by the great Canadian new romantic band The Spoons. It's from their amazing Arias and Symphonies album. You may know songs like "Nova Heart", or the title track, or songs from later albums like "Tell No Lies", "Romantic Traffic" or "Old Emotions".

For some reason, "One in Ten Words" was always a special song for me. Maybe it was because Sandy, the bass player, sang lead on it, and I always rather liked Sandy. I remember hearing the song, among others of course, on one of those CHUM/CITY simulcast shows of The New Music.

For those of you not as old as me, or those so old you can't remember, this was how we got stereo sound on the TV back then. They'd play the audio on an FM radio station and you'd see the picture on your TV. But you tell the kids of today that, and they don't believe it.

Well, anyway, here's the song. Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Photo from Facebook.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #1: "Whirring" by The Joy Formidable

And at long last here is number one, numero uno, le premiere tune. It's The Joy Formidable with "Whirring" from their album The Big Roar. Big Roar indeed!



And just because, here are the other Joy Formidable songs that turned up on my Top 70 of 2010-2011.

"A Heavy Abacus" at number 26,


and "Cradle" at number 39.


Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

Photo from Pretty Much Amazing.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #2: Blood Red Shoes with "Heartsink"

I absolutely love this band. I love their thick sound and vocal interplay. I love the energy that they put into their fantastic songs. Number 2 is "Heartsink" by Blood Red Shoes from their incredible album Fire Like This.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #3: "Kill Me Carolyne" by The Whigs

The Whigs rock in a big way. Their album In The Dark is a solid piece of rock and "Kill Me Carolyne" is a fantastic tune. So good, that I think it deserves number 3.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #4: The National with "Conversation 16"

I've never been shy about my affection for the music of The National. They're easily one of my favourite artists to come out in the past decade or so. The album High Violet is another masterpiece and this song, "Conversation 16" is a piece of amazing. Even if I still don't like the video.

Number 4:



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #5: "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys

This amazing song with a fun video is the highest placing recent song on the list. The Black Keys have come from indie obscurity to being one of the top bands in the world in the past few years, mostly with the release of Brothers. How big are they? Well, they're playing the Air Canada Centre here in Toronto this coming March. And they're not resting on their laurels, they're moving forward quickly with their newest album El Camino and the first single is a prime example of how to write a hook. "Lonely Boy" comes in at number 5.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #6, The Hold Steady with "The Smidge"

The Hold Steady just keep releasing awesome albums. The track "The Smidge" from Heaven is Whenever comes in at number 6.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #7: "Let's Get Out Of Here" with Les Savy Fav

Cool band. Cool song. What else can I say? Les Savy Fav with "Let's Get Out Of Here" at number 7.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #8: Sleigh Bells ring with "Rill Rill"

Like many of the songs on this list, Sleigh Bell's fantastically catchy "Rill Rill" from their album Treats, is a song that I've posted on the blog before. And since then, I discovered that the guitar riff is sampled from Funkadelic's "Can You Get to That" off of Maggot Brain. Overall, it's good enough to be called number 8.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #9: "Old Fangs" by Black Mountain

Black Mountain are from BC in my wonderful home of Canada. They make instantly classic music that is reminiscent of many great rockers of days go by without being derivative. An awesome entry into the single-digits at number 9. Here's "Old Fangs" from the album Wilderness Heart.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: my best of list: #10: Cee Lo Green says "Fuck You"

I loved "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley and put it on my best of list for the decade 2000-2009 which happens to be the most-visited post on the site. Well, right here, just inside the top 10, is Cee Lo Green with his dis anthem, "Fuck You", from his album The Lady Killer. Killer track indeed.



And here's a live performance from Later with Jools Holland that I love, if only because their drummer has more cymbals than the drummer in my band.



Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011 and the rest of my favourite songs of 2010-2011.

My favourite songs: Awesome and cool songs of 2010-2011: My best of list: Top 70 songs

Since I didn't put up a post for my favourite tunes and albums of 2010, and since it takes me a while for things to grow on me, I'm going to be a little different than other music writers. I'm going to do "best of" posts for 2 year periods. This will allow me to be late to the party, and give songs extra time to germinate in my little brain. So this set of posts will cover 2010 and 2011.

1. "Whirring" - The Joy Formidable

2. "Heartsink" - Blood Red Shoes

3. "Kill Me Carolyne" - The Whigs

4. "Conversation 16" - The National

5. "Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys

6. "The Smidge" - The Hold Steady

7. "Let's Get Out Of Here" - Les Savy Fav

8. "Rill Rill" - Sleigh Bells

9. "Old Fangs" - Black Mountain

10. "Fuck You" - Cee Lo Green

11. "Tighten Up" - The Black Keys
12. "Not At All" - Emily Warren & The Betters
13. "Punching In A Dream" - The Naked And Famous
14. "Hang With Me" - Robyn
15. "Good for Nothing" - Hard-Fi
16. "Swim Until You Can't See Land" - Frightened Rabbit
17. "Belong" - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
18. "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster the People
19. "Crash Years" - The New Pornographers
20. "The Glitter Prize (Feat. Kay Hanley)" - The Posies
21. "Hit The Ground Running" - These Electric Lives
22. "Medicine" - We Were Promised Jetpacks
23. "Anyone’s Ghost" - The National
24. "Dancing On My Own" - Robyn
25. "Please Ask for Help" - Telekinesis
26. "A Heavy Abacus" - The Joy Formidable
27. "Dear Rosemary" - Foo Fighters
28. "Terrible Love" - The National
29. "Satellite" - The Kills
30. "Naked Kids" - Grouplove
31. "Forced To Love" - Broken Social Scene
32. "Our Whole Lives" - The Hold Steady
33. "Light It Up" - Blood Red Shoes
34. "The Body" - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
35. "Chicken Bones" - John Grant
36. "Cruel" - St. Vincent
37. "Future Starts Slow" - The Kills
38. "The Spirit of Jazz" - The Gaslight Anthem
39. "Cradle" - The Joy Formidable
40. "Romance" - Wild Flag
41. "Love Song" - Hard-Fi
42. "Called It Off" - These Electric Lives
43. "Rock Problems" - The Hold Steady
44. "So Lonely" - The Whigs
45. "Crossed Wires" - Superchunk
46. "Fixed" - Stars
47. "Abducted" - Cults
48. "It Is Happening Again" - Blood Red Shoes
49. "Young Blood" - The Naked And Famous
50. "Year Dot" - Sky Larkin
51. "Helena Beat" - Foster the People
52. "Country Lane" - Telekinesis
53. "Heart In Your Heartbreak" - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
54. "Don't Ask" - Blood Red Shoes
55. "Heaven's Gonna Happen Now" - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
56. "Blue Cassette" - Friendly Fires
57. "Under Cover of Darkness" - The Strokes
58. "Behold the Hurricane" - The Horrible Crowes
59. "Lights" - Ellie Goulding
60. "Tired" - Chikita Violenta
61. "Euphoria, Take My Hand" - Glasvegas
62. "Colours" - Grouplove
63. "Get Away" - Yuck
64. "Dirty Thing" - Telekinesis
65. "World Sick" - Broken Social Scene
66. "DNA" - The Kills
67. "Dressed Sharply" - An Horse
68. "Holing Out" - Yuck
69. "Get Some" - Lykke Li
70. "Lotus Flower" - Radiohead

I'm going to tease out my Top 10 by posting a song a day over the next couple of weeks!

I've decided to update this post with my top 10 so my full list is in one place.

Check out the rest of my best of posts, including my favourite albums of 2010-2011.

My favourite albums: Awesome and cool albums of 2010-2011: Top 30 Albums: My best of list

Since I didn't put up a post for my favourite tunes and albums of 2010, and since it takes me a while for things to grow on me, I'm going to be a little different than other music writers. I'm going to do "best of" posts for 2 year periods. This will allow me to be late to the party, and give albums extra time to germinate in my little brain. So this set of posts will cover 2010 and 2011.

One side effect of iTunes, smart playlists and listening to songs over albums is that I've really become a lot more of a "songs guy" over being an "album guy". I was more of an album guy back when I was buying vinyl and CDs in the 80s and 90s and I'd throw them on the turntable or in the CD player and listen to the whole things end to end.

That's my explanation for why my best albums list is so much shorter than my best songs list, anyway.

1. The National - High Violet
2. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
3. Blood Red Shoes - Fire Like This
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
5. The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
6. The Whigs - In The Dark
7. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
8. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
9. The New Pornographers - Together
10. Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin
11. Robyn - Body Talk
12. Hard Fi - Killer Sounds
13. John Grant - The Queen of Denmark
14. The Black Keys - Brothers
15. Army Navy - The Last Place
16. The Posies - Blood/Candy
17. The Kills - Blood Pressures
18. Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
19. Telekinesis - 12 Desparate Straight Lines
20. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
21. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
22. Stars - The Five Ghosts
23. Superchunk - Majesty Shredding
24. We Were Promised Jetpacks - In the Pit of the Stomach
25. Kasabian - Velociraptor!
26. The Naked and Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You
27. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
28. Sky Larkin - Kaleide
29. The Thermals - Personal Life
30. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Check out the rest of my best of posts.

New track from Band of Skulls

I came across Band of Skulls after they released 2009's Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. They've got a new tune out called "The Devil Takes Care of His Own". It's from their forthcoming album Sweet Sour which is coming out on February 21.



You can also check out the track "Sweet Sour" at Spin.

And if you haven't heard their previous stuff, here's "Death by Diamonds and Pearls",



and "I Know What I Am".



They're at the Phoenix on March 30. Maybe I'll be there...

The Naked and Famous are Punching in a Dream

I recently discovered the New Zealand band The Naked and Famous. They put out groovy, instantly likeable pop tunes and their latest release is Passive Me, Aggressive You.



Stay tuned to the blog to see if their songs end up on my year end lists, which are coming out later this week.

Farourites: Lime Spiders' Slave Girl

I remember listening to a hardcore show on Ryerson University radio CKLN back in the late 80's. It introduced me to a number of great bands and I heard some fantastic songs. One that immediately caught my ear and hasn't let go since is "Slave Girl" by Lime Spiders. Many years later it was covered by Goo Goo Dolls (when they were a rock band - before "Name" became a big hit).

This sounds like the original version.


This one looks like it was from a relatively recent performance.


Here are the Goo Goo Dolls doing it at Red Rocks. I felt that the studio version from A Boy Named Goo was closer to the original.


Still a great and powerful song.

The Thermals

The Thermals have been around for quite a while. Since 2002. And they've had quite a close association with Death Cab for Cutie, with Chris Walla producing a number of their albums. I picked up their 2009 album Now We Can See and their 2010 album Personal Life. Both are pretty solid power pop albums.

"I Don't Believe You". Love that Sleater-Kinney/Wild Flag cameo.


"Not Like Any Other Feeling"


"Never Listen to Me"


and "Now We Can See".