Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 16/03/11

• Your musical education continues with Neon Filler's list of the top 100 indie/alternative albums of all time. This week: 60-51 (including Bon Iver and my favourite Modest Mouse album). 

• Fellow Canucks be proud: Spinner looks at the invasion of Canadian music at SXSW including Broken Social Scene, Feist, and The New Pornographers. But it's "aboat" not "aboot", Stuart.

• The National has a new song Think You Can Wait, and it confirms my long-held belief that Matt Berninger just wants everyone to cry and moodily drink whisky all the time. Hear it at Stereogum.

• My former flatmate's favourite musician was Joanna Newsom, and--swear to God-- she once casually uttered the phrase "I find dirt really interesting."  So the suggestion that she may have once "considered befriending a squirrel" seems pretty dead on. Flavorwire will hilariously stereotype you, too, by your favourite indie band. 

• Dance-punk/  noise rock duo Death From Above 1979 has reunited, is rehearsing for Coachella, and is testing out a badass bass-cam video. As cool as that sounds, Dominic at This Moving Picture manages to make it sound even cooler.

• On the opposite end of the spectrum is Sunnybrook a band who describes their sound as "your running through a field of dandelions laughing uncontrollably". Sunnybrook you need to come to my parties. And bring whatever it is that made you write that. (Universal Yellow Keys)

• I've had a complicated, shitty week, so I genuinely appreciate Young Minds' Change of Pace (no pun intended). It's a catchy lo-fi track that will make the world feel simple and upbeat for two and  a half minutes. Thanks to guerolitomusic for the tranquilizer.

The Coachella Lineup is Out but I'm Not Even Going to Bother

I'd planned to give the Coachella lineup and then write a little something to go with it. Suffice to say, it would have been both hilarious and thought-provoking.


But then things in this city got a bit ugly today, and I really could not be bothered. Sorry guys.


Instead, I'm just going to post it:

Lots of amazing stuff, but no big surprises. I'm sure a lot of people were hoping for the Bowie rumour to be true.


Also unfortunate: you'll see that contrary to rumours, It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia is NOT  going to be doing a live show. And that's all the excuse I need to post the following video. I know I could do with a laugh.


Enjoy:

Score One for the Frogs

Karkwa is officially the first francophone winner of the Polaris Music Prize, Canada's annual prize for best album of the year. It's  selected by critics on "artistic merit" regardless of sales, label, or genre. You can tell it's Canadian because of the pseudo-hippie, thoroughly unoriginal, nature-based title. (If you are going to name something after anything in Canada it must be northern nature, aboriginal words that mean nothing to most people, or Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Even we can't think beyond our own stereotypes.)

For a fifth year, the rotating panel of critics got together to drink Kokanee, argue about which region of empty land is the best, build a bonfire, and pick a genuinely good album out of a list of genuinely good albums to celebrate. Because Canadians might have little to nothing to get off on beyond waterfalls and maple syrup, but we do manage to churn out some pretty good fucking music now and then.

This year, Karkwa is walking away with the Polaris prize for Les chemins de verre. And if you speak French or don't care about understanding lyrics, you might be pretty excited about this. I think it's alright. Don't get me wrong--Chemins is a good album. A pretty great one, actually.  But to me it also sounds like what you'd come up with if you had the sensibilities of Arcade Fire but couldn't afford half the line up. The anglophone half, I guess.

I'd have liked to see Broken Social Scene walk away with it, but they were arguably the most popular band on the shortlist. And if the critics can't point out that they like more obscure tunes than the average man, how will we ever know we need them?