Song of the Day

Song of the Day: Jhameel – THC (The Human Condition)

Posted on by Celeste in Song of the Day | 1 Comment

Whenever I log onto Facebook and find my newsfeed littered with updates from my friends’ Spotify accounts, I feel like the sole surviving user of Pandora. But every once in a while I’m reminded why I stay adamantly behind the times and continue to use it. (Actually, according to The Washington Post’s In/Out list for 2012, I’m doubly behind the times because Spotify is now out and Bluebrain is in. I’m totally confused as to what Bluebrain is and am pretty sure that even if I did understand, my poor little dumphone wouldn’t know what to do with it.)

Today my Pandora account decided to remind me of why I love it by introducing me to THC (The Human Condition) (from the album of the same name) by Jhameel. This song caught my attention because it was something besides David Byrne or David Bowie – my Pandora has an uncompromising crush on these two artists – and because it had a super catchy refrain of “puff puff pass puff puff pass” which I was mindlessly singing even before I realized Pandora had decided to move on from the Davids. I loved the strong beat and the stream-of-consciousness feel of the lyrics so I looked into Jhameel a little further. The only thing I can say is the more I look into him the more intriguing he becomes: he’s unwikipediable, always a shocker, and his website says that he is a pentalingual young pop star who takes inspiration from Prince and Michael Jackson. Done, done, and done, sir.

All I can say is that I like what I see and hopefully more will emerge soon.

Song of the Day: The 2 Bears – Work

Posted on by Ricky in Song of the Day | 1 Comment

The 2 Bears is a new duo whose music is destined to dominate indie dance floors in 2012.

Consisting of Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Raf Daddy, the duo already come with an established pedigree in creating funky melodic dance music that kids these days eat up.

This track is off an EP of the same name and also will be on the duo’s debut record Be Strong which will be out on January 31st off DFA records. It’s got a kick ass beat and a catchy chorus. You’ll like this.

Song of the Day: Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again

Posted on by Ricky in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Not just content with dominating the female singers category in the music world (see: Florence and Adele), the music factory that is Great Britain has decided to start taking aim at the vaunted American male singer-songwriter industry (see: Jack Johnson, John Mayer). First up to the plate is singer Michael Kiwanuka.

Already named the winner of the BBC’s Sound of 2012, the British singer songwriter isn’t quite like his contemporary American counterparts (who are surely produced in a factory somewhere that is co-owned by Starbucks and American Eagle). Rather, Kiwanuka brings forth a more earnest almost retro soul (cue: hype word) sound to his music. He recently released a new EP, entitled Home Again and this is the lead track off of it.

With his gentle voice and simple sound, this seems like a great track to put on while sitting near a fireplace, sipping spiked hot chocolate and reading a big book. Check it out.

Song of the Day: Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Juan Loco

Posted on by Mark in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

It’s no secret among the Panic Manual circle that I’m a huge fan of the broadly defined term “world music”. Whether it’s Nigerian afro-beat, Cuban Son, or Brazilian Bossa Nova; chances are I dig it. So when one my favourite “world music” bands decides to pair with one of my favourite types of “world music”, I definitely stand up and take notice.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela are a Mexican-born guitar duo that moved to Ireland to blend flamenco and latin style playing with a bit of the rock and roll. They cover tunes like Stairway to Heaven and acoustic versions of metal songs. Each track on their last album, 11:11, was dedicated to one of their guitar heroes: from Dimebag Darrel (Pantera) to Jimi Hendrix. While a fun & gritty album, it lacked the cohesiveness of their self-titled 2nd effort.

Area 52 is their next project, and this time Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are partnering with a 13-piece Cuban Orchestra collectively known as C.U.B.A. I couldn’t be happier with the direction they are headed. Partnering with a Cuban band will make for some fun new sounds, padded with sweet Cuban goodness. The last time Rod & Gab came to town, I went directly to Rotate This and slapped down a wad of cash to buy 10 tickets. I then proceeded to bully & extort many of my friends into joining me; that’s how awesome their live shows are. This latest project is so exciting that if they decided to return to Toronto, I’ll buy 20.*

*OK, maybe not. But I’ll probably buy 10 again, which is saying something!