December: the crowning jewel of months.
A spell of celebration providing almost no choice but over-indulgence. So instead of disrespecting this festive time with jokes about young professionals (YPs) getting too familiar with colleagues at office Christmas parties, we’d instead like to welcome your input on a future column, ‘Notable v. YPs: Fave Five Albums of 2014’ (working title).
Basically, we’d like to offer our ‘Fave Five’ of the year, and based on your tweets, we’ll also attempt an order to yours. No holds barred: send us one or as many albums as you like.
We’ll tally up the votes, and as long as you guys don’t have Riff Raff at the top, we’ll call it a draw. So if you’re good, giving, and game, go ahead and direct the best you’ve got to @NotablyJook.
Now back to the ‘Streets.
Death From Above 1979
DFA 1979’s 2004 debut, ‘You’re A Girl, I’m A Machine’ was hailed an epic visionary success, resonating with listeners before they knew they were ready. Not quite dance-punk, but featuring hooks far too catchy for noise/math rock, DFA 1979 simply became their own genre. Ten years later, their post-break-up sophomore LP, ‘The Physical World’, still won’t fit comfortably anywhere in your categorical lexicon. But here’s what’s important: this two-man wall of sound doesn’t give a s@#t. The obvious confidence behind their immensely powerful brand of riff-driven rock would suggest they’d play with the same energy and emotion even if no one showed up. But let’s be clear, many will show up. This album is made for live performance.
Sound Academy. December 5. $39.
GZA/Genius
Though he may have lacked the more theatrical deliveries of say, Method Man or ODB, the Genius was every bit as present, and equally responsible for the legendary status owed to pretty much every early Wu Tang Clan track written. His steady and precise baritone brought order; his intricate rhymes elevated; his ability to match metre shared no rival: when his verse dropped, it was down to business. You’d grit your teeth if you weren’t already rhymin’ along so hard.
So maybe he’s a little light on more recently acclaimed material? Who friggin’ cares. That just means more of the hits that every single person in the room will know. ‘4th Chamber’? We. Can’t. Even.
Adelaide Hall. December 6. $32.
Jason Collette’s Basement Revue
So you probably won’t find much GZA material featured at the Dakota Tavern or Adelaide Hall on the nights Jason Collette and his collection of Toronto’s most impressive indie talent hit the stage.
For its 7th instalment, the Basement Revue offers a five-night schedule of surprise friends, musicians, storytellers, and poets, come together to provide an intimate and unpredictable celebration of the holidays and all things CanCon. Former guests include Feist, Broken Social Scene, Margaret Atwood, Daniel Lanois, Michael Ondaatje, Rufus Wainwright, the Sadies, Bahamas, K-Os, and many more. Yep, this Collette guy’s connected.
The Dakota Tavern. December 2, 9, 23, 30. $25.
Adelaide Hall. December 18. All shows $25.
New Year’s Eve: Chronologic
Speaking of the holidays, you know those people who complain about New Year’s Eve being all build and no bang? You know why those people think that? Because they’ve never been to a New Year’s Eve Chronologic party.
As the name may imply, this dance-up features music from 1890 to 2014, played in chronological order. And trust us, it works. And as long as you’re so willing to trust us, we’ve got these Blackberry stocks that are set to soar! Interested? (Sorry, off topic.) What we meant to say was, trust us: it’s definitely not too early to make New Years’ Eve plans, but it’ll definitely be too late to get a Chronologic ticket if you don’t do it, like, now.
The Garrison. December 31. $20.
Stayin’ Alive at Your Day Job: Newer Music That Unfortunately Isn’t in the Streets This Month
The Record: Museum of Love – S/T
The Sound: While we’re forever hopeful that the end of LCD Soundsystem is more cryopreservation than “muerte”, we’re certainly thankful that the pause has allowed Pat Mahoney to explore new ideas with Museum of Love. And most importantly, his own voice. Wow. Anyone remember Bryan Ferry? Listen to this. And then go own it.
The Record: Hookworms – The Hum
The Sound: “The hookworm is a parasite that lives inside its chosen host, sucking blood and damaging the small intestine, and can occasionally lead to death if not treated or attended to properly. We’d like to think that our music works its way into our ‘hosts’, and grinds them down from the inside, bludgeoning them into submission with repetition and noise.” Ladies and gentlemen, the Hookworms.
#NOTABLE
Cover image from: istock.com/maxoidos
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