The Disarming Persona of More or Les
March 4, 2010
More Or Les has a wry sense of detachment in the way he promotes himself.
He is quick to acknowledge a populist stance on hip-hop as a listener (he cited years, not artists when asked about his musical influences).
He is also not the slightest bit reluctant to suggest that he has the same likes and dislikes of most kids growing-up in Meadowvale (a neighborhood in Scarborough) in the late eighties and early nineties.
He is down-to-earth, and hints at some sophistication when he talks about the intricacies of influence in hip-hop (at one point talking about the specific contributions of Chuck D post-1998). More Or Les seems determined to strike a balance as an artist. Another way of stating this is that More Or Les is reluctant to take risks as an artist.
Top 9 Albums of 2009
January 26, 2010
Adequate: as much or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose.
Adequate; it’s the only word that comes to mind when describing the music of 2009. It certainly wasn’t a bad year for music. No colossal letdowns from favourite bands. No nauseating ‘group of the moment’ hogging the spotlight. But was it really a great year? The old bands were solid, the new bands were interesting. But no one sound roped our collective ears by the guitar string. It was simply a satisfactory 12 months of audio digestion that left us no better or worse. Full, sure, content, yes but maybe a little wary of opening our mouths about it; not unlike a tuna melt.
9. Joel Plaskett - Three
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
July 2, 2009
The problem with being a multi-talented performer is that you run the risk of spreading yourself thin. With so many ideas and the rare ability to pull them all off it takes a very special person to maintain a consistent level of quality across the board. Mos Def unfortunately isn’t one them.
When he was just a rapper, boy was he amazing. Black Star was the quintessential backpacker’s soundtrack and his debut Black On Both Sides is one of the greatest albums in rap history. But over the past few years as Mos has now found a place in Hollywood, his music has suffered terribly because of it.
Ciara - Fantasy Ride
July 2, 2009
For a while there, Ciara probably wondered if Fantasy Ride would ever shake off the slew of leaks, controversies, and creative changes that plagued the album’s production for over a year. Even with a few bumps and scrapes, the album is a surprisingly solid production that features a mix of silky slow jams, fast-paced club tunes, and rhythmic ballads.
While Fantasy Ride starts off with some fairly mediocre music (except for the sexy, fun single ‘Love Sex Magic’) the album takes a sudden leap in quality starting with the song ‘Never Ever’ that lasts all the way to the end. Showing a broad range of styles, from 90’s soul to more introspective fare like ‘I Don’t Remember’ Ciara puts forth some strong, sassy tracks that are sure to be future hits for the multi-platinum star.
Busta Rhymes - Back On My B.S.
July 2, 2009
Sigh. As a pretty big fan of Busta Rhymes, it hurts to admit that despite two decades in the industry the man still can’t seem to come out with an album you can listen to from start to finish.
Back On My B.S. starts off well with ‘Wheel of Fortune’, a track reminiscent of the innovative rap style that made songs like ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See’ and ‘Dangerous’ so successful, but the album turns sour quickly after the opening track. Both the beats and rhymes get repetitive and even his biggest fans will have to roll their eyes at weak songs like ‘Respect My Conglomerate’ and ‘Shoot for the Moon’. [Read more]
Hardboss Does NXNE 2009
June 19, 2009
The North by Northeast music and film festival, now in its 15th year, took over the streets of Toronto this past weekend and Hardboss Magazine was right there on the pavement, soaking it all in. We tried our hardbossingest to find the most bangin’ bands of the festival and report back to you our drunken memories of their shows.
There were some great bands plus some real hacks but overall this year’s festival was a hoot.
Click the band names below to find out how they fared at this year’s NXNE:
Arizona - The Boat - June 18th 2009
The Tragically Hip at Massey Hall
May 12, 2009
May 11th, 2009 - Though they are approaching their third decade as a band, the Tragically Hip haven’t lost a step. During their inaugural performance of a six-night stand at Massey Hall, the men from Kingston thoroughly rocked the sell-out crowd with a smattering of classic hits and fan favourites alike. By the time the 3-hour gig was complete there was nary a butt in a seat and throat not sore from screaming.
Things opened up a little tepidly with ‘The Depression Suite’ a three-part opus from new album We Are The Same that was passable, but a card played too soon. The crowd and band warmed up quickly though as classic singles like ‘Courage’ and ‘In View’ were mixed with album-only greats like ‘Pigeon Camera’ and a soul-stirring rendition of ‘Fully Completely.’
The Lonely Island - Incredibad
February 16, 2009
Hands down this is the funniest album you’ll hear all year.
The Lonely Island aka the only good thing on SNL for the past four years, have produced a nearly flawless parody rap album with Incredibad that will have you both bobbing your head to the top-notch production and laughing your ass off to the clever, and often ridiculous lyrics. All three members of the group, Andy, Jorme and Akiva, are surprisingly excellent rappers who switch their flows from Dirty South crunk to early 90’s West coast cool, to a decent facsimile of the Beastie Boys. The beats largely provided by Jorme are all great and manage to mimic the styles they are spoofing perfectly.
Top 10 Albums of 2008 #2
January 22, 2009
2008 was a mysterious year to say the least. Guns n’ Roses released Chinese Democracy after 67 years, Lil’ Wayne proved you can still sell over a million records in a week, Ricky Martin had twins, Kanye West became a singer, and Britney Spears isn’t crazy (for now).
The year also saw some notable deaths in the world of music - we lost Isaac Hayes, Bernie Mac (come on, he did skits on Kanye’s records), Jeff Healey and Mitch Mitchell.
But through it all, a handful of albums managed to rise to the top as the best of the bunch. Some you may have heard, some you may not have, but all are great pieces of music.
#10: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
The Brooklyn based duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden reached pivotal heights of success, and even graced the cover of Spin. Blending electronic and psychedelic pop fuzz, great songs like “Time to Pretend”, “Electric Feel” and “Kids” can get any indie hipster tp dance in their skinny jeans and fluorescent t-shirts.
Top 8 Albums of 2008
January 21, 2009
This year saw a lot of new bands release kick ass debut albums, and a lot of old bands resting on their laurels. Popular music is diversifying more and more and rock and rap are now being challenged by dance/electronica bands and mash ups of all three. The top three albums in this list all could have been number one but what really mattered was which album was the most inspiring. The following list isn’t perfect but the tunes on it are damn near and sure to be played well into 2009 and beyond.
Honourable mentions:
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago - Honest, stark and haunting album. Takes some getting used to, but well worth the extra listens.
She and Him - Volume One - Sweet songs with infectious melodies.
Ryan Adams - Cardinology- An album that you might not rush to turn up, but you’ll never really want to turn off.
8. Hayden - In Field & Town - This album made little noise when released early this year and has garnered little attention since, unfortunately, because though quiet, peaceful and calm, it’s an excellent piece of music. Veering away from his sometimes bizarre tendencies Hayden poured his heart into a typical yet great acoustic rock album that heavily recalls After the Gold Rush. It captures so well, so much, and is one of the most slept-on albums of ‘08.