Daniel Field Archive
Best in Indie Music – First Half of 2009
As with all of my previous lists of music, they are neither comprehensive nor do they reflect the opinions of all ReadJunk writers. However, with my vast intellect and ability to display scorn towards terrible bands, I feel that I have the authority to make decisions as to which bands and artists you should be listening to right now. I have sorted this look at the first six months of 2009 to reflect different trends in listening and appreciation.
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Lost: Five Unlikely Plotlines for Season Six
Now that season five of Lost is over, we have about 8 months before the final season begins. As such, there is nothing that can be done but take some guesses as to what will happen during season six. We know that the producers like to throw the audience off the track with various surprises, and growing mysteries. I figure that the more ridiculous my plotline ideas are, the more likely they are to happen.
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10 Ska Bands You Probably Haven’t Thought About in Years
I’m not saying anything judgmental about these bands. But time hasn’t been kind to them one way or another.
1. Voodoo Glow Skulls
2. Telegraph
3. Isaac Green and the Skalars
4. Cousin Oliver
5. Skavoovie and the Epitones
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My 10 Favourite Coozer Posts
As a celebration of managing to spend more time posting random tidbits of news than actually working, I would like to congratulate Mr. Adam Coozer on 1000 posts of his blog, The Coozer Files. The only thing I do believe that Mr. Coozer does more than post is shock the monkey, but that’s for another blog altogether.
Anyways, as a tribute to one of the most irreverent, ridiculous, and often hilarious blogs around, I would like to highlight my ten favourite Coozer posts of the last six months.
Passive Aggressives, The “Conflict Resolution”
Record Label: Dead Fish Records
Genre: Rock
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com:
What we have here is truly horrid sounding female-fronted 90s rock that really has no reason to exist. The singer has a fine voice, but with crunchy distorted guitars and lame production effects, this album just sounds so fake and forced, as if performed by a 5th place contestant on American Idol.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Suck-tastic
Notable Tracks:
Overall Rating: 
Cribshitter “Cry A Little Rainbow”
Record Label: Medicated G Records
Genre: Turdcore
Band Link:
Buy on Amazon.com:
My poo makes better music than this.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Really?
Notable Tracks:
Overall Rating: 
Cameron Matthews “green. blue. white.”
Record Label: Big Fat Cat
Genre: Singer-Songwriter
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com:
Boring singer-songwriter crap from a guy who tries to make you aware how much he sounds like Jeff Buckley by more or less emulating him. But songwriting is lame, performance is flat, and it’s really just the same old all-too-serious-songwriter-trying-to-make-it schtick. Plus, there are way too many terrible lyrical metaphors that sound like borderline parody.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Lame.
Notable Tracks:
Overall Rating: 
Willie Breeding “Cheap Vodka Rain”
Record Label: S/R
Genre: Country
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com:
Reviewer’s Note: So I posted a review last week that was fully surrounded by the assumption that Willie Breeding plays in the band Marah. This is totally untrue. He has opened for them on tour, and had various members play on the album. As an apology of sorts, and in conjunction with ReadJunk, I will offer the following quotes that can be used on future press releases.
“This is a disc full of music and instruments!”
– Daniel Field, ReadJunk
“There is sound everywhere!”
– Daniel Field, ReadJunk
“Breeding has a rare kind of beard-growing talent rarely seen in music today.”
– Daniel Field, ReadJunk
“I like mud.”
– Daniel Field, ReadJunk
In all seriousness, Breeding plays pretty tight country rock. He avoids some of the more predictable cliches found in the genre, and the production, part of which is done by Marah’s Dave Bielanko. Breeding has an interesting and enjoyable voice, and the disc is complimented by generally strong songwriting. Other than the title track, none of the songs stood out too much, but I see a lot of room to grow for Breeding as a musician and I know there is definitely potential for some great music.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Above adequate country rock.
Notable Tracks:
Overall Rating: 
Best in Music 2008: Part 2
Top 50 Albums of the Year
1. Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes / Sun Giant EP
From one of my first listens of the Sun Giant EP, I could tell that there was something special about this band. They have the right combination of melody, vocal stylings and a sound that is both retro and new. All praise for them from the media is warranted, and then some. I read recently about how some critics were thinking that the Fleet Foxes would rank very highly on critic lists but not fan-polled lists. But I disagree. While some may not find the folk-tinged sound of the band appealing, they have quickly and readily created a loyal fanbase and become one of the biggest indie rock bands out there.
Best in Music 2008: Part 1
Another year, another ridiculous amount of music consumed. While some of my buying, downloading, and listening habits changed, I do have to say that 2008 was a very good year for music, far better than last year, and perhaps almost as good as any this decade.
This year I stopped buying CDs altogether. I bought a rather impressive amount of new albums on vinyl, one of the biggest perks being that the album comes with a download coupon for legal acquisition. This year marked the first time that I bought digital music, which was pretty significant since I’ve been quite the downloader for some time now. But with a busy career, I’ve been going to concerts less and less, and it has been affecting my ability to support bands financially. I think the album that changed it was Paul Westerberg’s 49:00, which was more than affordable at 49 cents. Beyond that, it was some harder to find Canadian albums that were well worth the iTunes gift cards.
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