slang of the city: a poll of local favourites
Inspired by I (Heart) Music's 33 Hottest Bands in Canada poll, I put out the call via email last week to some folks asking them to put together a list of their favourite local acts. Eleven responded (and I did one) and the results are tabulated below. Everyone made a list of (up to) ten bands, with ten points to first, nine to second, and so on.
I hesitate to call this "best" or "hottest" list or anything like that, as its mostly for fun and its far from exhaustive. Hopefully it a) introduces you to some local acts you haven't heard and b) generates some friendly discussion though. There was surprisingly little consensus after the first eight or so artists, and 64 different acts got a nod of some sort, proving something that most of you probably already knew: that the local scene is both diverse and awesome.
Most blogs leave you a link to buy a band's record online, I never do. Nothing against InSound, but in my humble opinion it's much better to either trek your way down to one of the city's many fine independent music retailers or head out to a show and get the album straight from the source... although, however you want to do it, I do strongly support putting some money in the pockets of these fabulous artists in some way.
Some things to note:
- "local" was very loosely defined. Some people included the Island, others didn't. I didn't specify either/or, although I'm sure if I'd said it counted a lot of ferry commuting bands would've received more votes.
- Some people separated Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops, some people didn't. Their individual votes were really close anyhow, so everything worked out... but just so you know.
- I swear I didn't rig the winner. In fact, I had Bejar at #1.
A big thank you to the pollsters: Sean from Beyond Robson, Andrew from Red Cat Records, Shea from AMS Events, Ed from CJSF, Rob from Vanmega, Pinder from Deftone, Hanson from My Indie World, David and Jordie from Discorder, Ben from CiTR/Shindig!, and Graham from Regulate the Voice.
I didn't ask all dudes, but apparently the women I asked don't like me or something.
And with that, the top 23 (it would've been 20, but as you can see there was a tie) local acts...
23-17. (9 points each)
Basketball (formerly Raking Bombs)
These kids marry their previous influences of Mars Volta style-prog rock to Liars-style percussive Krautrock. (Sean)
Bend Sinister
If Mars Volta covered Queen. (Sean)
download: Through The Broken City
Bontempi
Channels 3+4
Vancouver needs more noise bands that don't suck. (Pinder)
spazzzzzzzzzzzz. (Sean)
Channels 3+4 play 'the Kids' on September 2nd at the Columbia
Maplewood Lane
Vancouver's answer to The Innocence Mission. Gorgeous dream-pop delivered prettily. I'm just a sucker for a voice like Rebecca Rowan's. (Hanson)
download: Candian Winter
16-12. (10 points each)
Geoff Berner
download: Whiskey Rabbi
Geoff plays the Railway tonight! (Friday the 18th)
Ghost House
Ghost house are at the Waldorf tonight with Fun 100 and Joel and the Last of the Neighbours.
Hank Pine & Lily Fawn
Their debut album is a two disc long ridiculous rock opera that sounds more like something Zappa or the Pixies dreamed up bringing in some of the areas most talented artists. Their ability to find so many collaborators is impressive, but it's the bizarre and hilarious stories their music tells that really gets me. (Jordie)
download: Angel on the West Wing
No Luck Club
Their second album happiness was great and memorable. (Ed)
The Parallels
While they do the angular indie rock thing like many other bands they bring a 1950's style aesthetic to their work (this is in contrast to the norm of using 70's - 80's influences). Their sound is kinda bluesy, kinda jittery, and kinda urgent. (Rob)
11. Run Chico Run (11 points)
download: Clockwork Crows
The Chicos are at the Media Club on August 26th.
...and the top ten
10. Blue Grey Dots (14 points)
From what I can tell these guys are young, but have a purposefully reckless synth-rock sound that more seasoned groups would strive for. "Turtles" will be on my best of 2005 list. (Rob)
9. 3 Inches of Blood (15 points)
In metal it's so easy to dismiss a band for the vocals alone. If they suck, they'll either eat the mic and do the Cookie Monster thing, or bury the vocals low in the mix. But in 3 Inches of Blood the vocals stand out the clearest. Cam Pipes (apparently his real name too) has one of the best metal vocals I've heard in years. This is really an under-rated metal band. The nerdy, but sincere, lyrics about orcs and stuff make me smile every time. How can you not like a song where the first line is "In the year 4055, Wykydtron came to life". And if you don't like Deadly Sinners, you don't like metal. Enemies of metal: your death is our reward. (Pinder)
Loud and fun. (Shea)
download: 3 Inches of Blood - Deadly Sinner
8. P:ano (17 points)
Lords of the dark twee carnival. (Sean)
P:ano always make me smile. (Ed)
P:ano open for Vashti Bunyan at Richard's on September 1st.
7. You Say Party! We Say Die! (22 points)
These kids do dance-punk with the reckless abandonment of early Pretty Girls Make Graves. The result is the catchiest espousing of leftist politics I've ever heard. (Hanson)
download: The Gap
YSP!WSD! are at Richard's on October 7th.
6. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (29 points)
Oompah stomping craziness sets them up as one of the most unique sounding bands in town. This is the last of the local bands that I'd say I actually love. Everything below this on my list is not something I'd be willing to marry. (Jordie)
download: Emptyhead
They Shoot Horses play the Vic Square Block Party on September 4th. (No word on the rest of the lineup yet).
5. Destroyer (45 points)
It usually takes a couple years before declaring an album as solid. It takes me about 2 days for Destroyer records. And in that time I've declared a new "favourite song on the album" about 6 different times. (Pinder)
Bejar is the best songwriter in the city. (Shea)
4. The New Pornographers (46 points)
Yeah, you might've heard of these guys. They're kind of good if you're into music. (Hanson)
Possibly the most individually talented band in the city. Hard not to like. Success shouldn't knock them off this list. (Shea)
Any other songwriter writing indie pop songs as good as this? Nope. (Pinder)
download: Mass Romantic
The NPs are doing a two night stand at the Plaza on October 21st and 22nd.
3/2. Pink Mountaintops/Black (48/46 pts) Mountain
Obvious choice. (Sean)
If there is a definitive East Van sound, this is it. (Shea on Blk Mtn)
Ironically, I've never seen my number one choice live so this position is based on the strength of their records. Which are pretty damn good. I can't count how many times I've listened through their self-titled. (Jordie on PM)
Obvious enough/Less obvious, but still pretty obvious. (Ed on Blk Mtn/PM, respectively)
When I heard the new PM album, I thought McBean had mixed up his Pinks and Blacks. Instead of songs about fucking, there were songs about war and drugs. So I ignored it for a while but came back to it a couple months ago and am really enjoying it now. Just took a while to ditch the expectations. Black Mountain is still doing it's thing really, really well. They just put out a 7" on Suicide Squeeze that has 2 new songs that no one's really heard, but are some of the best they've done. (Pinder)
download: Pink Mountaintops - New Drug Queens
download: Black Mountain - Druganaut
1. Ladyhawk (54 points)
Ladyhawk is THE Vancouver band I most want to be HUGE. "The Dugout" is still my top contender for Song of the Year. (Pinder)
Crowd sing alongs before releasing an album! (Shea)
No hipster irony here, these guys pour their hearts out. Part Foghat, part Weezer, these Kelowna ex-Pats are the best thing to come from the interior since, I don't know, probably wine. (Sean)
download: The Dugout
download: War
Ladyhawk play 'the Kids' at the Columbia on August 26th.
The other 41 bands that received votes, in no particular order:
Vancougar, Raised By Wolves, Joel and the Last of the Neighbours, Hejira, Mohawk Lodge, Secret Mommy, the Salteens, Catlow, Gangbang, the Battles, Anemones, Memphis, Neins Circa, the Buttless Chaps, David P. Smith, the Organ, the Doers, the Winks, Josh Martinez, Bella, the Be Good Tanyas, Blood Meridian, Swank, Trail vs. Russia, Neko Case, Nomeansno, In Medias Res, Loscil, Book of Lists, Leeroy Stagger, My Project: Blue, Rose Melburg, Leeroy Stagger, Loscil, Carolyn Mark, Pride Tiger, Circlesquare, the Weather, Rob Wilson, Robosexuals, the Safety Show, and Frog Eyes.
now playing: Slow - Have Not Been The Same
Labels: polls
20 Comments:
Sweeeeeeeeeeet. Thanks for doing this, Quinn.
By 
, at
9:26 a.m.
What Hanson said about the New Pornographers is so true. I am into music and I do think they're kinda good.
By , at
10:03 a.m.
van-city represent! i wonder if other canadian music blogs will pick this up...
people need to discover mother. what a good band! and they've only ben together a year or two.
www.myspace.com/motherband
By , at
5:51 p.m.
What, no Bella or Young and Sexy?
any word when new pornographers tickets are on sale?...cause it wasnt today...at least not at scratch
By , at
9:13 p.m.
Cool idea Quinn!
By , at
12:52 a.m.
NP goes on sale next week
By , at
10:47 a.m.
"van-city represent! i wonder if other canadian music blogs will pick this up..."
Oddly enough, last week I started planning for an Ottawa version of this same poll! Weird.
Very cool list! I love how the top five bands are basically members of two collectives.
By , at
1:28 p.m.
BOO on In Medias Res not being in atleast top 20. Their album is one of my all time faves.
By 
Peter, at
11:17 p.m.
Awesome list! I really love that it's local and was done by bloggers. :-) I put a link to it on my blog, so I could pass it on...
By , at
9:11 p.m.
i'm kinda surprised that yukon, international falls, precious fathers, calamalka, octoberman, fond of tigers, and shapes and sizes didn't get any votes.
By , at
2:30 p.m.
great aunt ida? romance? that's the beauty of these lists is it forces you to think of how many great bands are in this city.
By , at
2:52 p.m.
fond of tigers, karen foster, precious fathers, peggy lee band...
By , at
3:23 p.m.
thank god Panurge wasn't on the list, if it wasn't for R3 who seems to have some misplaced hard on for Panurge no one would ever hear of them.
Vancouver does need more noise bands that don't suck, but Vancouver also could use some noise bands that don't sound like every other noise band with a microphone and a keyboard.
spittin venom today! (sorry)
nice list
By , at
1:08 p.m.
dude, how come I wasn't asked? You can bet Ladyhawk would've been my #1 pick.
By , at
2:11 p.m.
babies, babies, babies. The Doooooooers!
I do also have a hard-on for that They Shoot Horses disc, tho my experience of them live was a little yes, a little no. But absolutely The Doers and Great Aunt Ida.
By cleverlazy, at
6:45 p.m.
Where is Mother?
By , at
4:13 a.m.
Panurge are one of the most underrated bands in the world and you need your mouth washed out with soap.
By , at
10:22 p.m.
check this rad band out, saw em the other night. rffin stoner rock
www.myspace.com/blackwizardcom
By , at
4:17 p.m.
