tsol by shad.

There was a time during high-school when I really liked hip-hop. Maybe it was just because my friends did or maybe it was because my ears were younger and my mind liked/could handle the loud beats. I don't really listen to it now because the content in most hip-hop/rap is not something I want to fill my mind with and not a lifestyle I want to emulate. (At this point in my life, I'm more readily drawn to something like Sleeping at Last or Bon Iver.) However, when it comes to Shad and his new rap album TSOL (on iTunes or find it at HMV in the 'urban' section), I can't stop listening to it. In fact, I like the entire album so much I don't think I can even pick a favourite song. To paraphrase Brian Reagan, 'they're all favourites.'

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Shad is an amazing lyricist. I'm always left feeling challenged by one lyric or another to evaluate my life and how I'm living. This isn't mindless rap. Shad's lyrics are clever, are flavoured with irony, and are always thought provoking. Every time I listen, something new catches my attention.

I feel like I really get to know Shad as a person and that we could be friends. I think one of the things I most appreciate about this album is the place of humility that it comes from. Throughout the entire album you can hear the obvious talent Shad has and yet he constantly announces that being a rap artist is a blessing and something he didn't quite expect to happen. It is refreshing to see those roots so clearly.

This album is pleasing to the ears, the mind, and even the soul. I hope you pick up a copy today and let your own mind be wowed.

Want more Shad? Check out his blog here, his MySpace here and Facebook here, and articles from the Toronto Star here and here.

friendly music.

I want to continue on the thread of awesome-music-made-by-people-we-know from yesterday.

This first video is made by my old camp friend's husband Mike. The entire song - Firefly by Owl City - is composed using just his voice, mouth, and drinking glasses. He is amazing and this video will surely blow you away.

And if your head has not completely exploded yet at his amazing talent and ability to put together such complex sounding music, check out his cover of Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus.

As well, I need to mention that Shad is coming out with a new album on May 25. He is a super talented hip hop artist from Canada who does not spend time rapping about money, sex, and power - but issues that are real while using witty lyrics and impeccable rhythm. You can get his new single before the album comes out here and see all of his work here.

Below is one of his music videos - one of my favourite music videos of all time.

Update June 24: Mike was recently on Canada AM. Check out the video here. Also, Shad's album is out and it is great!

the city harmonic.

Last Saturday Caleb and I went to the CD release concert for The City Harmonic. Self described as 'what happens when you mix nostalgic hymns, brit-rock and that sing-at-the-campfire feeling,' The City Harmonic is simply amazing.

This was their first concert and they sure rocked it. They sang through their entire EP and were fresh, fun, and full of talent.
And boy, was it loud! The bass sometimes shook the entire room, it felt like the music was coming from inside you instead of at you. The audience was really excited. Lots of friends and family were there to support them (even Caleb's grandma and grandpa!). It was a really fun time.
The band is made up of Elias Dummer, Eric Fusilier, Aaron Powell, and Josh Vanderlaan. It was great seeing our friends/family in the band do such a great job at their first concert as The City Harmonic.
The City Harmonic has enormous amounts of talent and it is fun listening to their EP and watching them in concert. I hope that you have an opportunity to hear them sometime soon.

Want to experience more from The City Harmonic? Watch the creation of their EP, join their Facebook Group, or follow them on Twitter.

spotlight.

These past couple of weeks I have not been able to stop listening to Mutemath's album Armistice. It is a great album to crank up in the car when the windows are down and the sun is out. It is a perfect welcome to spring. "Spotlight" is probably my favourite song on the album right now. The music video is pretty neat too - I think Caleb told me they did it all in one take! (How did they not poke their eyes out?!)

Mutemath is no stranger to interesting music videos. For their song "Typical" they filmed in reverse (meaning they sang and played the song backwards). See the filming of it here for the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

cake.

If you love cake, either eating it or baking it, then you will probably love this song.

In the summer I made the Winning-Hearts-and-Minds delicious chocolate cake from Orangette. With a dollop of whipped cream on the top, this rich, moist, chocolatey cake truly won us over. Also, it is great for those who can't eat wheat because it only calls for a couple tablespoons of flour which can easily be subsituted (I'd recommend white rice flour).

Here's the recipe from Orangette below:

7 ounces (200 grams) best-quality dark chocolate
7 ounces (200 grams) unsalted European-style butter (the high-butterfat kind, such as Lurpak or Beurre d’Isigny), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/3 cup (250 grams) granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and butter an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the base of the pan with parchment, and butter the parchment too.

Finely chop the chocolate (a serrated bread knife does an outstanding job of this) and melt it gently with the butter in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring regularly to combine. Add the sugar to the chocolate-butter mixture, stirring well, and set aside to cool for a few moments. Then add the eggs one by one, stirring well after each addition, and then add the flour. The batter should be smooth, dark, and utterly gorgeous.

Pour batter into the buttered cake pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the center of the cake looks set and the top is shiny and a bit crackly-looking. (I usually set the timer for 20 minutes initially, and then I check the cake every two minutes thereafter until it’s done. At 20 minutes, it’s usually quite jiggly in the center. You’ll know it’s done when it jiggles only slightly, if at all.) Let the cake cool in its pan on a rack for 10 minutes; then carefully turn the cake out of the pan and revert it, so that the crackly side is facing upward. Allow to cool completely. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools.

Serve in wedges at room temperature with a loose dollop of ever-so-slightly sweetened whipped cream.

Note: This cake is even better on the second day, so consider making it the day before serving. And thank you to Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini, whose mention of a clementine cake in Trish Deseine’s Mes petits plats préférés led to my stumbling upon Je veux du chocolat! in the bookstore one day.