Soot and Stars
I AM SOOT!
Artist: Raine Maida
Album: The Hunter's Lullabye
Year of Release: 2007
Why I like him:
For those of you who don't recognize the name, Raine Maida, then maybe the light bulb will flash when I say he's the front man for Canadian band "Our Lady Peace"! I didn't catch "Our Lady Peace" until their fourth release (Spiritual Machines) where I caught the single "Life" from Canadian (connection maybe :humm music channel Much Music! The song instantly sounded different to me and most of that is owed to Raine Maidas very unique sounding vocals. Experience my first moment through this video:
I bought the "Spiritual Machines" album and honestly it still doesn't stick with me. I've found as I went on it's their strangest one to date and kind of messy to me. The seed of curiousity was planted nonetheless. I found my cousin from NY was wicked into them and he introduced me to their earlier albums. He introduced me to their second release "Clumsy" where he planted enough seeds like:
The biggest seed was a song that was really personal to him and approached a subject matter I had never seen tackled so well. This last song had me buy my second OLP album as I found both a unique voice and now good songwriting.
It wasn't until the 2002 album "Gravity" album where I where reached my peak with OLPs music. It was the first album where I felt they really fleshed out their unique sound (altering the vocals slightly) and made it work into an all access pop rock album matchbox 20 should be jealous of. I loved it track by track but here are my favorites:
Synced with my favorite movie "The Crow"
So after that c.d. gained a huge place in my musical rotation I also kept my eyes pealed and ears open for anything Our Lady Peace. So one day, while walking through a Newbury Comics I was flipping and saw this:
I had no idea this album was made! It had a very bland cover and an $18 price tag (it was an import). I still don't know why I bought it but I think it was curiosity about a guy from a mildly successful pop rock group gets to release low radar solo album and do what he wants. I had known both him and his wife, singer Chantal Kreviazuk, were both great songwriters and producers behind the scenes and I could tell this would be a laid back songwriter album! What I found was far beyond that!
Why I love the album:
From the first note of this I was blown away! The vibe of the very first song was hypnotic and enchanting. As I listened to the track in the car where the rhythmic piano groove was going I heard not a singer but something similar to a beat poet punctuating the music with pop culture poetry. I was hooked and even the musically unadventurous companion that was with me perked up and said: "Hey, I really like this!" That's when I knew I'd found something! The album is very simple instrumentally but you won't feel the music is! You feel like you're listening to a man who built his kingdom with the simplest of tools and built a monument that is relatable and exotic at the same time to even the most worldly of people! Lyrically, Raine Maida is a storyteller who doesn't judge. He calmly explains himself and at his most pointed he gives you the energy to protest and process hope in turmoil. No offense to Our Lady Peace but with this c.d. I think Raine Maida found his voice on his own turf more than he ever did in his band!
Album: The Hunter's Lullabye
Year of Release: 2007
Why I like him:
For those of you who don't recognize the name, Raine Maida, then maybe the light bulb will flash when I say he's the front man for Canadian band "Our Lady Peace"! I didn't catch "Our Lady Peace" until their fourth release (Spiritual Machines) where I caught the single "Life" from Canadian (connection maybe :humm music channel Much Music! The song instantly sounded different to me and most of that is owed to Raine Maidas very unique sounding vocals. Experience my first moment through this video:
I bought the "Spiritual Machines" album and honestly it still doesn't stick with me. I've found as I went on it's their strangest one to date and kind of messy to me. The seed of curiousity was planted nonetheless. I found my cousin from NY was wicked into them and he introduced me to their earlier albums. He introduced me to their second release "Clumsy" where he planted enough seeds like:
The biggest seed was a song that was really personal to him and approached a subject matter I had never seen tackled so well. This last song had me buy my second OLP album as I found both a unique voice and now good songwriting.
It wasn't until the 2002 album "Gravity" album where I where reached my peak with OLPs music. It was the first album where I felt they really fleshed out their unique sound (altering the vocals slightly) and made it work into an all access pop rock album matchbox 20 should be jealous of. I loved it track by track but here are my favorites:
Synced with my favorite movie "The Crow"
So after that c.d. gained a huge place in my musical rotation I also kept my eyes pealed and ears open for anything Our Lady Peace. So one day, while walking through a Newbury Comics I was flipping and saw this:
I had no idea this album was made! It had a very bland cover and an $18 price tag (it was an import). I still don't know why I bought it but I think it was curiosity about a guy from a mildly successful pop rock group gets to release low radar solo album and do what he wants. I had known both him and his wife, singer Chantal Kreviazuk, were both great songwriters and producers behind the scenes and I could tell this would be a laid back songwriter album! What I found was far beyond that!
Why I love the album:
From the first note of this I was blown away! The vibe of the very first song was hypnotic and enchanting. As I listened to the track in the car where the rhythmic piano groove was going I heard not a singer but something similar to a beat poet punctuating the music with pop culture poetry. I was hooked and even the musically unadventurous companion that was with me perked up and said: "Hey, I really like this!" That's when I knew I'd found something! The album is very simple instrumentally but you won't feel the music is! You feel like you're listening to a man who built his kingdom with the simplest of tools and built a monument that is relatable and exotic at the same time to even the most worldly of people! Lyrically, Raine Maida is a storyteller who doesn't judge. He calmly explains himself and at his most pointed he gives you the energy to protest and process hope in turmoil. No offense to Our Lady Peace but with this c.d. I think Raine Maida found his voice on his own turf more than he ever did in his band!