mewithoutYou - [A→B] Life

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - The first time I heard mewithoutYou was around 2005 when I found myself drifting toward music that was more challenging than what I was currently listening to. A friend from college was a great source for this, as he sent me music from artists such as The Mars Volta, Xiu Xiu and also mewithoutYou. The latter, in his pitch, he gave me the disclaimer that they were Christian, which wasn't a problem for me because I happen to share that faith. I know that can scare some off. That being said, I thought that it sounded like obnoxious noise and didn't pursue it much more than that. But then, it didn't take long before I felt the need to listen back to their songs and suddenly began to find a connection to what kind of rock they made. It was certainly unusual, particularly the singing style, but the uncompromising honesty was hard to ignore and something to admire. Through time this admiration would develop into me becoming a very loyal fan of their work.

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Xiu Xiu: Live in Concert - Vancouver (The Biltmore Cabaret) - May 28, 2012

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - I discovered Xiu Xiu (pronounced Shoo Shoo) quite a few years ago with the release of their third album, Fabulous Muscles, which brought them some attention and remains one of their most popular releases. Now they are on tour promoting their eighth album called Always. I have to admit that at the very least, Xiu Xiu keeps releasing material at a consistent rate, so their fans don't have a chance to get bored. Not that they make the kind of music that gets boring anyway. They've always been very edgy and experimental. I've been interested to see how their music translates into a live setting so I decided to go see their concert on May 28th, 2012.

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The Top 10 Saddest Albums I've Ever Heard

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Finding a sad album is harder than you’d think.  We can all name songs that are emotional, that have touched us as they explore despair, but most artists shy away from making a whole album reflect that tone, instead choosing to balance the sadness with other emotions.  To be clear, this isn’t going to include so-called emo albums like anything by Simple Plan.  The goal of these albums was definitely not to sell generic bleating to teens, but to express genuine experiences and heartache.

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