That's hot

A short while ago, Matthew Pollesel of i(heart)music canvassed the bloglands and beyond for a list of the 33 Hottest Bands in Canada. Everyone submitted a list of 10, except me: I submitted a list of nine and one name @#$%ed up beyond recognition.


Kill Cheerleader, Mavericks, March 24, 2006

Matthew's list is now up and about after some serious number-crunching on his part, and there's a lot of folks on it I almost chose and two that I did (The Sadies and Miracle Fortress). Anyway, look on and marvel at how out of step I am with the hip young kids today (I jest).

1. Les Breastfeeders – The Quebec band’s raucous live show would guarantee them a slot even if their two albums didn’t smoke as well.
2. Jon Epworth and The Improvements – Another live smoker with an excellent album of sharp pop rock under their belt as well.
3. Hot Springs – Great songs and great performances from a band that isn’t afraid to shift gears from rock to a poppier sound. Also blessed with the third most unpredictable frontwoman in Canada (as an aside, this is the band I'm most surprised didn't make it into to the Top 33).
4. Miracle Fortress – Were robbed – robbed, I say!
5. Nadja – The prolific duo’s sludge doom many to evoke striking feelings of melancholy while rolling a steamroller of sound over their listeners.
6. Black Mountain – Yay drugs.
7. The Sadies – Tremendous instrumental talent and a tremendous catalogue of songs that’s been slowly expanding out of their original country nook like a marvelous psychedelic bloom.
8. The Choir Practice – As a fan of polyphonic music I love the sound of massed voices, and The Choir Practice have all the ebullience one hopes for and none of the pretence one fears.
9. Kill Cheerleader – Their sleaze rock shtick seems so pathetically contrived at first glance it lets their super album ‘All Hail’ sneak up from behind and grab you. Unfortunately, I accidentally sent in their name as "Die Cheerleader", so they lost their one vote. I suspect it went to Die Mannequin (not that that would have been a a bad choice either). Me so stupid.
   
10. White Cowbell Oklahoma – More guitars and more strippers than any band in Canada, but they back it up with serious chops, good songs and a chainsaw.

Most of my selections (along with a vast horde of other bands) were relegated to the list of also-rans, which also served as a good reminder of bands I might have voted for on a different day of the week. I was sorely tempted to vote for Andre Ethier, Malajube, Sloan (althout they may be a bit long in the tooth to qualify as "hot") and Spiral Beach. Folks who did win a spot in the Top 33 and who I heartily endorse include Land of Talk, The Luyas, The New Pornographers (although I'm not sure they're new enough to count as hot ... then again, I voted for The Sadies), Julie Doiron, Besnard Lakes, The Acorn and Feist. So maybe I'm in step with the hepsters after all. Egads.

• Show reminder: Mustard Plug, The Johnstones and The Dirty 30s play Mavericks; Justin Nozuka plays Zaphod's.