July 2008
12 posts
The Clips Sound Matterhorn - via Chart Attack →
UN008 - The Clips - Matterhorn →
The latest release from Unfamiliar records comes from Vancouver’s The Clips. Already having received plenty of pre-release press, we’re very excited to be giving this a national release.
Turn on colour management in Firefox 3. →
Ever wonder why your images are showing up desaturated in Firefox (or other browsers, for that matter)? It’s because they do not support “embedded colour management profiles”. Users of Firefox 3 can fix this by following the directions in the link I referenced above. Have fun.
Snailhouse interview in Chart Attack →
Inside Entertainment: Concert Review - Snailhouse →
Snailhouse makes the front page of Inside Entertainment Online after his performance at The Drake, in Toronto.
No Age - "Keechie" →
Companion video to “Eraser” also directed by Andy Bruntel.
EYE WEEKLY - Snailhouse Interview →
Vish Khanna interviews Mike for Eye Weekly.
Call & Response: snailhouse →
Mike answers questions posed by BlogTO.
Reviews:: Snailhouse Lies on the Prize - Herohill →
The first review for Lies On The Prize is a great one.
Snailhouse - (Not) Superstitious from Lies On the...
June 2008
4 posts
THURS JUL 3 2008 - SNAILHOUSE CD release w/Tusks &... →
Snailhouse CD release show in Toronto!
Familiar & JELLYNYC launch The Pool Parties! →
Here it is — the new Pool Parties website. We launched this last weekend in time for the first party of the summer at McCarren Pool.
UN007 from Unfamiliar Records →
Snailhouse - Lies On The Prize CD. Released June 27th, 2008.
UN006 from Unfamiliar Records →
The Two Koreas - Sessions EP on 12” vinyl. Released June 24th, 2008.
April 2008
8 posts
Radiohead: Bangers & Mash | Pitchfork.tv →
Pitchfork.tv made its debut today. With Radiohead. Great sound quality on this.
A busy Friday
After checking out a great set by Mahogany at Mercury Lounge, we ended up at Studio B last night where Optimo were DJing. Nothing mind-blowing, and indeed we left the space in order to catch LCD’s Pat Mahoney DJing at Shanghai. The Optimo boys did, however, drop an interesting remix of Beirut’s “Postcards From Italy” which I had never heard before. Maybe something that...
Pete & the Pirates: Little Death: Pitchfork Record... →
We covered Pete & The Pirates favorably back in Febraury of 2006. Since then, they’ve stuck it out, and today received a great review from Pitchfork. Have a look here for some of their earlier material: http://familiar.tumblr.com/post/29842832
Fold-Ins →
Al Jaffee’s fold-ins for Mad magazine, from the 1960s to the present, in interactive form. Courtesy of The New York Times.
“James Murphy: Artist of the Decade
Too soon to call it? Not in URB editor...”
– URB Magazine
Pitchfork.tv Launches in One Week →
From Pitchfork: A few short weeks ago, Pitchfork announced the April 7 beta launch of its new independent music video site, Pitchfork.tv. As previously mentioned, Pitchfork.tv will be updated daily, and will feature live and intimate performances, mini-docs, and interviews with independent artists, plus music videos and full-length music documentaries and DVDs— all of it on-demand, on one...
“You know, I had this mistaken understanding of ‘professional’ when I...”
– Peter Saville
March 2008
20 posts
Fleet Foxes at The Bowery
So the show at The Bowery last night was great. It was interesting to see how many people were there specifically to see Fleet Foxes — and how many people knew the songs. Yes, it was packed right from 10:30pm. Robin was getting over the flu, but that had little effect on the vocal harmonies and strength of his voice; the crowd was supportive, and it was kinda funny to see him consider...
Watch“Ha Ha Ha America”, a documentary on America’s foreign policy with China, as told from the perspective of — well, just watch. A favorite at Sundance. Directed by JD Ligon.
Muxtape →
Nicely designed, easy-to-use online mixtape creation. Enjoy the simplicity. Of course: http://familiar.muxtape.com/
BONATI MASTERING NYC →
Just finished putting this site together for Josh Bonati of Big A little a. Unfortunately, a lot of the work that went into this is hidden in the client-only back end.
Faunts - M4 (Part II) This is available via iTunes...
Mexico Declares War On Emo →
Thanks to Jill for sending me the link. She has evidently seen this first hand in Mexico. Amazing.
20 Biggest Record Company Screw-Ups of All Time... →
Jill Southern w/Chad Blue - “Dancing In The...
Edward's last.fm account →
Man, I can’t believe Ed didn’t delete all those Death Cab plays.
Greg's last.fm account →
You can see what I listen to. I found it kind of funny when they implemented a feature on last.fm that let you delete songs from your recent playlist. Did you listen to something that embarrassing?
Our Twine account →
Twine is a “semantic web application” built by start-up Radar that is geared towards information sharing. Unfortunately it is in private beta at the moment, and you need to be a member in order to see our page. I think they are accepting new users at the moment, so sign up to check it out.
Edo remixes The Clips’ Wire into Rewire....
“LOL”
– Edward
December 2007
1 post
Pop Montreal - Oct 4, 2007
Pop Montreal is, without a doubt, Canada’s premier music festival. Growing steadily since its inception in 2002, Pop now runs five days, and boasts over 300 recording artists — along with a small film festival and the Puces Pop arts & crafts show. This year attendees could check out names like Patti Smith, Pere Ubu, Man Man, Islands, Jay Reatard, DJ/Rupture, Caribou, Black...
October 2006
1 post
Moving
We’ve moved the blog to a Wordpress installation on our own server! This means we are no longer updating the old Blogspot site. It also means the entire blog has been re-designed, with the intention of making it easier for you to use, and for us to update. Unfamiliar Records have released our first compilation, which includes 8 free MP3 downloads. This co-incides with our recent...
September 2006
1 post
For Boys and Girls
NO FORMAT presents: Harlem Shakes & The Book Of Lists 10/05/2006 @ Sneaky Dee’s (Toronto, Canada) Harlem Shakes - From Brooklyn, New York, this is Harlem Shakes’ first time in Toronto. They’ve already ripped it up in Montreal, and are playing consistently sold out shows in their home town. Now we get to see what it’s all about. Indie pop in the vein of The Magnetic Fields, you could also...
August 2006
5 posts
Shoegaze Cover Night
NO FORMAT presents: Shoegaze Cover Night 08/23/06 @ TRANZAC (Toronto, Canada) FEATURING: THE BLACK RABBIT @ 11:30pm Ian Worang (Uncut / The Two Koreas) - Guitar Kieran Grant (The Two Koreas) - Guitar Jon McCann (Nassau) - Guitar Ian Jackson (The Diableros) - Guitar Derek Tokar (Uncut) - Bass Pete Carmichael (The Diableros) - Bass David Gee (The Two Koreas) - Drums Jon Drew (Uncut) -...
All in threes
Fujiya & Miyagi are not Japanese, but British — though like France’s Colder, they sound German. Their new album, Transparent Things, is this year’s model of motorik Krautrock precision.
Fujiya & Miyagi - Cassettesingle
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Bossanova is not a bossa nova band; it’s the alias of Vancouver’s Chris Torrow, a well-connected indie-rocker with members of The...
Heavy Brackets
So, Stuart took off to Chicago last week for what I think might have been the best weekend of shows Toronto has seen this year. From Land Of Talk last Thursday, to Oneida on Friday, Wolf Parade (with Frog Eyes, and Holy Fuck) on Saturday evening, and The Blow on Saturday night, it was a wonderful time.
Land Of Talk have been consistently great every time I’ve seen them, and this - an off...