|
“No, we are not depressed,” says Laura of local Montreal indie band No Joy, “The band name has no meaning. It just sounds good.” Sad, happy, angry or mildly displeased, it would seem that despite No Joy’s mood, shoe-gaze indie dream pop bands have started to wear out their welcome in 2010. No Joy contradicts this prophecy, however, by making music that at once reminds us of our faded floral patterned pasts while allowing us to bathe in the present assurance that shoe-gaze lives on. No Joy is a two piece girl band, partially from Montreal, and partially from LA. While it is easy to see why they have been placed within the commercial industry’s shoe gaze genre, it is more difficult to actually apply this label to the duo conscientiously. At their core, No Joy is simply two girls who play loud guitar. And that’s great, right? The band started last year while Laura (one half of the band) lived in Montreal and Jasmin (the other half of the band) lived in Los Angeles. “I was bummed out about the winter,...[read more] Camera Obscura is a sextet pop group from Glasgow, Scotland – home of such bands as Belle & Sebastian and Franz Ferdinand. The band formed in 1996 as a rotating group of musicians performing in and around their hometown. By 2001 Camera Obscura had evolved to the line-up we see today. In 2004 they extended their reach beyond Europe, venturing across the Atlantic into a great amount of American interest. Camera Obscura’s most recent album, Let’s Get Out of This Country, was released June 2006 to critical acclaim. Carey Lander – piano, organ and vocals in Camera Obscura - was in the midst of a European/North American tour when foundinthemargins caught up with her. She divulged the books she finds inspirational and uses to escape the repetitiveness of day-to-day life. “Reading reminds me to pay attention to the tiny things and to find ways of seeing beauty in ugly, boring places. Books allow you to fall in and out of love on a daily basis. I enjoy the solitude of reading compared to the experience of watchi...[read more] Ontario born Jason Collett reads a lot, which is why FITM is interviewing him again. Between raising a family, working and performing with Canadian indie rock superstars Broken Social Scene, and releasing six of his own solo albums, Jason Collett reads poetry, fiction, non-fiction and is just generally interested in the literary world. Modestly, however, Collett cites himself as not reading enough. "I don't feel like I read enough. I don't have time. I've been raising kids for a long time. Usually, I read on the road." Coming from the road, so to speak, to play in Montreal last weekend, Collett is currently reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, a post-apocalyptic novel in reverse that was recently short-listed for the Booker Prize. Another favorite Collett lists is Where the Air is Clear by Carlos Fuentes. "He wrote it in the late 50s about Mexico City. I found it really moving. In fact, I read that Carlos book before I made the song Bitch City. Bitch City is a line out of...[read more] "I have a very short attention span," says Charlotte Cornfield, local Montreal singer/songwriter. "I'm not good at reading for a long time, or even sitting down." Cornfield remedies her inability to sit down for extended periods of time by reading short stories, some of her favorites falling under the authorship of English writer Roald Dahl. Although Dahl is more commonly known for his children's novels, his short stories are widely acclaimed, and more generally written for an adult audience. Even though short stories are Cornfield's preferred genre of literature, she is additionally a big fan of American favorites Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger. "I really like funny writers, and I recently read a couple of those books. They were really riveting," she says of the two authors, specifically mentioning Franny and Zooey (Salinger) and Breakfast of Champions (Vonnegut). "Breakfast of Champions was the first one I read [by Vonnegut]," Cornfield reminisces, &...[read more] |
FAVOURITE BOOKS
|
||||||||||
The online magazine that delves into the reading habits and preferred literary works of your favourite musicians, authors, and activists.
Facebook
Digg!