I miss my home, but its not my real home

I am living with my parents in Buffalo for the summer, and I can't help but missing my home, Toronto. It may sound strange that I consider Toronto my real home when I grew up in Buffalo (I was not born in Buffalo) and lived there the majority of my life. However, Toronto and me just click, its almost like an old friend, I feel alive there and I never really feel alone even when I am walking downtown by myself. I have a sense of belonging and I never feel like a freak show the way I do walking down the streets in Buffalo. For some reason, I have never been able to fit in here, I have never had many friends, I dress differently (I guess more urban chic...too upscale for this place) I listen to obscure music no one else knows about, I read the New York Times, and Vogue...its just not my crowd. I have longed to feel a sense of belonging here, to be able to eat chicken wings, talk about the Sabres, play beer pong, actually like shopping at the mall, listen to whiny emo bands...I just can't its not in my nature. I miss eating sushi and walking around downtown late at night, drinking sake with friends, talking until 4 in the morning and just laughing. I miss laughing. I miss walking downtown by myself surrounded by sky scrapers and people rushing by speaking every language of the world besides English. So today I decided this blog post would be about Toronto bands, to pay tribute to my home, because your home is not necessarily where you grew up or where you were born, its where you feel you belong.

Metric - If you have been reading my blog, you know I am a huge metric fan, I have seen them in concert and have a huge girl crush on Emily Haines (mostly for her wardrobe)



USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) - A band that is just really starting to take off, I am waiting them break through in the US.



Crystal Castles - These guys are huge in the inditronica/dance scene, its the only band I have ever heard that really uses the singer's voice like an instrument, in the purest sense.



Thunderheist - They are generating a lot of buzz right now for their debut album, and according to my friend Shelly they are pretty good live.



Bedouin Soundclash - I am also a big bedouin soundclash fan, and have seen them in concert (ok 10 minutes...in downtown Buffalo), well I would of liked to see them in concert.



Billy Talent - I have seen these guys in concert (for real this time) with my friends Shelly and Eve at Edgefest at Downsview Park, and they are actually pretty good live.



K-OS - One of the great MCs of our time and always under appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjVT-SKAxUs&feature=related

Stars - Their songs always seem relevant to me, almost like they are written just for me, I know how delusional it sounds...but hey what is music if it never feels personal?



Tokyo Police Club - Their first album was pretty decent, they can sound futuristic at times, and sometimes too experimental, but when they are on point, they rock.



Constantines - Indie rock darlings, they are always gracing the covers of some obscure indie rock magazine



Spiral Beach - They actually gave a free performance at my university, but I could not go because I had a physics test the next day...oh the pains of being a science nerd.



Broken Social Scene - Probably the most important indie rock band in Canada if not North America (seriously), its a collaboration of many different musicians from many different bands and the line up is quite dynamic.



Die Mannequin - Toronto power punkers, blast hair metal infused punk rock anthems...



Believe me, there are many many more Toronto based musicians to discover, the city has one of the great music scenes of the world. That's one of the great things about living in this city, besides the amazing food, and my friends of course...god I miss it even more.

Best MCs You've Probably Never Heard Of

So Eminem has a new album out. And the media is doing a stellar job of pushing this Asher Roth kid as the next big thing. I say screw them all. Here's my list of the best unknown and under rated rappers.

K-OS - Forget Kanye West you want a guy who produces his own music has a addictive hooks and intelligent rap dialog? K-OS--not Kanye is the king.

Sage Francis - Representative of the disenfranchised and angry. Leave Eminem in the discount bin pick up this guy instead.

Atmosphere - One of the smartest lyricists in the game. Raps mostly about social unrest and teen angst, and experiments with different instruments for the hooks. Its nice to find a rapper who is brave enough to use his voice as the main instrument and not the synthesizer.

Illa J - Mentioned this man in a previous blog, his beats are fresh and car radio friendly.

K'naan - This is the third time I've mentioned this guy, so hopefully someone (if anyone actually reads this) has gone out and listened to some of his tracks now. I'm starting to feel like a K'naan groupie so this will probably be the last time I mention him in my blog for awhile.

Charles Hamilton - He has had a lot of hype surrounding him lately but that's because his rhymes and style are so original. With his raspy voice and mixture of old school charm and futuristic spin on music Hamilton really is the wave of the future.

B.o.B. - Hip Hop's new southern son.

Kid Cudi - Ok fine you probably have heard of this guy. I started listening to "Day n' Nite" around January of 2008. There was no video for the song yet and no huge promotion of the single, but it was generating a lot of buzz online. About a year later it finally got its due and is now enjoying top 40 radio play. However Cudi has more cutting edge material that has been eclipsed by the dance anthem-y single, listen to "Embrace the Martian."

Lupe Fiasco - I put Lupe on the list because he is well known but still under appreciated. In a world dominated by Lil Wayne and T.I. Lupe is the nerdy kid brother.

The Cool Kids - Before Kid Cudi was known as Kid Cudi he was (and still is) one half of The Cool Kids, two eighties old school obsessed rappers from Cleveland.

N.E.R.D. - One of the most innovative hip hop groups that never gets enough attention from the mainstream press.

Lazee - Swedish rapper that does his own thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2NTQQPMIf0&feature=related

Adam Tensta -Another Swedish rapper most of his stuff (as well as Lazee's) are dance floor anthems, but that also means the hooks are addictive!

The Roots - Critically acclaimed with limited radio play. That's usually the way great music is these days, limited distribution on radio and loved by music critics, it shouldn't be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdWOoL31IJc