I like music... but I am not a music snob, particularly, and I don't spend much time tracking new artists, and being all hip to the coolest indie bands... you know what I mean. My friend Mason, though... this guy follows music. (Actually, I think a number of my Toronto friends do.) On my last Saturday night in Toronto, DJ M-Dash (that's Mason, in disguise) made me boogie my socks off at Dueling DJs (Jehan, you were awesome too. Love you Jehan!)

Anyhow, Mason has published his Top Ten albums of 2007. I'd say his recommendations are worth checking out. (Darren, you'll be relieved to hear that Arcade Fire only got an honourable mention.) Me, I love it when other people tell me about great new music, and I can just enjoy it. :)

Also, if you want to hear two of my favorite Toronto guys banter and play their favorite songs, check out the bonus podcast at the end of the post.

(I didn't think I'd blog again before Christmas, so I already said this, but... Merry Christmas!) 

Remember when I told you I loved the Weepies? Well, I still do.

But I have a more recent love affair now, and it's significant enough that I had to share. If you haven't listened to Jose Gonzales yet, then... well, I don't know what. But I'm not sure how I ever lived before I had Veneer to listen to. It's rare that I feel this way about an album.

I am somewhat devastated that it's his first album, because it means that I can't go and obsessively track down everything else he's released. I'm also somewhat devastated that I missed his performance with Zero-7 here in Vancouver last August, since I had no idea who he was. :(

This love runs deep, I gotta say. I don't have much doubt that Veneer will do down as one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE ALBUMS.

Speaking of which... I'd love to hear about which albums make other folks' all time favorite lists. Anyone wanna share?

No no no, not me. *I'm* not your man. 

But I went last night to see Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man, and spent the movie heaving sighs of wonder, gratitude, and a whole spectrum of other emotions. I fell in love with this man who is now 72, with his amazing velvet voice, and his song-writing, and his humour and humility.

Other highlights were performances by Rufus Wainwright... all three were great but "Everybody Knows" *really* took the cake. Oh my.

Also great was "I'm Your Man" performed with U2, where The Edge does a wee solo that you'd know was The Edge even if you'd had your eyes closed for the rest of the show. (What is it about that guy?) The contrast of old Leonard in a suit next to Bono and the boys, on a totally glittery stage, was pretty entertaining, I thought.

Highly recommended for an evening of hauntingly beautiful vocals and poetry.

(The first CD that the Pullman family ever owned was actually "I'm Your Man", so there was certainly a comforting familiarity about the whole thing for me, which I'm sure many others would share. Actually, the whole thing made me want to move to Montreal and be an artiste, rather than spending all my cycles thinking about the internet and other such new-fangled bullshit, but that's another story. ;))

I've never done this before, but I actually love this new band I've been listening to so much that I'm going to gush about them in a blog post.

They're called The Weepies, and a dear old friend turned me onto them. They're folky and melodic and I love both their voices and their songwriting and every time I listen to them I fall in love more and am compelled to evangelize profusely.

They also have the cutest story ever – "Deb Talan and Steve Tannen began writing together the first night they met and soon formed THE WEEPIES. “We were fans of each other. When we met, there was an electric connection that made us both nervous. After the show, when everyone went home, we stayed up all night playing songs for each other, drinking a bottle of wine and trading an acoustic guitar back and forth in a tiny apartment,” says Talan. "That night has lasted four years so far," adds Tannen.

Check them out... Buy their stuff... Go see them live. :)