Our 100th post and celebrations of sorts mix!

Unlike a lot of other blogs, who easily hit their 100th post mark in their first few months without breaking a sweat or computers, Camera Crowd is a blog that has always taken time with their posts and well we like to think that's a good thing. There is enough "stuff" out there on the Internet for you to read and digest and as much as we'd like to shove bands down your throat every day(blogger joke?), we just want to make sure who we post is worthwhile of your time. It's also a good excuse for not letting a blog run our lives and not being on the computer once in awhile.

While we're at it there are a few other minor calls for celebration. This blog was started last year in June and now that the earth has made its way back again, Camera Crowd is now one year old and we hope we'll stay with it and who knows what will happen. Tomorrow is Charlie's 22nd birthday and then on Tuesday it's Anne's 18th birthday!

Now that we got those out of the way, here's a playlist that we've compiled to celebrate these lovely landmarks. All the songs are by the bands/artists we've written in any of the past 99 posts and we've provided a link to the post if you missed it the first time around.

Finally, we'd like to thank you, yes you reading this silly post right now! Thank you for reading whether it be your first time on this blog or your 29374932th time. For readers who've been on here before, we hope we introduced some music you've enjoyed and will continue to or try at least. The big thank you goes to the people who make the music of course, after all, you are the reason why us bloggers are here.

Alright, as always downloads are only available for 7 days!

{You can hear the whole playlist by using the music player below and then you can either download individual songs or the whole playlist. We don't want you wasting summertime by being online all day, so save time while listening: go check your email, facebook, myspace, insert latest social networking obsession...}

{What you're clicking from left to right: click on the song title to download, we use yousendits, so right-click to open in another window/tab. Click on the artist/band name for their MySpace or official site. Click on the » to read past posts we've written on the artist/band. }

Tracklisting:

1. Concrete Love | Habitat^# »
   
2. Now. Now. | St. Vincent ^# »
3. My Eyes Are Disconnected From My Head Is Disconnected From My Body | Maestro Echoplex ^* »
4. Cosmia | Joanna Newsom ^# »
5. 5:55 | Charlotte Gainsbourg ^# »
6. Instead | Ola Podrida ^* »
7. The Reflection (With Red Hunter) | Sparrow House ^* »
8. Boa | Eglantine Gouzy ^# »
   
9. Elephant Gun | Beirut^* »
10. Ghost | Voxtrot ^* »

*anne's picks
#charlie's picks

» Download the whole playlist here!

Love, Camera Crowd
(Anne and Charlie)

Ohbijou

Just like Anne had said, yes, summer is getting to us. I know I promised you guys more write ups around the start off my summer break, but I haven't had the motivation to sit in front of the computer and write. I've been too busy with photography and the world of medium format. I need a blogger's recharge!

To those who know me personally, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with summer, I love being on break but my body hates hot weather and I get sick. So I usually surround myself with cold drinks and songs from artists that remind me of fall/winter. This is where the Canadian seven piece band Ohbijou comes in. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, this seven piece set consists of sisters Casey and Jennifer Mecija, Heather Kirby, James Bunton, Anissa Hart, Ryan Carley and Andrew Kinoshita. Some of their musical instruments of choice includes; a violin, ukelele, trumpet, glockenspiel and mandolin. So before even listening to them, you can already assume that they'll sound like a mini orchestra.

I've been listening to them for almost half a year now ( yes that's how behind I am) and they're easily comparable to other bands out there such as the band Eisley from Texas. But what stands out the most from all the other bands is that Ohbijou uses a wide array of musical instruments and they manage to keep that mature and polished sound intact. It's really an interesting and relaxing feeling when you hear the soft vocals along with the unique instruments mixed together in one song.

They have an album out right now titled Swift Feet For Troubling Times and it keeps my head cool on those hot, and unbearable summer days. If the Fall season was to have a soundtrack, it would be this album. Ohbijou manages to capture that piles of foliage, warm sweater feeling and transport all of it into an orchestra like environment. Fall is months away, but Ohbijou will keep me wishing over and over again for it to be here already.


Download:

The Woods | Ohbijou

St. Francis | Ohbijou

Links:

>> Ohbijou site
<< Myspace ( to listen to more songs, videos)

P.S: To purchase the album, just visit their official site or myspace.

-Charlie

Singled out: Postcard From Kentucky by Rocky Votolato

This is how I'd like to remember Texas, the way Rocky Votolato sculpts the stories in fly-over states and the ones down low, with swaggering harmonicas, rolling drums, a heart-strumming banjo and a low voice revealing some rare kind of Western wisdom while singing bottom of the bottle songs.

His fifth studio album, The Brag and Cuss following up Makers is full of lost and found sepia-toned sounds of America out West, rootsy, folksy and in every way so darn good to sing along to. I recommend streaming the whole album here, all of songs are warm and wonderful for a lonely summer night. "The Wrong Side of Reno" has won my heart along with "Lilly White", "Silver Trees" and oh the whole album is just a charmer. The eleven track album will drop into stores next Tuesday, June 19th, including the first single "Postcard from Kentucky".

It starts out with Votolato setting up a too familiar scene, "Jack Daniel's in one hand/a basic light in the other/my two best friends for so long/that I can't even remember...." Casey Foubert (Pedro the Lion) on the banjo follows his vocal melody closely and James McAllister (Sufjan Stevens) let the drums stay dry and remain out of the spotlight for this song.

For the most part, the song has an unwavering melody making its familiar rounds with each verse, but there are three certain points when his voice swells with emotion, rising higher above than the repetitive string of notes before, striking the listener most unexpectedly. Even though, it happens multiple times throughout the song, the sudden turn is so genuine that your reaction will remain a wonderful surprise and you'll come to look forward to those larger waves to overwhelm you when the song is played again. The thing with Votolato is that he doesn't come off as a sad sack, he sounds his best when injured and you don't need to have your arm twisted to sit down and join him in the ditch he dug himself in. You sit down, nodding and singing the blues away with him or try to anyways.


Stream + Download + More:

Postcard From Kentucky| Rocky Votolato


Links:

» Rocky Votolato's Official Site
» Stream The Brag and Cuss
» Pre-order/Purchase The Brag and Cuss
» Rocky Votolato's MySpace
» Rocky Votolato's Tour Dates

~anne

Shout Out Louds

So let's focus our attention on Sweden for a moment. Over the years they've given us a lot and we've overlooked them. Some of our favourite artists have hailed from Sweden; Peter Bjorn and John, Jose Gonzalez, The Cardigans, and ABBA ( I grew up listening to them ;) ). Let's also not forget our beloved Ikea stores, you gotta love those low-cost modern furnitures. Another Swedish product to add to the list is the band Shout Out Louds.

My friend Marina (who's also one of our photobloggers) introduced me to this indie/pop band hailing from Stockholm that's been around since 2001. Let's just say listen to your friends when they recommend a new artist, friends don't let friends listen to awful music, to those who do, you guys are awful! I was instantly hooked after hearing a couple of their songs from their upcoming sophomore album Our Ill Wills which won't come out in North America till September 11th, but is already out now in Sweden. Yeah that's right, September 11th?! No worries though, Shout Out Louds are nice enough to give us a 5 track EP that's out today. It includes the song that got me hooked on them, "Tonight I Have to Leave It", and two other remixes to that song.

Summer has officially started and if you're looking for a band to fall in love with and keep you company this summer, listen to Shout Out Louds. This Swedish group will make you dance and sing along with their distinct European pop sound. The ignorable percussions and the sound of the violin will have you craving for more, I promise. It's definitely what I expected from a Swedish pop band. If you wanna catch these guys on tour this summer, I hope you live in either N.Y, L.A, or San Fran, cause those are the only stops they're making.


Tonight I Have to Leave It | Shout Out Louds


Time Left For Love | Shout Out Louds


Tonight I Have To Leave It EP tracklisting:
1. Tonight I Have to Leave It (album version)
2. Don’t Get Yourself Involved
3. Streams Of Whiskey (w/ The Essex Green)
4. Tonight I Have to Leave It (The Russian Futurists Remix)
5. Tonight I Have to Leave It (Kleerup Remix)

Buy the EP now at Insound.com

Links:
>>> Official Site
<<< Myspace

-Charlie