Snapshots and Needle Drops

Top Shots 2014

January 20, 2015 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Once again, I called for open voting on the year’s best Snapshots, and once again I am fairly surprised by the results. I touched on this last year, but I think this is because I know which photos took the most skill, which were the most opportune and– on the flip side– which did not turn out the way I wanted them to. 2014’s best shots were largely selected by fans of the Snapshots and Needle Drops facebook page. There […]

Categories: Lists, photography • Tags: best of, fireworks, international photography, photography, world photography

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Top Drops 2014

January 13, 2015 by snapshotsandneedledrops

It’s been a scarce couple of musical months, guys and dolls. Life has taken on a new kind of intensity after starting my new job– which I love– but unfortunately leaves me with little time for musical exploration or blogging. However, missing out on listing Snapshots and Needle Drops’ top ten drops and shots for 2014 was never an option… even if it is late. Once again, I plan on posting last year’s photography on the Snapshots and Needle Drops […]

Categories: Alternative, Australian, British, Canadian, Dance, Electronic, Experimental, Folk, Indie, Irish, Jazz, Lists, Playlists, Pop, Remix, Rock, singer-songwriter, Soul • Tags: 2014 music, best of, Canadian, indie, jazz, music, photography, pop, Rock, top ten

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My Favourite Faded Fantasy

November 10, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

He’s back guys! He’s back! He’s back! Irish, “self-lacerating troubador” Damien Rice has, after an eight-year absence, released his newest album My Favourite Faded Fantasy today in North America. I’m still on my first run-though, but this album is so classic Damien it’s hard to believe he’s been radio silent for this long. In expected form, the majority of the songs are slow, quiet and introspective– but with 30 seconds to spare he usually builds up to a screeching, voice-cracking […]

Categories: Acoustic, Album Review, Folk, Folk Rock, Irish, singer-songwriter, Soul • Tags: 2014 music, album review, Damien Rice, folk rock, indie folk, Irish, music, My Favourite Faded Fantasy, new music, photography

SS&ND Reviews: This is All Yours – Alt-J

November 4, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

They say a band’s sophomore album is the hardest. In this age of music, if your first release flops– that’s it. In Greg Kot’s book Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music— my all time favourite book about music– he references Joni Mitchell’s remarks on how, when she was signed, record companies offered multi-album deals. Joni’s first contract gave her something like eight albums. Mitchell claims this allowed her to grow naturally as an artist, hone her writing and musicality. […]

Categories: Album Review, Alternative, art rock, British, Dreamwave, Electronic, Experimental, folktronica, Indie, indietronica, New Wave, Rock, Sample, synth rock • Tags: album review, Alt-J, art rock, Indie Rock, music, photography, Rock, This is All Yours

The Great Wide Somewhere

October 27, 2014 by ebembo

Two weeks ago I was invited on an after-hours tour of Canada’s Library of Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1859 and 1876, the Library is the only original remaining part of the Centre Block of Parliament – the rest burned down in a fire in 1916. The Library was saved thanks to a fast-thinking clerk and a pair of steel doors. I only visited the Library of Parliament once before, on a Girl Guide field trip to Ottawa […]

Categories: Americana, Folk, singer-songwriter, Soul, Uncategorized • Tags: Americana, Canada, folk, Frazey Ford, Library of Parliament, singer-songwriter, soul, The Be Good Tanyas

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Night of Triffids

October 14, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Nightfest, Floriade, Canberra, ACT Has anyone read The Night Circus? Author Erin Morgenstern depicts a magical world, hidden in plain view of Victorian England. Her writing illustrates a traveling, black-tented circus that only opens at night. Using magic (unbeknownst to the naïve and stunned 19th century English), the Night Circus travels around, creating a phantasmagorical oasis from whatever frosted barley fields it pops up from. This was what Nightfest was like; a temporary mix of flora and illumination coming together to […]

Categories: Alternative, art rock, Dreamwave, Indie, Pop • Tags: ACT, Australia, Canberra, dreamwave, Erin Morgenstern, festival, Floriade, indie pop, music, Night Fest, night photography, photography, The Night Circus

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We Know The Moves

September 22, 2014 by ebembo

The West Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa – Scheduled to reopen in 2017 Having each calendar year begin on a seemingly arbitrary day smack in the middle of the winter – just another cold day, undistinguishable from the cold days that preceded it – always struck me as an odd way to start fresh. If I had my way, I would have advised Pope Gregory to start every year in September. What better way to begin anew than during the most dramatic […]

Categories: Electropop, Indie • Tags: Alanis Morissette, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, coffee, Concordia University, electropop, indie, Kid Koala, McGill University, Montreal, moving, Ottawa, Parliament, Phil Collins, Pop Montreal, Sylvan Esso, The Strokes

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Osheaga Wish List

August 4, 2014 by snapshotsandneedledrops

Festival-goers waiting for the headliner acts on the main stages I’ve been sick for over a week now. Runny nose, headache, sore throat, hacking cough: sick. My voice swings from sounding like a suffocating chipmunk to Beast (à la ‘Beauty and the’), if Beast smoked 4 packs a day. I’m doing everything right: resting, drinking hot lemon water and honey, eating well, taking vitamins, going for short walks…. nada. The Beast is here to stay. However, after a weekend of […]

Categories: Alternative, Concert Pics, Indie, Rock, Soul • Tags: Bon Iver, festival, Justin Vernon, Montreal, music, Osheaga, Osheaga 2014, photography, playlist, travel, Volcano Choir

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Welcome to My Zoo

July 28, 2014 by ebembo

I’m a sucker for a good bass line. This song by Glass Animals – an indie rock band from Oxford, England – delivers. When you grow up living with a sibling who plays the bass guitar non-stop, you cannot help but develop an ear for new, distinctive, groovy bass riffs. In fact, it is to your advantage to recommend new tracks to your sibling, otherwise you’re just stuck listening to “Aeroplane” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers on repeat. I also […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: animals, bass, British, British Music, Glass Animals, indie, Indie Rock, music, photography, psychedelic, psychedelic pop, trip hop

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