I’ve got to admit, it took me a while to take to Tallest Man on Earth after my friend Clare introduced me to his music two years ago.

Folk singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson’s moniker is likely meant to be ironic, considering the dude’s only 5’7, but that was the least of my complaints.

No, my main gripe is that Matsson’s vocals sound like a spastic goblin channeling Bob Dylan. It’s incredibly weird and jarring and would probably make you feel uncomfortable in all the wrong places.

But after repeated listens, his heart-wrenching, love-torn tales won me over and I soon began to actually enjoy his unusual voice.

This 2008 Take Away Show clip was shot in New York the day before Matsson was supposed to open for Bon Iver. But unfortunately for them, Matsson’s guitars were locked inside the show’s venue, Town Hall.

That’s when they approached the proprietor of the Music Inn on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village to both shoot the video in the shop, but more importantly, to use the shop’s instruments.

He performed a beautiful impromptu cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days”, which of course, was made popular by Nico.

Things will come full circle on September 24th when Bon Iver’s S. Carey opens for Tallest Man on Earth at Lee’s Palace in Toronto.

And speaking of Bon Iver, Kanye’s “Monster” leaked over the Interweb last week. The song features vocals from Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross and… Justin Vernon. How do I feel about the song? Ask me in about 10 years when I’m able to fully process the very idea of such a collaboration.

In other collaboration news, Kanye and Raekwon did a remix for Justin Bieb…

…I’m sorry, my head exploded before I was able to finish that sentence.

It’s not often you get goosebumps from watching a band or artist perform — it’s probably only happened a handful of times for me in the last five years (Bon Iver, Sigur Ros, and Owen Pallett are the first that come to mind).

But Stevens’ gentle earnestness coupled with his impressive musicianship packs a pretty strong emotional punch.

In fact, my friend Mimi told me yesterday that she can’t seem to listen to “Casimir Pulaski Day” anymore without sobbing.

And come to think of it, that song should probably have the same effect on me and millions of other people who can recall having learned the tragic news of a loved one’s impending death.

But I’ve realized that music does not make me cry, just bad movies. I once cried three times while watching I Am Sam, in theatres, no less, on a third date situation.

The age-old Hollywood formula of “Loveable Retard + Cute Kid = Waterworks” seemed to apply to me. By some inexplicable reason - a damn miracle, actually - there was a fourth date, despite my shameless display of sentimentality.

So when Asthmatic Kitty brought announced yesterday that Stevens will embark on a 24-date tour this October and November, you can almost hear the enthusiastic shouts of joy from myself and thousands of other Sufjan fans.

The tour kicks off on October 12th at Montreal’s Metropolis Theatre and closes with two dates at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on November 14th and 15th.

And yes, my dear fellow Torontonians, Sufjan will be making a stop in our city on October 13th at the legendary Massey Hall.

Pre-sale tickets for all 24 dates go on sale today at 1 pm via Asthmatic Kitty’s site, but if you’re reading this hours after the fact then you can try again when they go on sale to the general public at Ticketmaster this Friday at 12 pm.

According to Asthmatic Kitty, “the performances will feature fully realized versions of the songs initially debuted during a late 2009 tour of small clubs in which Stevens workshopped several works-in-progress,” while touring with “his large ensemble performing alongside a full production including projections.

Here’s some footage of what is, in my humble opinion, Sufjan’s strongest new song, “Impossible Soul”, which was taken by my friend Jeannie last October at the Music Hall of Williamsburg show in Brooklyn.

Last week The Rapture were in town for a DJ gig at The Great Hall. We were fortunate enough to catch up with Luke and Vito from the punk-dance outfit to discuss record collecting, DJing, blogging, and… D&D?

Here is part two of the interview.

Last week The Rapture were in town for a DJ gig at The Great Hall. We were fortunate enough to catch up with Luke and Vito from the punk-dance outfit to discuss their upcoming new record, their two-year hiatus, and touring.

Here is part one of the interview.

Last Thursday, July 8 the Flaming Lips performed alongside Spoon, Tokyo Police Club, and Fang Island at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre.

For those of you who have not been to a Lips show, I can only describe it as a whirlwind of Christmas meets Halloween, where whimsical bliss collides with the weird and wonderful.

Confetti. Giant balloons. Giant balloons filled with confetti. An army of dancing orange foot solidiers. Captain catfish and a caterpillar with butterfly wings. Wayne Coyne’s trademark bubble boy device. These are just a few of the things you can expect from one of their spectacles.

With Spoon, Tokyo Police Club, and Fang Island opening for The Lips, the night was a mini festival of sorts. But as soon as the giant naked lady projected on a 50 foot screen at the back of the stage gave birth to Wayne and the boys via a working vagina opening, the night felt like it had truly begun.

The Lips played highlights from their latest, Embryonic, as well as classic material from At War with the Mystics, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Soft Bulletin, and Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.

Here they are playing everyone’s favourite indie-pop ballad, “Do You Realize?”

When Sufjan Stevens told Exclaim! last November that he “I don’t really have as much faith in my work as I used to,” fans began to lose hope of him releasing a proper follow-up to 2005’s masterpiece Illinois.

But in a recent interview with Exclaim!, National member and Sufjan BFF Bryce Dessner said that Sufjan is, in fact, currently working on an album at The National’s Brooklyn studio.

And if you can trust Dessner’s opinion (and I think we can), he says the album is “going to be incredible” and that it is “going to probably blow people’s minds.”

No word yet on when this so-called incredible album will be out in stores, but my guess is between this fall and 2020.

Here’s Sufjan backing The National on vocals last month on Letterman.

When Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience prefaced their show Tuesday night at the Phoenix by stating that everyone should try to remain silent while they played the more quiet songs in their catalog, as well as try to refrain from buying drinks at the bar during their set so that it would keep any noise interference to a minimum, I was expecting the show to fully prepared for the night to be a bit of a snooze-fest.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I adore Kings of Convenience. But the idea of two male vocalists singing earnest lyrics, accompanied by the samba-rhythm of acoustic guitars doesn’t exactly scream RAWK OUT! But one minute into their opener “My Ship Isn’t Pretty” and I began to realize that “rawking out” is highly overrated.

For the next hour-and-a-half, the guys played selections from all three of their albums, including “I’d Rather Dance With You”, “Homesick”, “Boat Behind”, and my all-time favourite, “I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From”.

And things did eventually pick up, if not fully rawk out. Later in their set the guys were joined by openers Franklin For Short and they performed more “Rule My World” and “I’d Rather Dance With You” with an impromptu dance party breaking out, complete with two lucky fans pulled onto stage.

And I’ll say this about Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe: these guys are two of the most charming and effortlessly funny musicians I have ever seen. Their banter in between songs was — at the risk of sounding completely gay — enchanting?

Here they are playing “Me In You” Monday night on Fallon.

San Francisco’s Thao Nguyen and Mirah are each gifted singer-songwriters in their own right, but together they form like Voltron to create an indie-folk powerhouse.

Thao’s raspy and often jarring voice combined with Mirah’s delicate vocals creates a beautiful juxtaposition of ying and yang.

After a successful stint at April’s Noise Pop Festival, the two will join forces, along with their respective band members, to create one great big superband this summer.

Torontonians can catch them at the Horseshoe when they play on June 26th.

Here’s an intimate look at the two performing Thao’s “How Dare You”, courtesty of Yours Truly.

After leaking a brief teaser last month, Universal has finally released the official trailer for Scott Pilgram Vs. The World.

This is, without a doubt, the one film I’ve been anticipating most this year. Largely because a) The film is an adaptation of the awesome Scott Pilgram graphic novel series; b) it’s written/directed by Edgar Wright, the guy who brought us Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; c) it’s completely set in Toronto and features local landmarks like Sonic Boom!, Lee’s Palace, Toronto Reference Library and Casa Loma; d) it has an incredible cast including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman, Kieran Culkin and my super-crush Aubrey Plaza; and e) the soundtrack features Broken Social Scene, Beck, Metric, Dan the Automator and Cornelius.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the graphic novel series, it’s a sort of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist meets Kill Bill, for lack of a better description? Well, here, in fact, is a better description, courtesy of Universal:

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), bass guitarist for the garage band Sex Bob-omb, has just met the girl of his dreams. However, he must defeat Ramona Flowers’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes, who are coming to kill him.

Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass — and now is back in town — to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona roller blades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes control her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor.

As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past, from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

Scott Pilgram vs. the World is out in North American theatres on August 13th.