The Big Pink

I just thought I would post something other that a picture here. This is a song I found on the internets this weekend and I liked it so much that I thought I would pass it on. Its called Dominos by british group The Big Pink (an awful name in my opinion. much like the SkyDome, it was dated the minute after they chose it). This song will most certainly show up in a movie or TV show at some point. For some reason it makes me want to go back to school just to walk around campus in slo-mo. It seems to be the perfect sound track to just giving high fives and doing the finger gun pointing thing to everyone you see...in slow-mo.

The Big Pink - Dominos

or find it here or find it on the bands website for free.

Through Etc Etc

Joel Plaskett depicts a typical weekend for me in his latest video. Driving along the east coast just trying to see what i can see. He just rides in slightly more style than me. I'm pretty sure most of this was filmed around Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Thanks to CBC radio 3 for the heads up via Twitter!

Also in my automotive news, my Hula Girl just arrived from Hawaii and pictures will follow shortly.

Follow The Money

As a blogger it is not my responsibility produce any news or material that is newsworthy or carry any sort of journalistic integrity. What I am supposed to do (one of my many responsibilities) is connect news stories that have yet to be connected becasue a) no one sees the connection b) no one cares c) there is actually no connection.

Last year around this time Canadian indie band Holy (explative deleted) was in the news because a funding program meant to support canadian artists was cut by the Conservative government. An unnamed MP sited the potty mouthed band as a reason for the cut. Now if you are a fiscal conservative (like me) you were glad to see that tax payer money was no longer going towards a band whose sole purpose was to impress hipsters in a dingy New York clubs. But if you like the idea of government funded arts programs intended to help Canadian artists show off thier work on an international stage you were probably quite upset (like me) about the cut to the program, especially over such ephemera.

Well a recent ad has turned the tables such that those that were happy (like me) should now be upset and those that were upset (like me) should be happy.

Holy (Expletive Deleted) has allowed Chrysler to use their song Lovely Allen in one of the company's commercials. Chrysler, running most on the tax payer dime, has passed the bail out onto the "Larry Bird's mustache of indie rock" (their words). I just hope that Holy F*ck got paid in cash upfront.

One Track

Last month I had the pleasure of seeing Joel Plaskett Live in Concert for about the 5th time.  He was fantastic and mostly acoustic.  It was a sit down show in a theatre which was new but also quite comfortable.  One of the nicest part of the show was seeing Joel interact and perform with his father.  It gave me hope that I might someday appear in a regional or semi-national publication with my father.  This show was a while ago and I meant to mention it here but April really got a way from me.  The reason I mention it now is because I heard a song on the radio today that featured Joel (Mr. Plaskett is his father's name).  This afternoon CBC Radio 2 played a song by Classified (right after a song by The First Aid Kit).  In this track, Classified figured out that putting a skinny white singer songwriter in the background was the quickest way to get me interested in Hip Hop and get a mention on my blog!  Thanks to Damian for pointing him out to me.

NOTE: Make sure you have your voice heard and vote in the poll.  If you don't vote you will forfeit your right to complain about the results!

Boy Least Likely to be at a 40th birthday party?

Here is a new song from The Boy Least Likely To.  This song was released a little too close to the landing of some balloons in PEI.  Investigators are exploring the connection.

A Balloon On A Broken String from The Boy Least Likely To on Vimeo.

Also for your listening pleasure,  TBLLT's stellar cover of "Faith" by George Michael

Faith (George Michael Cover) - The Boy Least Likely To

What are the chances?

I woke up to this song on the radio and thought I had somehow gone back in time to the 1950s or something (you know with one of those alarm clocks where the numbers flip over).  I was sure that I was gonna have to solve some sort of crime that happened 40 years ago.   I think I've been watching too much LOST and Quantum Leap.  Speaking of Quantum Leap, I have realized that my iPod Touch (with wikipedia) is pretty much the same thing as that little device Al, from Quantum Leap, would always have.

Jill Barber, of Halifax, has a new album out and "Chances" is its title track.  Its in stores NOW (depending on when you are)

What is a four letter word for Diatribe? I have BL_G so far.

I have been waking up to the dulcet tones of CBC Radio 2 for the past several weeks. Half the time they play good stuff have the time it is in french and the other half is Anne Murray. I like this mix because I have found it really hard to get out of bed when there is nothing but good songs (you just want to hear one more song) and it just ruins my morning when I hear awful songs. It seems to work out that I am awoken by a decent song and then forced from bed by either annoying chatter or even worse...Anne Murray. So I wake up on the right side then am out of bed fairly quickly.  In the past two weeks they have been yammering on about the "Barack Obama Playlist". We the listeners are going to select the top 49 songs that define Canada and send it to Obama so that he might have a deeper and richer understanding of the people inhabiting the top bunk of North America.  As if this might somehow change his mind about NAFTA or that maybe Canada might get a shout out in a future speech. Far be it from me to pass judgement on online polls. My mother always says "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all"...wait a minute I have a BLOG. Its my responsibility to get on this soap box and preach to the fringes. I wasn't given this outlet by the good people at the internet so I could keep my opinions to myself!

Now I love playlists and I think they are an excellent way for someone with no discernible artistic talent to be artistic and use other peoples art to send a message. I fancy myself a bit of an expert at this particular faux-art but the more faux-artists that are involved in making a playlist the harder it is to see/hear the message. This CBC playlist (Warning: I am making all of these arguments based on the top 100 list.  The final 49 might not include some or all of the songs I am about to complain about) will inevitably have songs from bands that I hate and am kind of embarrassed about their Canadian citizenship (BTO, The Rankin Family, Trooper, The Guess Who...If I could vote Bauchman off the Island I would).  It will also have songs that should never be used to represent our country or any country for that matter (Crabukit (sp?), Let Your Back Bone Slide, 7 Day Fool...not to be 'hating' on the hip hop crowd but there are probably better songs from each of those artists that could go).  Do you think if America was making a playlist for us (a laughable concept) they would include "MotownPhilly" by Boys II Men or "I Was Made For Loving You" by KISS (only if they were trying to get us on the dance floor at their wicked awesome Retro dance party)? There will also be a few strange songs, for example "Hallelujah" by KD Lang...the song was written and performed by Leonard Cohen...why not just put the original on there? I'm sure it is better and I'm sure Obama is a huge Leonard Cohen fan.   Also, "One Great City" by The Weakerthans is a great song but it is kinda about how Winnipeg sucks (I know someone from Manitoba and he told me so).  And there is gonna be a bunch of french songs.  Thats like getting one of those tattoos in Chinese letters and having the artist assure me it means "Strength and Wisdom" and not "Stupid Tattoo".  Also I don't think Obama speaks french so he'll probably skip them (I'm getting an image of Obama sitting down in the White House after a tough first week with his iPod on and a warm cup of Hot Chocolate or a herbal tea and just diving right into the playlist.  Thinking about each song, taking notes. "Apparently, if Canada had a million dollars they would buy me a fur coat...but not a real fur coat that is cruel...they sound like they need the cash" and "You know what...Superman never made any money...I never thought of it like that...cancel that cheque for 1 million dollars").

Listening to the DJ on Radio 2 gush about the diversity of the talent that Canada produces is beginning to sound like that I AM CANADIAN beer commercial or that Toronto commercial they used to play at Blue Jay games.  Its kinda like when the CFL season starts and TSN is hyping this season as the one when everyone will start recognizing that the Canadain Football League is one of the premier leagues in the world.  You can proclaim yourself the greatest country in the history of civilization for only so long until it sounds like some sort of a government sponsored ego boost meant to compensate for some sort of an inferiority complex. America pats itself on the back a lot but they have been legitimately labeled a super power for about a half century...they can back up the claim.  I'm not saying that Canada doesn't have some really good qualities or that our music scene sucks (There is A LOT of great canadian music and most of it sponsored by the government...unless you have an explitive in your name)  What I am saying is that I really don't like it when patriotism gets all up in your face (unless it is shortly after Team Canada wins a gold medal in some sort of a hockey tournament and especially if they just beat the hatable Americans).  You should be able to come to the conclusion that Canada rocks on your own.  I try to listen to only good music and I am astonished by how much of it is Canadian.  If I listened to only Canadian music (specifically the CBC/Obama playlist) and the only thing I need to know about a song was that it was Canadian, I would probably come to the conclusion that Canadian music is not all that great.

Sometimes you start with a great idea...like a playlist for Obama (ha ha...its still a funny idea to me) and it ends up getting watered down (by other peoples suggestions) and the message gets murkier and murkier until its lost all meaning.  This Blog post is an incredible example of that (medium=message? Canada = #1!).

I just saw a Canadian Independent Film that, in my mind, did patriotism the right way!  The movie is called One Week.  It tells the story of a failed author now english teacher (played by Pacey from Dawson's Creek (Played by Charlie from The Mighty Ducks Quadrilogy (Canada's Joshua Jackson))) who is diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer and is given a slim chance of survival.  In search of one final adventure before he becomes a "patient" he buys a motorcycle and leaves his family and fiance and heads west from Toronto (he also had some time to kill because he was put on waiting list for a hospital bed).  All along the way he stops at every "Worlds Biggest" that he can find.  Considering the subject matter, the movie was fairly light hearted until the end when they really start pulling on the heart strings.  Canada was not the subject of the movie but it was a superb back drop.  The scenic shots, the soundtrack and the cameos were all great and distinctively Canadian. I would entice you with the names of the cameos but the surprise was half the fun.  I will say that they were all playing characters and it was not like "Wow, David Suzuki!  What are you doing here at the worlds largest hockey stick?  Would you like a double-double?".  The whole Canada thing was on the verge of subtle until some German tourists tell the main character, while surfing in Victoria, that Canada is the most beautiful country in the world.  Why don't they come here to Charlottetown in January and say the same thing when the wind chill is running around -35?!?!  That was the only part that didn't quite sit right with me.  It felt tacked on.  Like the government said we'll only give you the funding but you have to get someone to say that Canada is great.  I was convinced...I didn't need some jerk German telling me that.  They didn't need anyone to come in at the end and say: "Road trips on motorcycles are awesome!". I was planning on going on to tell you whether I am pro or con when it comes to motorcycles but I should stop here with this.  I thought the movie was pretty good and made Canada look pretty fantastic (everything west of Toronto at least) and it did it in such a way that I didn't feel like I was watching a propaganda video or a tourism commercial.

After searching for more info I discovered that it does not get released across Canada until March 6th.  I guess Charlottetown is one of those "select cities" I keep hearing so much about.

Next week I will explain why watching Sports Centre's beautifully metric Top Ten plays (decaplay?) every morning makes me a better Canadian and a helps me fully appreciate the virtue of socialized health care

Favorite Albums of '08

I try to listen to all the new stuff and this list includes my favorite albums I have listened to all year.  There are albums out there that I enjoyed but I do not actually have the whole album so they have been relegated to the Honorable Mention list (Lykke Li , Why?, MGMT and Woodhands,).  I was also letdown by some heavy hitters (Tapes N' Tapes and Islands).  I have complied a playlist of my favorite song from each of the albums and it should be available somewhere on this page so can listen and read if you want.

10. The Constanitines: Kensington Heights

I never really understood The Cons until I saw them live. This album is full of slow burn tracks that they are totally gonna kill live!

9.  The Hold Steady: Stay Positive

A bit of a let down comapred to Boys and Girls of America but if you get the bonus track that I found on my torrent the whole thing turns into a killer album

8.  City and Colour: Bring Me Your Love

Someday EMO will be cool and this will be one of the best 

albums of that genre.  This might be the first decent emo-folk crossover album...but why would anyone care enough to prove me wrong.

7. Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer

I'm not sure if I ever gave this album enough time...perhaps over the next few months it will become amazing but for now it is just a decent follow up to "Apologies...".  I may have thought more about this band than any other band (except The Beatles) in the last 3 years so my expectations might be exceedingly high.  Also the album title and artwork really sucks.

6.  Hot Chip: Made In The Dark

Makes me want to dance in the dark!  Equal parts fast and slow dance music.

5. Los Campesinos: Hold on Now, Youngster.../We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

This year this band matured in front of my ears.  They went from the joyousness of  a twee 21 year old to the jaded cynicism of a 22 year old!

4. She and Him: Volume 1

Zoey Dachenel (of Elf fame and sister of "Bones") conqured the indie music world with the help of M Ward.  A mix of classics and new classics made this album timeless (when I say timeless I mean it sounds exactly like it was made at a very specific time. So maybe this album is "timeful" but thats not a word).  I think my mom might even like it

3. Tokyo Police Club: Elephant Shell

This band delivered exactly what they promised on their "Lesson In Crime" EP.  This album is just full of catchy tunes...hard not to like.

2. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend

This album was released in January but it is full of summer songs and survived a full year's worth of hype.  It might be an instant classic.  Again, Mom might like it too.

1. Thao & The Get Down Stay Down: We Brave Bee Stings And All

I already told you what I thought of this...don't make me repeat myself, the internet has only so much space.

Favorite Videos of '08

My favorite music videos of '08 are below. I am keeping it to 3 because I probably watched a total of 15 videos all year and think a Top 10 would not be very helpful (who or what am I helping by posting this? I have no clue). My choices range from the super Hi-Tech camera free video from Radiohead to the Melodrama-tech from Gnarls Barkley and the Pyro-tech of Feist.

"House of Cards" by Radiohead

also check out their fan video's and an honorable mention to Nude (Scotish Mist)

"Who Is Gonna Save My Soul" by Gnarls Barkley (Spoiler alert: This Caution contains a spoiler. Caution: this video on involves a computer generated Human heart walking around a dinner)

"I feel It All" by Feist

The Happiness Project

As an Arts & Crafts fanboy it is my responsibility to hype and plug every project Broken Social Scene has ever conceived, as a collective or as individuals.  So one of the members has a new album coming out. Chris Spearin of BSS and Do Make Say Think and KC Accidental fame has released the first song off his new album, The Happiness Project.  An interesting idea.  He interviewed people in his neighborhood about happiness and he would turn the interviews into songs.  His website explains it much better than I can:  

"I wanted to see if I could blur the line between speaking and singing - life and art? - and write music based on these accidental melodies. So I had some musician friends play, as close as they could, these neighbourhood melodies on different instruments (Mrs. Morris on the tenor saxophone, Marisa on the harp, my daughter Ondine on the violin, etc.) and then I arranged them as though they were songs. "

The first song he has released is "Anna" and the full album is expected to be realeased on Valentine's Day of 2009.

Livingroom

You Can Call Them TNATGDSD For Short.

This is a band I have been holding back on, Thao Nguyen and The Get Down Stay Down.  I was gonna post them probably in my year-in-review extravaganza but then last night on NBC's hit new comedy Kath & Kim (actually pretty funny) I heard one of their songs on in the background.  So i thought I would pass the news along before I they start showing up everywhere so I can take some sort of credit (credit: my friend out in B.C., Jonathan, told me about them if this impresses you and you would like to learn more about him I can put you in touch with him).  I am having a lot of trouble picking just one or two songs so I will post three.  "Beat" is their best song, "Bag of Hammers" is a good one as well and "Geography" makes sense. Their latest release, We Brave Bee Stings and All, is...like amazing and stuff...of the 11 songs I think 5 of them are 4 stars or better (yes, you should be impressed by that...Unless you hate these songs then that stat should probably not impress you and you should really wonder why you are taking musical advice from me).

 

Musical Test

I want to start posting some of my favorite songs from a some bands that I will someday deny ever liking them because they have become popular.  I'm testing out a few sites that allow me to do such a thing.  Unfortunately, blogger won't let me upload MP3s for some reason.

This song is by Slow Club. I really like them.  They are from the England so they probably have awful teeth.  You may have heard them on the Ritz Cracker commercial.  They suck...sell outs.

Shad has Arrived

Shad, a hip hopper from London (Ontario), has released his newest video and this is one that will hit home with everyone who has enjoyed the luxury of living at home!

Double Barrel Action

Ever since I was young I always had this habit where I would go to HMV to buy one cd/tape that I had been really looking forward to getting but I always ended up walking out with a second album.  Even today it seems that I download albums in pairs.  Sometimes the one I go looking for is better than the one I get on whim and sometimes the "whim" album is far better than the one that got me into the record store/torrent search engine.  I don't know why I always bought/DL'd two at a time but it seems to be working for me.

My most recent pair was The Hold Steady and City and Colour and I got fairly lucky with both.

Is there an MP3 version of wearing out a tape or a cd from over-play?  If so my copy of Boys and Girls In America definitely is suffering from it.  The Hold Steady's 2006 album introduced me to the Craig Finn's incredible story telling and Franz Nicolay's "E-Street" piano, which elevates their "riff-heavy" rock to a new level of authenticity.  So when I found out they were releasing their follow up this summer, Stay Positive, I went trolling the torrent sights looking for "a good deal".  Once I found it the hype-level was dangerously close to "Guaranteed Let Down" but I was quite pleased to hear that it pulled through.  There are a few mis-steps on the album where they are obviously trying to grow.  The harpsichord on "One for the Cutters" sounds a little forced and a few of the guitar solos fall a little too close to Bon Jovi.  Finns subject matter has evolved into exploring the darker side of the massive nights relived on Boys and Girls.  The characters this time around are partying just as hard but have to deal much more serious consequences like stabbings, police interrogations and becoming a cougar.  There is no chill-out tent in Stay Positive's narratives.

Musically it has the same mix of "Born To Run" and Husker Du that I have come to expect from The Hold Steady.  Stay Positive is equal parts ballads and rockers.  If you liked their last album you should get this one too.  If you have no experience with The Hold Steady I will recommend one rocker and one ballad.  Constructive Summer is a quintessential Hold Steady song.  Heavy on the riff, piano and story of blue collar kids looking to have a kick ass summer a close second would be the title track "Stay Positive"

I think Both Crosses is one of their better slow songs on the album but probably not their best.  Anyway, take a listen to the album well worth it!

The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer

On a whim and on the advice of a trustworthy music fan, I gave City and Colour a chance to make it into my iTunes library.  I was once a fan of Alexisonfire and found myself wanting to hear more and more from the guy in the band who didn't scream.  Dallas Green is that guy 

he has just released his second album, Bring Me Your Love.  If i had to assign a tag line to this album it would be "Emo goes Country".  Dallas makes the same transformation that Mike Ness once made, from hardened tattooed punk rocker to tortured, introspective folk balladeer.  I would not be suprised if this album was recorded in an afternoon with one microphone.  It drips with lo-fi atmosphere a-la  Feist's "The Reminder".  Most songs Green is accompanied by his acoustic guitar and at times a tambourine or even a harmonica.  Overall the subject matter of the album is fairly introspective.  He worries about insomnia, apologizes for infidelity,  contemplates therapeutic drinking, laments waking up alone and celebrates his cool, non-gold digger girlfriend.  I could do without the one or two songs that are obviously built for Radio ("Waiting..." and possibly "As Much As I Ever Could").  Despite all the trash I could talk about this album and the joke emo has become, I find myself coming back to it.  I keep getting caught up on the "cute" track "The Girl" and the current single "Sleeping Sickness" which features Canadian Icon Gordon Downie.  The combination of Green and Downie has got me thinking about the similarities of the two.  Both apart of popular bands (in their own right) and both took time to record their solo album that strayed quite a bit from their bands material.  In Gord's case, it gained him some small time, art-house credit as a poet and musician and took him off Classic Rock radio.  City and Colour will/has vaulted Dallas Green out of the hardcore/punk/screemo scene and into the mainstream.

All together, I quite like this album and it serves as a great ying to the Hold Steady's yang.  It could serve quite nicely as the soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon drive home from the cottage,  hung-over and in definite need of a shower and an good night's sleep.

City And Colour - The Girl

From The Drake to The Back Alley

In other news I left my computer for a few hours and went outside to a place where people congregate to listen to live music I saw a few cool bands that I thought might be worth mentioning

First I was lured out by a Toronto band that made the trip all the way across the bridge.

Ghost Is Dancing is a collective from Toronto that probably gets a lot of comparison to Broken Social Scene....now i am probably making that comparison because when i saw them first in Toronto they had about 15 people on stage and the horn section really made the songs sound that much more epic.  Their sound is exuberant, with twee feel because of the unpolished harmonies (thats a compliment) and an upbeat rhythm.  The band that made it out to the east coast was a skeleton crew (only 6 members!) but they totally did their songs justice.  It was a good thing only six of them showed up because the venue would have combusted.  They played an all-ages show in the back of Back-Alley Records and it was crowded and hot.  The kids that showed up were totally into it and eager to help out with handclaps and a meager mosh pit.  There was a group of guys that came with some polished dance moves at one point dropping to the floor and doing some sort of a bobsled move.  The highlight of the show was of course when lead singer Jamie dedicated a song to me!  I got to talk to him before the show about Toronto and he actually remembered my name so I was pretty impressed with that.  Anyway I would find them playing live somewhere soon or pick up their album the Darkest Spark out on Sonic Unyon.

Two bands that also played and I guess make up a bit of the Scene that is going on here

The Barnkats and there was another band of youngsters that were really pretty good and showed lots of potential.  They are called New Royalty and I am looking forward to seeing them again and hearing some more of their stuff.

The Ghost Is Dancing Dates:

July 22 Philadelphia PA World Cafe

July 23 Morgantown WV 424 Clark St.

July 24 Columbus OH Ravari Room

July 25 Louisville KY Skull Alley

July 26 Lexington KY Al's Bar

August 9 Toronto ON El Mocambo

Feeling Bloggy

This blog seems to be a once in a while thing and I am trying to think of things to type about but am having trouble coming up with something worth reading...working on a review of PEI and Charlottetown.  Maybe show off some of the quirks.  I'm also close to owning a camera worthy of my extreme skill (cough).  My current Digital camera is only slightly better than the camera on my phone and i am pretty sick of developing film.

So just to keep this thing rolling i thought i would post some stuff I have found on the intertubes.

Radiohead Videos

House of cards...made without any cameras!  which really isn't that big a deal...they've been doing that since the 90's.  the technology is kinda neat check out the "making of..." video

the next is a fan video that is also pretty neat....let it ride for at least 1 minute.  apparently this sort of stuff is all over the YouTube and might be the height of nerdery

Everything Old is New Again

I find that sometimes I attach some sort of label to bands that I have heard about but never heard and is difficult to get over that preconception. Sometimes its the band name, sometimes it’s the album art sometimes it’s the genre they list on their myspace site (Usually its any reference to “hip hop” or “Electronica” that makes me turn and run. It says nothing to me about my life or atleast I assume it won’t), or where they are from or the first line from a pitchfork review. . Every now and again I give one of these bands a chance and am almost always surprised but sometimes i am disappointed (The Mars Volta) . A couple of recent suprises include CSS and Hot Chip.

My most recent discovery is Jamie Lidell.  Discovery is really the wrong word. I’ve been reading his name on the blogosphere for years now and have always assumed the worst. His is a perfect storm of misconception.  1 he is german (i seem to not trust german artists). 2 he is often remixed.  3 his genre list includes electronica. 4 the internets love him. 5 the first line of his p-fork review has the words: "laptop artist" and "chilean techno terrorist" (granted after hearing Lidell i should have probably read the words before, in between and after those words).  I figured he was some sort of electro-weird-“artsy” Kraftwerk disciple and my ever-shrinking hard drive did not have room for him so I didn't even try.

I finally searched him on hypem.com and was shocked. I could not have been more wrong. He sounds like he influenced both the Black Keys and Gnarls Barkley. I say influenced because he sounds like he wrote and recorded at Hitsville, USA back in the 60’s.  Mr. Lidell is a part of the same re-eneactment school that She & Him belong to. It sounds like he strived to recreate the sound of Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay. Some bands try to emulate and hint at their influences he straight rips his off.  Its no wonder he is opening for Elton John this summer.
Anyway, a mid-year resolution. Try to trust the internets MORE. If they say it is good…its worth a listen!  His new album is called Jim and it is out now.  Check him out on Hypem.com and skip the remixes.  Also if you go as far as watching one of his videos his German-Artsy tendencies (that i expected to hear) slip into the mix.

Jamie Lidell - Another Day"

Jamie Lidell - jamie_lidell_-_multiply"