July 11, 2009
After fucking HOURS of traffic, waiting, and listening to admittedly amusing conservative radio coming from America, I have arrived for the last couple of days of the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Aside from everything written in French and the fact that it’s a bloody weird dark maze, my hotel room reminds me of the one I had in Cleveland.
Right, going to collapse for now and that will be that.
May 14, 2009
My new article at AWMusic is up.
Well, to most of us Summer is finally here and we’re starting to go outside with more skin showing and we should already be listening to some more upbeat music (unless you’re one of them goths but even then perhaps a song about how glorious blood is, yes?). I’ve been going back in to some things and rediscovering some old favorites and even finding some gems I can’t fucking believe I missed. One of these gems is Eric Bachmann’s solo album (eg Not Crooked Fingers, which is also a solo project of his) To The Races from 2006. That’s right, 2006. I never said I was “with it” damn it.
Crooked Fingers, Bachmann’s solo project after playing with Archers Of Loaf was always pleasant background music to me. one of those bands that I would hear in the Green Room or some other bar playing on the stereo that would intrigue me to the point of asking the waitress “who is that playing?” and would immediately forget what she told me. When I finally DID look them up, I was amazed at the sound that they produced (And if you don’t have it already, go right to whatever the hell internet store or record shop you go to and pick up the album Red Devil Dawn. Brilliant. Fucking. Album). But I never really looked in to it that much and that was that. Then a couple of months ago as I was skimming through my old music collection, I decided to look Eric Bachmann up and see what the hell he’s been doing since 2005. This album was one of them.
To The Races is a wonderful, relaxing album. The acoustic guitar and Bachmann’s voice are the only prominent elements in this album (with some other instruments and a choir occasionally showing up). The songs are honest, beautiful, and provides further evidence that Eric Bachmann is a lighthearted, less wanky and (to me, anyways) more tolerable version of Iron & Wine. Despite being from 2006 the sound is still fresh and takes me to a happy place when I listen to it while walking in the sun. The song Carrboro Woman and Man O’ War in particular just makes me feel like I could be on a carriage or in my room contemplating…anywhere really. It’s just beautiful.
Bachmann has a great voice, amazing writing skills and can play like a champ. I wish I found this album when it came out in 2006, but right now I’m just happy I found it. Get it. Listen to it. Enjoy it.
Now here’s some mp3s for you:
Carrboro Woman
Man O’ War
Lonesome Warrior
April 29, 2009
Wonderful video I found while cruising around. Certainley brews up some possible ideas…
April 24, 2009
My new article at AWMusic.ca is up
The Floodlight Collective is the debut solo album of Deerhunter‘s Lockett Pundt (going by Lotus Plaza) and to many people, this has been a much anticipated album. Some tracks were released on the Deerhunter blog and they were met with giddiness (yes, GIDDINESS). And after hearing a track that writer Warren Ellis put on an 8tracks mix he put together, I became very enthusiastic about giving the whole album a listen. I contacted my editor from the bowels of…actually, I don’t know where the hell he lives. I always assume it’s a bachelor apartment with weird rantings scribbled on the wall in blood, pen or whatever he can find. Anyways, I contacted him about it and he got in touch with the good people at Kranky, who rushed a copy of the album to me.
I’m glad I listened to this album at around this time, where spring is starting to pop up. This is very much an album that goes well with sunlight and doing things like looking out a car window in the passenger seat. It’s contemplative, mildly nostalgic and sunny. I’m hearing all sorts of influences here. No artists in particular, but more of genres from different times. 60′s surfer music, 50′s crooners…it’s there if you listen close enough. The song Quicksand really makes that point stand out for me. I felt like I was on a fucking beach. The album also has it’s meditative moments too, such as the song I fell in love with, These Years. It twists and turns but the album never escapes those overexposed sunlight moments from your mind. Also an honourable mention should go to the song The Floodlight Collective for making me think of the science fiction movies I used to watch in the 80s.
Now that said, it wasn’t perfect for me. Three or four tracks in I was under the impression that I was listening to a male-fronted, down tempo version of Camera Obscura. There are some big differences between the two, but some of the sound was very similar and I found that the two brought up the same kind of visions in my head and while I love Camera Obscura, why should I listen to music that reminds me of them when I could actually be listening to them?. Another thing that kind of annoyed me about the album was that it just…didn’t seem to change that much. The vocals always gave that “singing in an empty auditorium with shitty acoustics” echo sound. No matter what the tempo of the actual song, I was still hearing the same inaudible ghostly moaning which for all I know could have been singing the contents of a grocery list. But what the hell, maybe that was the point.
In conclusion, The Floodlight Collective is a decent album, but is probably more appreciated by fans of Deerhunter than anyone else. It’s got a great sound and is clever, but I can’t help but feel that there should be more to it. put 2-3 songs in your spring playlist but any more than that and you might overdose on the sound.
Now here’s some music for you:
Quicksand
These Years
The Floodlight Collective
April 17, 2009
My new article at AWMusic.ca is up
Dear Odin, I’m doing an actual review on something current. Next thing you know it pigs will be flying around shooting rainbows out of their asses and Jesus will be coming back as a London mobster named Charlie (Or Chaaaaalie as they pronounce it in those glorious films).
Fever Ray is the solo project for The Knife‘s female half Karin Dreijer Andersson. Personally I became excited by this self-titled album after seeing the music video for If I Had A Heart which was an incredibly eerie journey that showed us how creepy it would be if a couple of kids, some pants-shittingly terrifying people wearing masks and a dog wandered around a land full of dead people in the middle of the night. Now on to the album. Fever Ray is one of the best albums to listen to at three in the morning after you’ve tried to go to sleep for the tenth time. It just works with insomnia so well. Apparently most of the songs were created in the sleepless hours following the birth of Andersson’s second child, which makes this album even more suitable for late night playing. It’s unbalanced, dark, weird, twisted and just plain fucked up…which is how most of us feel when we can’t sleep.
I’m not sure if I’m going mad or not, but I can really hear a Peter Gabriel influence in this album. The 80s-style synth, and voice filters just scream Gabriel while her vocal tone reminds me of Kate Bush (though just a little bit). i don’t know…I just get a sense that in these songs there’s an ode to the darker side of 80′s pop and that fills me with a bit of giddy nostalgia and horrible dread. There’s no other song in the album that represents this better than the song Seven.
In short, Fever Ray is an album that needs the help of the environment around you so it can be fully appreciated. It doesn’t really hold out well in the day time, but when it’s playing at around 2 or 3am, it sounds magnificent and will help see you through your late night insanity. Here are some mp3s from the album.
April 10, 2009
My new article is up at AWMusic.ca
Is this Spring? This crazy Toronto weather is horrible…well, nevermind.
It’s been discussed before. How is the world going to end? What will you do? Anyone who has spent at least an hour with a bunch of friends who don’t know what to do that day has talked about these possibilities. We’ve watched the films with all sorts of different scenarios (nuclear war, alien invasion, zombie infestation, virus), and more than a few of us have had the odd fantasy of living in that desert wasteland, leather-clad, “every person for themselves” lifestyle. Scrounging around for gas, ammunition, water and maybe some food. All left over from the world that was.
here’s some music.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (site)
Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls and Dead Flag Blues
When I think of these two songs, I imagine two different moments in the same Scenario. Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls is the moment that the nuclear bombs go off. Parts of buildings are falling to the streets, people of all sorts are running in a panic trying to find somewhere safe. And Dead Flag Blues makes me think of that first night after the bombs have done their damage and there are still some survivors hiding in bunkers or something, knowing that their lives, and the world, will never be the same.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Dead Flag Blues
Kepler
The Changing Light At Sandover
Years have passed. North America (and what the hell, everywhere else) is a desert wasteland. People have started coming out of their caves and bunkers and started to rebuild. But the world is a twisted wasteland. To find some food you have to wander around the desert until you find an abandoned building or something large and horrible to kill. All you have is a spear and a revolver with two bullets in it.
Kepler – The Changing Light At Sandover
Clint Mansell (site)
Ghosts Of Things To Come
(From the soundtrack of Requiem For A Dream) This is a very bittersweet song for me. In a post-apocalyptic scenario, I would say that this was just after a huge fight with a mutant horde attempting to invade your settlement in the middle of the night. They took your best friend and killed your father. The people of your settlement fought hard and eventually the mutants went back to their caves. You’re tired, angry and upset…but you’ve won. And at the top of the hill you can see the sun coming up and it dawns on you that you are alive. Alive to fight another day.
Clint Mansell – Ghosts Of Things To Come
Jill Tracy (site)
Doomsday Serenade
You’re in love! you meet a girl or guy while scavenging for scrap metal for your settlement and instantly fall in love. You frolic amongst the dirt and rubble. La la la la…
Jill Tracy – Doomsday Serenade
Jesper Kyd & The Budapest Symphonic Orchestra(site)
Apocalypse
(From the soundtrack of the game Hitman: Blood Money) You were betrayed by your supposed loved on and have been captured by the mutants! As you are dragged in to their caves you marvel at the flamelit underground cities they have built for themselves. But it’s a savage place. Human skin is being tanned, fights are incredibly common, and you are very very certain that you are going to die.
Jesper Kyd & The Budapest Symphonic Orchestra – Apocalypse
ES Posthumus (site)
Pompeii
You were saved somehow and taken to a walled up city in the middle of the desert. In this city is a club filled with sex, booze, and unarmed combat to the death. You watch in amazement as you see your fellow survivors passing the time by allowing themselves to be entertained by this. It is then that you are informed that you will be fighting next. Fuck.
ES Posthumus – Pompeii
The Ink Spots (site)
Maybe
You won the fight, got the hell out of that city and found your way back home. You grab yourself a mug of water and look at the sunset, knowing full well that tomorrow is another long day of surviving. And for those who are snickering over the song, YES I PLAY FALLOUT 3. The song just seemed appropriate, damn it!
The Ink Spots – Maybe
So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it. if you have any other post-apocalyptic songs you’d like to suggest, leave a comment.
March 30, 2009
Hey True Believers! While I’m still waiting for some first payments to come in before I can begin editing some things, I’ve been writing a lot more. Either stories, reviews, cover letters (hint hint to employers) or anything that takes my fancy. Now, when I write I usually have a movie on in the background or play some music to keep me inspired. And of course when I’m NOT writing I like listening to stuff.
So here’s what I’ve been listening to lately.
1. WMBR 88.9 FM
MIT’s radio station. Brilliant. That’s all there is to it. I can listen to this station for hours on end, and have. It has the most eclectic mix I’ve ever heard on a radio station and is a welcome distraction from the crap radio that is produced here in Toronto (with the exception of CBC Radio 3 which I think might be getting shut down soon). There are many shows on there and all of them are good. At the time of writing this, the show Musical Dope is on (“I play what I like and tell you why it’s good.“), but I personally can’t stop listening to The Intercontinental hosted by Jesse Kaminsky, a man who knows his International music. Listen to WMBR and you’ll discover types of music you didn’t even know existed.
“Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Each episode is an investigation – a patchwork of people, sounds, stories all centered around one big idea. Radiolab comes out in seasons of 5 shows, and today is heard around the country on over 150 stations. “
I’ve made a habit of trying to listen to this show every morning. It is just an incredibly smart show that helps answer the questions behind things like memory, laughter, space, sperm and race! The combination of the one hour regular show and the 15 minute podcasts make for some powerful doses of knowledge. Also it has the most amazing sound design I’ve heard on a show. Just wonderful. Listen, learn and love.
3. The Children’s Hour Of Knowledge
Knowledge is half the power!
This show was introduced to me through Erika Moen’s site (she was a guest on it) and pretty much guarantees a few minutes of laughter out of me. It stars Profoctor Davey and his Puppet Harvard graduate cohost Bongo McTweedlepant as they try (and fail) to answer questions sent in by children. Puppet guests include Wolfman Mozart, Count F*ckula, Matronly Margaret, Appy-pop The Peppy Pink Pill, Herman the Oral Hygiene Zombie and Homeless Vetren Ghost of Bob Dylan, it’s clear to show that this isn’t a kids program.
March 28, 2009
To all my friends at the Juno awards in Vancouver this weekend, hope you’re having a fun time. The parties that lead up to and follow the Junos are a hell of a lot better than the Junos themselves, so don’t party TOO hard.
…
Oh hell, party as hard as you want. Free bar, right? Just don’t accidentally elbow Randy Lennox in the face when trying to move at what will most likely be a very packed Universal party.
March 5, 2009
Well I’ve finally got the video up of Alana Levandoski’s message to Volkswagon. They sponsored her and gave her a pretty snazzy car to drive all over North America in. I believe she’s called it Hadrian. I’m not thrilled about the low quality that the video is in, but that couldn’t be helped with conversion problems and the upload limitations on Vimeo. I think I’ll be investing in a plus account soon though so I will be able to upload bigger files with better quality. I could do a lot with 5GB a week.
Regardless, being on the road with Alana was an awesome experience. I got to know her a lot better and most of the time we were joking around. She’s an awesome, talented person with a whole lifetime of experiences under her belt at such a young age.
Last night was a lot of fun. We went to the famous Free Times Cafe on College and Spadina to eat some great food (I had an excellent veggie burger with an unforgettable chocolate Bailey’s cheesecake), meet some old friends and see Alana play in a more intimate setting than a folk festival. All three were a treat. Halfway in to the second song, Alana’s mic crapped out and she sounded like a gramophone recording so she ended up doing the entire show acoustically which I thought added greatly to the intamacy of the surroundings. About ten people showed up including myself, but there were a couple of heavy hitters in attendance. The president of EMI Music Canada was there with a posse of friendly music-lovers. Also my old friend Jane Harbury was there. I talked to her about internet applications that would be great for music publicity (I’ve been doing that a lot lately which…is kind of weird. makes me feel like some sort of expert haha). it was great to see them all.
So work coming up…I have a few small $50 jobs to do. Nothing huge. Just giving some footage to the right people so they can put it on youtube. I’m not even going to be editing (alright, the perfectionist in me wants to do a little. Just the colour correction, I swear!). After all that I’m pretty much open to any work with the exception of a possible shoot at Christine’s Fitness to film a competition which should be fun.
Alright, I have to head out. I’m taking a bass guitar somewhere and then spending a little time with some friends.
For now, here is one of the many songs that Alana levandoski played in Memphis and the Free Times Cafe last night. It’s called Lions And Werewolves and it will be on her new album which may or may not be of the same name. It’s one of my favorite songs by her.
February 27, 2009
My new article us up at AWMusic.ca
For those that don’t read my blog (and why would you?) I was in Memphis last week filming the 2009 Folk Alliance Conference. A week-long folk music party at the Marriot Hotel. Music 24/7. It was an incredibly unforgettable experience. There were young and old folks jamming in the lobby, concerts held in hotel rooms and most importantly, beer was being passed around freely. Nothing would please me more than to present you with songs by artists that I felt were the highlight of the conference…but I’m afraid that in the ride back my disc drive broke down and whenever I put a disc in it now it laughs in this obnoxious french accent and spits my discs back out.
So I thought, hell, there’s PLENTY of music that I listened to on the road heading down to Memphis (And back where I had to make a stop in Cleveland). I’ll post about that instead until my drive gets fixed. So you folks get a mix from me and I continue to feel like you want to hear them. Win-win.
Detroit
DVDA – America, Fuck Yeah!
There was a problem crossing the border. It seems that my travel companion and I looked a bit TOO suspicious for simple Canadians going to see some folk music. We were told to stop and under the instruction of a massive power hungry piss-midget of a border patrol guard, got out of our car leaving all our possessions and watched a group of six people go through all our belongings. I’m happy to say though, that this was the ONLY sign of that good ‘ol American paranoia that I only hear about on Fox News. Still, you’d think these guys were in an action film. Thus the following song:
Cincinnati
Steve Carlisle – WKRP Theme
I never really went in to Cincinnati. We just drove past it and went across the bridge. but still…seeing those buildings and the signs I couldn’t help but sing the tune to one of my favorite sitcoms ever. “Baby…if you’ve ever wondered…wondered, whatever became of me…”. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
Louisville
Johnny Cash – One Piece At A Time
Good place. Had some damn fine chili there and met some really nice people when we were lost and looking for directions to Bowling Green. I’d have to say that Kentucky folk are the nicest folk I’ve come across. While driving through, A Johnny Cash tune got stuck in my head. It’s here where we can see that my tastes started turning towards some good ‘ol country music.
Bowling Green
Charlie Daniels – Uneasy Rider
Zoomed on past this place. tapped our feet and hands to this song while driving by.
Nashville
Lovin’ Spoonful – Nashville Cats
David Allan Coe – You Never Even Called Me By My Name
A nice city, but a bit on the tacky side. Oddly enough, not as big on country music as you’d think. Apparently the city officials hate all the country artists coming in to the city and have done their best to get rid of them (such examples include interfering in the building of the new Grand Ole Opry and the regulation of the “Country District” to about two streets). Still, these songs came on and I figured it very suitable, since both mock the country music business in their own special way.
Memphis (And Graceland)
Evils Presley – American Trilogy
King Curly – The Bumblebee Has No Home
As stated above, I had a LOT of fun in this city. The people were nice, the music was banging and they were never short of kitchy crap. And nowhere is this more evident than in the land of the King himself, Graceland. Pictures of Elvis were everywhere and some of his worst songs were wailing on thirty year-old speakers while overweight tourists from Texas gathered around all excited at a chance to experience a glimmer of the life that Elvis had. If they had marketed his name anymore there would be fried peanut butter and banana sandwich vendors and staff members selling pill vials containing elvis-brand mints. But I suppose that’s in poor taste. no… let’s stick with the leopard skin walls.
I managed to get a hold of one of my favorite songs from the week from one of the groups to come out of the conference. King Curly hails from Australia and has an interesting sound. They have all the fixings of an eccentric jug band (well, sans jug) but have the time to write some damn fine lyrics and create songs with inspirations ranging from zombies to Tiny Tim.
Cleveland
Presidents of the United States of America – Cleveland Rocks
My entire ass it rocks. I wasn’t in Cleveland for very long, only to get some sleep and check out the infamous Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and then back to Toronto. But from what I did see of the city, I wasn’t impressed. I will concede, however that it is not within the realm of fantasy that people would think this city “rocks” but in all honesty, I prefer Toronto. Points must be awarded, however, to the hotel we were in who gave us room 1313 that had a wailing breeze coming through the hallway in to our room. Apparently Marilyn Manson stayed there.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was…very underwhelming. The movies and information was at least 15 years out of date and was severely lacking in a lot of artists that would normally have been a given for them to have been there. Van Morrison, Peter Frampton, AC/DC, The Byrds, KISS…all missing. Still, some of the memorabilia was cool to see and I got a nice t-shirt out of it.
Que National Anthem
So there you have it. All in all it was a great trip, but I’m glad I’m back in the land of free health care, gay marriage, liberal views on marijuana, playoff beards, good beer, Tim Horton’s and any other common Canadian thing that is in a damn beer commercial.
2. 