Woah Shit...

Best of 2007

Last show of 2007 so the obvious yearly rundown... Here are my favorite records from 2007 in no particular order:

Artist - Album
Colourbook - S/T
Balacade - Space Dog EP
Old Life Records Compilation
Holy Fuck - LP
Japanther - Skuffed up my Huffy
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Miracle Fortress - Five Roses
Do Make Say Think - You, You're a History in Rust
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Ok Vancouver Ok - I Get So Drunk About Songs About Love

I try to go to lots of shows wherever I happen to be. Here are some of my favorite shows from 2007:

February 2 - Deerhoof at Richards on Richards in Vancouver
March 3 - Woodhands and the Screaming Eagles at Fairfield United in Victoria
May 5 - The Phonemes CD Release at the Whippersnapper Gallery in Toronto
July 1 - Do Make Say Think and Final Fantasy at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto
October 26 - Sunset Rubdown, Magic Weapon at Logan's Pub in Victoria

2007 was fun.

The next two weeks Kate Hollefreund will be in charge of Carload of Whatever which is very exciting. Kate used to do an electronic show on CFUV and was our former volunteer coordinator. If you love electro-pop tune the heck in.

I'm back in Ontario under a mountain of snow. The above photo is by Eric Kaluzny and appears here without his permission. Eric makes art in different places and maybe in 2008 we can convince him to make art in Victoria.

See you in 2008.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

It was a special show today with Balacade in the studio for a live acoustic session. EDIT: Cody recorded the whole thing. You can download all the songs here. Click on the big picture and download the .zip file. I'm still working on getting a better quality recording up.

You can find Balacade's Space Dog EP at Ditch Records. If you are far away from Victoria, you can order it from Old Life Records. Balacade is at the Chrome Horse in Nanaimo this Friday along with Cobras Cobras Cobras. He is also playing (probably) in Victoria on December 30th (venue TBA) with some exciting people.

Next week is my last show of the year so you can probably expect the obnoxious 2007 rundown from me.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

I kept talking about Cincinnati and Cleveland today. There was no real reason for that though. It just kept creeping into the show. Otherwise, I don't really have much to say about the playlist this week.

EDIT: Tune in next week as I will have Balacade in the studio for a live session and interview.

Here's the playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
The Hidden Cameras - Mississauga Goddam - The Fear is On
Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy - River Pheonix
Holy Fuck - LP - The Pulse
Think About Life - Demo? - Track 7?
Miracle Fortress - Watery Grave EP - Forgiven
White Williams - Smoke - New Violence
Chromatics - After Dark - Hands in the Dark
Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs - End Result
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room - When I Lose my Eyes
Barmitzvah Brothers - Let's Express Our Motives - Projectionist
Hey Everyone - Broken Horse - The Crow Was a Leader
Radiohead - In Rainbows - Videotape
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam - Peacebone

There was a Why? remix by Dntel on the playlist somewhere, but apparently I forgot to write it down.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

It was SOCAN week up at CFUV, which basically means that all the programmers play as much Canadian stuff as possible and spend too long filling out extra paperwork. I'm not really sure how the whole thing works, but all the Canadian artists who are registered with SOCAN get a few cents when we play their songs. In honour of the occasion it was an all Canadian show on Carload of Whatever. Ironically only one of these artists is registered with SOCAN. Can you guess who it is??!!

Noteworthy on the playlist are the Ok Vancouver Ok and Collapsing Opposites tracks. Both bands were in town on Saturday night, but I know you weren't there unless you were Cody, Andrea, Andrew or Jordan. As summed up well by Cody, "I guess we're not influential bloggers." The lack of attendance was a shame, but a great night none-the-less. Don't miss out next time around. I've come to realize how disconnected I am from the Vancouver music scene, so I felt like Saturday's show was a good little introduction.

The Barmitzvah Brothers song was about Show Promoters and how no one ever comes to shows. The Barmitzvah Brothers thank the promoters for their hard work. Their new album is called Let's Express Our Motives and is full of "under-appreciated job songs." Maybe your job is honoured with a song.

Woah, new Holy Fuck....woah, old Barcelona Pavilion....

Playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
Holy Fuck - LP - Super Inuit
Woodhands - 7" Split - Can't See Straight
Barcelona Pavilion - EP - The Manganese
Republic of Safety - Passport - Quoin Quoin
The Barmitzvah Brothers - Let's Express Our Motives - Show Promoter
Ok Vancouver Ok - I Get So Drunk About Songs About Love - Pink et Bleu
Collapsing Opposites - Inside Chance - What's That Sound
The Screaming Eagles - Enemy Gold - Newsies!
Balacade - Space Dog EP - I Just Want More
The Phonemes - EP - Steeples and People
Sound Stories - Spiral Ship - I Was Alive Pt 2
Nifty - A Sparrow! - Tinto de Verano

P.S. Old Life Records has a fancy new website! Check it out! Order records!

Gang, I'm in Montreal this Sunday and Toronto next Sunday so you will have two lovely fill-ins taking over for me. Sunday, November 11th the lengendary Andrea Wong will extend the fun-loving program Gumdrops and Lollipops into a two hour long show. On Sunday, November 18th the mighty Troy Lemberg will play music for you. You don't want to miss this. Carload of Whatever will resume Sunday, November 25th and I'll probably have new records to play for you. Also, keep an eye out for the new Renegade Radio which should be out in the relatively near future.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

There is a fun fun time going on at Logan's on Tuesday night. Jon Rae is cancelling a day of camping on the island to come and play for us in Victoria. He will be joined by your favorite band Colourbook and their friends Octoberman from Vancouver. Kicking things off will be Balacade, though I don't think with a full band anymore because the band doesn't know the songs yet. 6 bones. Crazy.

Here's the playlist from this week:

Artist - Album - Song
Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche - I Saw the Bright Shinies
Efterklang - Parades - Mirador
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup - A Sunday Smile
N.I.F.T.Y. - A Sparrow! A Sparrow! - Fill the Arena with Sand
Panda Bear - Person Pitch - Comfy in Nautica
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room - Hands in the Snow
Born Ruffians - Hummingbird - Hummingbird
Man Man - Six Demon Bag - Van Helsing Boombox ****
Colourbook - Colourbook - Lung Fung
Magic Weapon - Residue Hymns EP - Sandstorms
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One - Deeper into Movies

**** Marks your requests

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Today I gave away tickets to Caribou. If you didn't win them but still want to go I believe Ditch still has tickets. There were a few new things on the show this week that I have been looking forward to hearing for a while. Notably, the brand new Magic Weapon EP titled Residue Hymns. Hopefully you made it out early enough on Friday night to catch them opening for Sunset Rubdown. On the last Magic Weapon EP the group was made up of Jordan Robson-Cramer and Mathieu Malouf. This time around we see the group taking the form of the JRC and Matt Shane (of Think About Life) on drums. There is also some guitar action here and there from Shapes and Sizes dude Rory Seydel. Maybe you know these people because they are all former Victoria dudes who now call Montreal home. As a whole Residue Hymns is a lot better recorded which makes it less noisy and dissonant than the EP that preceded it. This is all very nicely packaged with artwork by Matt Shane. Ditch might have some copies, otherwise you can get in touch with Magic Weapon and work something out.

Also new and exciting, the brand new Saturday Looks Good to Me album Fill Up the Room. This release sees the band making its debut on K Records along with a few lineup changes.

Also noteworthy is the album from Hey Everyone called Broken Horse. This is a group I was introduced to right before my show and I really can't find out much about them. As far as I can tell they are from somewhere in the interior of BC. They sent CFUV their CD recently and I have been really enjoying it. If you know anything else about them I'd love to know.

Playlist

Artist - Album - Song
Windon Earle - Gold Wave - Kitten vs. Pegasus
Magic Weapon - Residue Hymns - Charles (The Red One)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette - Young Shields
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala - The Opposite of Hallelujah
Hey Everyone - Broken Horse - The Sun Shines On
(Weather Report) Bob Wiseman - It's True - What's Wrong With This Picture
Jenny Omnichord - Cities of Gifts and Ghosts - Nintendo City
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Fill Up the Room - Edison Girls
Caribou - Andorra - Melody Day
The Diableros - Aren't Ready for the Country - Telepathic Love
Vermicious Knid - Smalltown Devotion / Hometown Compulsion - Pop Ideal
Burr - Mixed CD from Victoria Mixed Tape Exchange - This Song is the Single and the Single Sucks
The Phonemes - There's Something We've Been Meaning to Do - Oh Sleep

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Andrea was in Vancouver so Carload of Whatever was two hours this week. Lots of songs, though I can't manage to put together anything worth talking about.

The guy (Matt Smith) who sings on the Les Mouches track Spalding Man opened for Final Fantasy last night and brought general confusion to the faces of many of the middle-aged men and women in my row of pews. He now goes by Nifty and he proved that Owen is not the only former Les Mouches member who can play with looping pedals. You were probably there though, so no need to recap.

MIXED TAPES MIXED CDS MIXED ZINES FUN

Playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam - Peacebone
Radiohead - In Rainbows - 15 Step
Manitoba - Jacknuggeted Single - Thistles and Felt
The Halo Benders - The Rebels Not In - Your Asterisk
Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap - Dirty Dream Number Two
The Dirty Projectors - Rise Above - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
Deep Dark United - Ancient - Zut!
Drumheller - Wives - Acrobat
Woolly Leaves - Quiet Waters - People and the Planets
Sound Stories - Spiral Ship - I Was Alive Pt 2
John Cale - Paris 1919 - Paris 1919
Final Fantasy - Life at WFMU - What Do You Think Will Happen Next?
Les Mouches - You're Worth More to me Than 1,000 Christians - Spalding Man
Old Time Relijun - Catharsis in Crisis - Indestructible Life
dd/mm/yyyy - Are They Masks? - White Lines
Kevin Drew - Spirit If... - Gang Bang Suicide ****
Femme Generation - The Future Called They Want Their Sound Back - Orlando Bloom (RAC Mix)
Hank! - Venning '91 - Lakeshore Report Diluted: Sources
Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetapolothology - Little League
AIDSwolf - Clash of the Life Force Warriors - Letter to Al Johnson
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover - The Courtesan Has Sung / Winged/Wicked Things
Laura Barrett - Earth Sciences EP - Deception Island Optimists Club

**** Marks your requests

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Free shit Sunday. Today we gave away tickets to Great Lake Swimmers. They are at Lucky Bar on Friday night. Andrea gave away Russian Futurists tickets. They are at Logan's on Monday. Louis gave away tickets to Final Fantasy. He is at Alix Goolden Hall on Sunday. There are still tickets available to all these shows if you want to go. You probably should.

We started off the show this week with nice, pretty music and descended into dancey, noisey chaos, only to emerge on the other side with a nice old Magnetic Fields classic and a new Sunset Rubdown epic.

Highlights from the playlist include the Hot Loins Buzzkill 7". Hot Loins reside in East Vancouver and make really spastic music. You can find them on the Broadway to Boundary label, who are into putting out bits of noisey Vancouver music on coloured (and sometimes square-shaped) vinyl. Also noteworthy was the Jenny Omnichord track. A member of Guelph's The Barmitzvah Brothers, Jenny Omnichord has just put out her solo album Cities of Gifts and Ghosts. It was recorded all over Ontario with lots of great musical guests. The omnichord is a plastic electronic musical device built by Suzuki. As Jenny says, "it's time for the omnichord to take its rightful position among the upper echelons of musical instruments." This is important.

If you have the opportunity, check out more of Geneviève Castrée's music and art. She is on tour right now.

Do you love mixed tapes? Zines? Do you love amazing ideas? Are you not a University of Victoria librarian? Click here. It explains my photo this week.

Here's the playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
múm - Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy - Blessed Bramble
Jenny Omnichord - Cities of Gifts and Ghosts - Lottery
Blanck - Birds Attack - Lunch Time
Sandro Perri - Tiny Mirrors - City Museums
Geneviève Castrée - Pomplemoussi - Chanson Pour le Tigre
Chromatics - After Dark Compilation - Hands in the Dark (Dark Day)
Kid606 - Pretty Girls Make Raves - Let it Rock
Japanther - Skuffed up my Huffy - The Boss
Hot Loins - 7" - Buzzkill
The Magnetic Fields - The Wayward Bus - 100,000 Fireflies
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover - The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life

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P.S. Carload of Whatever will be from 3-5 PM this Sunday. That means 2 hours worth of stuff. I'll try to toss in some Gumdrops and Lollipops approved tracks for all of you diehard G&L fans out there.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving. That's me in the top left waiting to dive into 'ol Grandma's turkey feast. In honor of the occasion I played a track by the fittingly titled group Thanksgiving. I was introduced to them in the 5 minutes before my show, but could not pass up the opportunity to play them today.

The show this week saw a lot of vinyl. Notably on the playlist was the Miracle Fortress cover of John Cale's Hanky Panky Nohow. The track appears as the B-side to the Have You Seen It In Your Dreams 12" single. Miracle Fortress didn't win the Polaris Prize, but his record Five Roses was just released in Europe on Rough Trade so I'm sure he is still happy.

A big new release this week from Sunset Rubdown. I haven't sat down with the whole album yet but I've really enjoyed what I have heard. Sunset Rubdown are at Logan's on October 26th with Magic Weapon and Johnny & the Moon. Act quick if you want to go. This is a homecoming of sorts for 50% of Sunset Rubdown and 100% of Magic Weapon. It promises to be a fantastic evening.

Also noteworthy on the playlist was the brand new Young Lions track Mary. The track is from a Young Lions demo CD I received, but we should see it in a proper release soon in the new year. Definitely keep an eye out for that.

Japanther!

Here's the playlist:

Artist/Album/Song
Deerhoof - Reveille - This Magnificent Bird Will Rise
Liars - S/T - Freak Out
dd/mm/yyyy - Are They Masks? - Mr. T Cereal
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover - The Mending of the Gown
Miracle Fortress - Have You Seen In Your Dreams 12" - Hanky Panky Nohow
Andre Ethier - Andre Ethier on Blue Fog - Never Grow Tired of Me
Benoit Pioulard - Fir 7" - Fir
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam - Chores
Charles Mingus - Cornell 1964 - Meditations
Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy - Vagabond
Young Lions - Demo - Mary
Thanksgiving - We Could Be Each Other's Evidence - Comets

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Who doesn't love Japanther!? They have a new album out in Canada on Eric Warner's Toronto based label We Are Busy Bodies. The album is called Skuffed Up My Huffy.

Reasons Japanther are the coolest band:
1) Their name.
2) They sing into telephones instead of microphones (most important reason).
3) Samples. Samples which are played off tape decks.
4) Backwards drums
5) Songs about skipping school (sung by men in their twenties).
6) Always being on tour (nine times in two years!).
7) Every song is pretty much the same.
8) It is impossible not to dance.
9) They only play in rooms that are way too hot and way too small.
10) Noisy! Fun!!!

This is the first Japanther album in the CFUV library which is cause for celebration. To embrace this, I will play Japanther for many weeks to come on Carload of Whatever. Japanther were supposed to play a show here in Victoria earlier this summer with dd/mm/yyyy but unfortunate circumstances (and general disorganization on my part) forced the show to be cancelled. One day...they will return.

Fun fact: I used to play in a band that sounded exactly like Japanther. Maybe you too were in Lorne Park in those glory days.

Also notable on the playlist is the Peta Haden track which is a cover of Journey's epic Don't Stop Believin'. If you haven't heard the cover yet you should probably go here and stream it.

Playlist

Artist - Album - Song:
Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy - River Pheonix
Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy - River Pheonix
Patty Boyd - Old Life Comp - Tourist
Almonds, Cohen - Ontario (On Stereo) - I Migrated With the Deer
Colourbook - S/T - The Wimbledon Riot
Petra Haden - Guilty By Association - Don't Stop Believin'
Baby Eagle - No Blues - Rainwater Blues
Leonard Cohen - Best of - Chelsea Hotel No 2
Kevin Drew - Spirit If... - Aging Faces
KC Accidental - Captured Anthems for an Empty Bathtub - Nancy and the Griddle Boy
Jenny Omnichord - Cities of Gifts and Ghosts - Moby

P.S. The new CFUV website is up!!! Thanks so much to Johanna and David for fixing the disaster of a page we used to have. Check it out here!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I've been far too busy so this is short. We said goodbye to summer with a Belle & Sebastian classic and examined the strange similarities between Japanther and Japandroids. Panthers vs Androids. Who would have thought... These playlists look so short. I guess I'm still adjusting to the one hour show.

Playlist

Artist - Album - Song
Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap - A Summer Wasting
The Gris Gris - S/T - Me Queda Um Bejou
Thurston Moore - Trees Outside the Academy - Frozen GTR
Japanther - Skuffed Up My Huffy - Challenge
Japandroids - All Lies EP - Coma Complacency
dd/mm/yyy - Are They Masks? - Mr. T Cereal
Charles Mingus Sextet & Eric Dolphy - Cornell 1964 - AFTW You
Benoit Pioulard - Precis - Together and Down
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam - Fireworks
Kevin Drew - Spirit If... - Backed Out On The...

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I'm now back to a one-hour time slot. Carload of Whatever is now from 4-5 PM. These changes had to be made so that Gumdrops and Lollipops could rejoin the regular Sunday afternoon programming. After a four-month absence it's good to once again see G & L on the schedule right before Carload of Whatever.

There is some great new stuff into the station this week. I've been running around so I haven't had much time to become fully acquainted with each album, but noteworthy are new releases from The Go! Team and the increasingly influential and original Animal Collective. Also a highlight on the show this week was Royal City covering the Strokes' droner Is This It? I still find it a little strange how Royal City decided to cover the Strokes but I must say they did a great job with the track and made me realize just how good of a song it really is. The track was not officially released, but if you want to hear it just ask. Royal City called it quits nearly four years ago, but former Royal City drummer Nathan Lawr has just released his new solo album with lots of appearances from old friends.

On the show I was excited about the fact that Germans are finally coming to town, but upon further inquiries I have found that they have had to cancel their west coast tour AGAIN! Their van broke down and they have no money so we will have to wait a little longer.

Here is the playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam - Peacebone
The Go! Team - Proof of Youth - Doing it Right
Henri Faberge and the Adorables - Henri - Crawl Back
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Etiquette - Bobby Malone Moves Home
Handsome Furs - Plague Park - What We Had ***
Germans - Cape Fear - No Job
Liars - S/T - Pure Unevil
Architecture in Helsinki - Places Like This - Lazy (Lazy) ***
Royal City - Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before - Is This It?
Nathan Lawr and the Minotaurs - A Sea of Tiny Lights - Righteous Heart
Sommer - Old Life Compilation - I'll Scratch Your Head If You Scratch Mine
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings - Idioteque
Torngat - You Could Be - Many Faces, Many Places
Vermicious Knid - Smalltown Devotion/Hometown Compulsion - Glowing Boys
Ohbijou - Swift Feet For Troubling Time - The Woods
Pavement - Crooked Rain - Range Life
The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone - Wake Up ***

*** Marks your requests

Sunday, September 9, 2007

This week a large portion of the show was devoted to "Toronto's evil super group" Holy Fuck. I caught up with the band on Thursday evening right before they played the first show of their west coast stint with Wolf Parade. Thanks a lot to Ronan O'Leary from Beggars for setting up the interview. The interview was supplemented with three tracks off the band's tour only vinyl EP. Some of those songs can be streamed here, otherwise you can wait until October 23 when the band's new album is released via their new label Young Turks (part of the Beggars Group). Hopefully you made it out to the show in time to catch Holy Fuck on Thursday as they are one of Canada's most exciting live acts to watch. They played a song using a toy telephone. If you want to hear the interview here it is:

Holy Fuck Interview

There was lots of vinyl on the show this week in addition to Holy Fuck. Notable on the playlist is the Anagram track off of a 12" split they did with The Creeping Nobodies. We also explored the Dirty Projectors take on the Black Flag track Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie. The Dirty Projectors new album Rise Above is a wild remake of the first Black Flag album Damaged and is definitely worth checking out, if not just purely for the insanity of the whole project.

Here's the playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
Liars - S/T - Freak Out
Anagram - Split 12" - Manic Indulgence
New Buffalo - Somewhere, Anywhere - Emotional Champ
Royal City - Alone at the Microphone - You are the Vine
Wolf Parade - EP - Killing Armies
Holy Fuck - 12" EP - Safari
Holy Fuck - 12" EP - The Pulse
Holy Fuck - 12" EP - Lovely Allan
John Cale - Paris 1919 - Paris 1919 (String Mix)
Black Flag - Damaged - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above - Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
Lou Reed - Transformer - Vicious
New Pornographers - Challengers - My Rights Vs. Yours

Old Life Records Interview

After a hard drive crash and a lot of dealing with the Mac geniuses, my computer is back in operation so as promised I have edited the interview with Old Life's Cody Spencer. The entire thing is about an hour and a half in duration, which may sound long, but keep in mind there is nearly 50 minutes worth of music mixed in. I cut out some of the ads and announcements that would have normally been heard on the air. Unfortunately the Sommer track got cut off. Apologies to Miles for that, but you can stream the song here or download the entire compilation here or else just wait a little longer and buy Sommer's album Soft Wish.

Old Life Records Interview PART ONE
Old Life Records Interview PART TWO

The files should run in iTunes, but let me know if you are having trouble playing it as I have never posted a show before. Cody has told me the bands are almost done recording the tracks for the Old Life 7-inch releases. I might have a sneak preview of these tracks in an upcoming show so stay tuned.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

What happened to August? I disappeared for three shows due to weekends spent in Toronto, Vancouver and Seattle. I'm finally back to what looks like will be a more steady run of shows. This week I was joined in the studio by former Sunday afternoon CFUV staple Andrea Wong. The hour and a half was filled with generally unimportant banter but we danced around the station a lot while the songs were playing and the new students were looking in. Highlights included a very positive 'stay in school' track from a Think About Life demo disc and a public service announcement read by studio loiterer Caitlin Shane. I'm still working on getting that Old Life interview up. The picture on this post is the cover from the new Caribou album Andorra. There's no reason I posted it really, I just needed to make the post look nicer. Caribou is in town playing a show on Halloween. Go to it.

Here's the playlist:

Artist - Album - Song
Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Wrapped up in Books
Beat Happening - You Turn Me On - Teenage Caveman
Chris Bathgate - A Cork Tale Wake - Every Wall You Own
Caribou - Andorra - Melody Day
Holy Fuck - S/T - Bontempi Latin
!!! - Louden Up Now - Me and Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard (A True Story)
Justice - Cross - D.A.N.C.E.
Torngat - You Could Be - You Could Be
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above - What I See
Think About Life - Demo - Track 8 (Stay In School)
Ninja High School - Young Adults Against Suicide - Shake it Off
The New Pornographers - Challengers - All the Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth
Colourbook - S/T - Lung Fung
Blanco Blank - Old Life Records Compilation - Jungles Out of Order
Ratatat - Classics - Wildcat
Bob Wiseman - It's True - Queen of Sheba

Tune in next Sunday, September 9th as I will be airing an interview with Toronto based electronic group Holy Fuck. They are in town this week, opening for Wolf Parade at Sugar on Thursday night. Tickets are completely sold so hopefully you were on the ball if you wanted to see this show.

Also exciting, the brand new and redesigned Renegade Radio Magazine is now available throughout Victoria. Renegade Radio is the CFUV bi-monthly (?) publication. I haven't seen it yet, but Gumdrops and Lollipops is excited about it and so am I. You can find your free copy at CFUV and Ditch Records. In it you'll find CD reviews, an indie rock crossword, an interview with Ladyhawk and an article on Old Life Records, among other things.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

On the show this week Cody Spencer from the band Young Lions joined me in the studio. We spent the entire hour and a half talking about music in Victoria with the whole show revolving around the Old Life Records Compilation. Cody is the brains behind Old Life Records, a brand new and very exciting record label based here in Victoria. Taking a page from the book of the Blocks Recording Club, Old Life Records is essentially a collective, working to put out music that wouldn't find a home anywhere else. Old Life is still in its infancy, but be assured that there are some very (very!) exciting plans for the near future. Don't try, do!

Here is the playlist from this week:

Artist - Song (All songs from Old Life Records Compilation)

1. Almonds, Cohen - Cat Bird Girl

2. Balacade - Space Dog

3. Blanco Blank - Jungles Out of Order

4. Charming Man - Half Way Around the World...

5. Cobras Cobras Cobras - City of Cobras

6. Colourbook - Krakatoa

7. Dreamboat - Molly Ringwald

8. Fictional Detectives - The Submarine Plans

9. Lake Country - The Way Things Go

10. Meat Draw - We Have The Nighttime

11. Onaping Falls - Do Not Paint

12. Patty Boyd - Tourist

13. Sommer - I'll Scratch Your Head if You Scratch Mine

14. Young Lions - Bass Drum

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To get your own handmade copy of the Old Life Records Compilation (only $1), or if you just want more info on Old Life in general you can contact Cody at shipdestroyerr@gmail.com. Colourbook has a CD available for sale at Ditch Records. Cobras Cobras Cobras, Balacade, Almonds, Cohen and Dreamboat all have CDs available directly from the bands, so get out to their shows or send out some e-mails and get your hands on some great local music.

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P.S. My computer crashed this week, so this post is not all it was intended to be. Soon you will be able to download the interview with Cody and also listen to the compilation off this page. Stay tuned!

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On Sunday, August 12 Troy Lemberg will be filling in for my show as I will be in Toronto for the weekend. The regular programme should continue the following weekend.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

I talked about Think About Life a bit and played a new song off the EP which is soon to be released on What's Your Rupture? out of New York City. You can find that song here to help you wait for the actual EP, which has been delayed. As I explained on the show Think About Life recently toured Japan where they found themselves on a popular Japanese music television programme called 'Best Hit USA.' The interview is nothing short of spectacular and is filled with wonderful awkward exchanges between the band and the middle-aged Japanese host who can't figure out if they are musicians or just angry young men. The interview is here. While I'm at it, here are two more live videos from their time in Japan (Paul Cries Live and a wild live montage). It looks like Japan has quite a soft spot for Think About Life.

Tune in next Sunday, August 5 from 3:30 to 5 PST as I will have Cody Spencer and Miles Chic in the studio to talk about their band Young Lions and new local record label Old Life Records.

And here is the playlist from this week:

Artist - Album - Song
1. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - Teenage Riot
2. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is EP - Rockers to Shallow
3. Telefauna - EP - Under the Underground Water
4. Miracle Fortress - Five Roses - Beach Baby
5. Think About Life - EP - Demo
6. Shapes & Sizes - Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner - Teller/Seller
7. Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye - Never Be The Same
8. Caribou - Melody Day (Single) - Zoe
9. Four Tet - DJ Kicks - Madvillain - Figaro (Remix)
10. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - I Wish My Brother George Were Here - The Wacky Adventures of Rapid Transit
11. The Juan Maclean - Less Than Human - Give Me Every Little Thing
12. Dommm - YOLOOXOCHITL - Track 5
13. KC Accidental - Captured Anthems For and Empty Bathtub - Kev's Message For Charlie
14. Broken Social Scene - Feel Good Lost - I Slept With Bonhomme at the CBC
15. Patty Boyd - Old Life Records Compilation - Tourist
16. Balacade - Old Life Records Compilation - Space Dog
17. We're Marching On - Argh! Umph! Ahhh! - 1800's

Sunday, July 22, 2007

We had fun this week dancing to Outhud in the studio. A notable selection on the playlist this week was Spencer!, a Toronto based poet who performs his work with an almost hip-hop like delivery. Spencer was the singer/screamer/MC of the now defunct Toronto outfit The Secret Handsnakes. A band I caught several times in their brief yet intense existence in Toronto, I never fully took to their sound but always thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed their live show, mainly due to Spencer's incredible ability with words. Whether it was his re-naming of the band after every song ("We're the Saucy Pancakes from Brantford, Ontario; We're Atlantic Hand Rape from Sudbury, Ontario; We're the Ninja Stars of David from Jerusalum") or just watching him thrash around and fearing for his safety and your own, you knew that The Secret Handsnakes were a very unique band within the sometimes not-so-unique Toronto music scene.

Here's the playlist from this week:

Artist - Album - Song
1. The Acorn - Tin Fist EP - Heirlooms
2. We're Marching On - Argh! Umph! Ahhh! - Hot Heat's, Soaked Streets
3. Telefauna - Bamboo Shoots (Single) - Bamboo Shoots (Radio Mix)
4. Sea & Cake - Everybody - Too Strong ***
5. Paul Duncan - Above the Trees - The Lake pt 2 ***
6. Royal City - Alone at the Microphone - Dank is the Air of Death and Loathing
7. Outhud - Let Us Never Speak of it Again - It's For You
8. Yacht - I Believe in You, Your Magic is Real - Past All 'Em
9. Battles - Mirrored - Rainbow
10. The National - Boxer - Fake Empire
11. Spencer! - Secret Language to the Deaf Ears - I Am
12. Laura Barrett - Earth Sciences EP - Robot Ponies
13. The Phonemes - There's Something We've Been Meaning to Do - Oh Sleep
14. Andre Ethier - On Blue Fog - Good Fortune
15. Lake Country - Old Life Records Compilation - Way Things Go ***
16. Aloe Blacc - Now-Again Re: Sounds Vol 1 - Blind World
17. Yesterday's New Quintet - Yesterdays Universe - Slave Riot

*** Marks your requests

Sunday, July 15, 2007

My first show back after spending the better part of a month in Edinburgh, Scotland visiting some old friends. This week marks the start of the new and longer summer edition of Carload of Whatever, now airing Sunday afternoons from 3:30 to 5 PST. This gives me an extra half hour to play some stuff I usually don't have the time for, and to play some longer tracks that you wouldn't normally hear on the radio. For those looking for the sweet summer sounds of Gumdrops and Lollipops you'll have to wait until Tuesday nights from 10:30 to Midnight where Andrea now resides for the summer months.

This week on the show I just caught up a bit with all the new releases I missed while I was overseas. I did quite an extensive section profiling the Polaris Music Prize, now into its second year of existence. For those unfamiliar it is a $20,000 cash prize for a full-length Canadian record, judged solely on artistic merit, without regard to genre or record sales. I'm not sure exactly how one decides which Canadian record has the most artistic merit, but none-the-less it is an interesting award and one worth talking about. Just announced, the 2007 shortlist nominees are:

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
The Dears - Gang of Losers
Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
Feist - The Reminder
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Miracle Fortress - Five Roses
Joel Plaskett Emergency - Ashtray Rock
Chad Vangaalen - Skelliconnection
Patrick Watson - Close to Paradise

As I said on the show the short list this year is a little less eclectic than 2006 and even kind of boring. This opinion seems to be the general consensus of the Canadian music scene, but working with what is here, I would predict that the Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye is going to win the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. I'm not even the biggest fan of the record and it is by far not my favorite of the past year, but given this list and the criteria of the prize, I think that the Junior Boys will take it. That being said, I really hope Miracle Fortress - Five Roses wins. It was quite a surprise to me when I saw it on the short list and I think it is wholly deserving of the prize. We'll just have to wait until September 24 when the winner is announced. I would be interested to hear what others think about the prize in general and this year's shortlist.

Here is the playlist from this week:

Artist - Album - Song
1. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Pick Up Sticks - One Last Final Push
2. Handsome Furs - Plague Park - What We Had
3. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
4. Raising The Fawn - Sleight of Hand - River of Gold
5. The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur - Ma Fleur
6. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (Deluxe) - Silver Rocket (Live!!!)
7. SomeYoungPedro - S/T - Steve Jones
8. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings - Trippy Green Skull
9. Fridge - The Sun - Clocks
10. Caribou - Melody Day (Single) - Melody Day
11. Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye - In The Morning
12. Yesterday's New Quintet - Yesterday's Universe - Bitches Brew
13. Koushik - Now-Again Re: Sounds Vol 1 - Cold Beats (featuring Percee P)

Woodhands - March 3, 2007

Woodhands make dance music. Woodhands are crazy. Woodhands is made up of Dan Werb and Paul Banwatt (and sometimes Pat Placzek). Woodhands are from Toronto. Andrea and I had them in the CFUV studio along with their friends the Screaming Eagles for a live studio session and interview. We talked about keytars.

This interview and studio session may be lost forever. I'm looking for the recording. I might have it up for download one day.

The Screaming Eagles - March 3, 2007

The Screaming Eagles are an instrumental rock band from Vancouver. Andrea and I had them and Woodhands in the studio together for a 2-hour studio session and interview.

I am having trouble finding the recording of the studio session and interview. I will hopefully have it up here for download soon.

Cody Spencer - August 5, 2007

Cody Spencer is the brains behind Victoria's Old Life Records. He is also a member of Young Lions and Almonds, Cohen. Cody joined me in the CFUV studio and we talked about music in Victoria with the whole show revolving around the Old Life Records Compilation. The entire thing is about an hour and a half in duration, which may sound long, but keep in mind there is nearly 50 minutes worth of music mixed in. I cut out some of the ads and announcements that would have normally been heard on the air.

DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE SOON!

Holy Fuck - September 6, 2007

Holy Fuck are an improvisational electronic group from Toronto. They make a lot of noise and are fantastic to watch perform. They have a semi-rotating membership, with members from acts such as By Divine Right and Wintersleep. I caught up with the band on Thursday evening right before they played the first show of their west coast stint with Wolf Parade.

DOWNLOAD COMING SOON!

Balacade - December 9, 2007

Balacade is the project of Victoria musician Andrew Reynolds. He joined Andrea and I in the CFUV studio for an hour long interview and studio session. People called in, asked questions, requested songs, had fun. He even sings the 5-day weather forecast.

DOWNLOAD COMING SOON!

Bob Wiseman - March 30, 2008

Bob Wiseman is a Toronto musician and member of the Blocks Recording Club. On Easter Sunday I sat down with Bob Wiseman for breakfast and an interview. Bob has for years been one of my favorite musicians to watch perform. His over 20 years worth of experience in the Canadian music scene also makes for an interesting interview. Bob and I talked about touring with Feist, his days in Blue Rodeo, the Blocks Recording Club and being a member of the Hidden Cameras.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Steve Kado - April 25, 2008

Steve Kado is the founder of Toronto's Blocks Recording Club. He is a former member of Ninja High School, The Hidden Cameras, Lenin I Shumov, Barcelona Pavillion, Germans, Jon-Rae and the River, Internet, and some others that I cannot remember. He can't even remember how many bands he has been in. His current project is The Blankket, a solo project which tends to take on many forms.

I sat down with Steve in the park behind Camas Book and Info Shop before his first Victoria show as the Blankket. In the interview Steve talks about Blocks, Ninja High School, his love for Bruce Springsteen, his love for Victoria's miniature world, among other things.

DOWNLOAD HERE!

INTERVIEWS!

Sometimes I do interviews. You can download some of them here.

Almonds, Cohen (Live performance)
My Friend Wallis (Live performance)
Hot Panda
Prairie Cat (Live performance)
Cody Spencer came back
Laura Barrett (Live performance)

Steve Kado - April 25, 2008
Bob Wiseman - March 30, 2008
Balacade - December 9, 2007 (Live performance)
Holy Fuck - September 6, 2007
Cody Spencer - August 5, 2007
The Screaming Eagles - March 3, 2007 (Live performance)
Woodhands - March 3, 2007 (Live performance)