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)