She & Him- Live In Session On MBE

One of my favourite albums so far in 2010 is the new release, Volume Two, from She & Him. Rolling Stone describes it as, "It's the sunniest sad record you'll hear all year- pretty love songs set in a "nation" where the summer never ends".

In case you missed out the first time, for their debut, Volume One, She & Him is actress Zooey Deschanel and M. (Matt) Ward. Volume One surprised many listeners with it's charming old-timey sensitivity that proved that Zooey was more than a pretty face that liked to dabble in singing and their songs became instantly catchy and enjoyable. They up the ante for Volume Two as the songs are even richer, fuller and so wonderfully bittersweet. Any shyness and hesitation that Zooey's vocals displayed on the first record has been lost, as her confidence is not only in her voice, but also in her songs that are strongly displayed here. M. Ward's arrangements and instrumentation add to the retro-feel in both it's production and it's overall sound. His contributions can't not be understated and the chemistry between the two is much more noticeable on Volume Two.

The session that I have posted is from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic aired last week, a day after the release date of Volume Two. This is an excellent performance that features their whole band live in the studio and the program includes two sets of new music squeezed between an interview with Matt and Zooey.

SHE & HIM
KCRW FM- Morning Becomes Eclectic
Santa Monica, CA
Aired- March 23, 2010

1. [Intro]
2. Thieves
3. Me And You
4. Ridin' In My Car (NRBQ Cover)
5. Gonna Get Along Without You Now (Skeeter Davis Cover)
6. [Interview]
7. [-dead air-]
8. Home
9. Over And Over / Sing
10. [-talking-]
11. Take It Back
12. In The Sun
13. [Outro]

The Band:
Zooey Deschanel - Piano, Wurly, Vox,
M. Ward - Guitar, Vox,
Scott McPherson - Drums,
Matt Brown - Bass, Guitar,
Mike Coykendall - Acoustic Guitar,
Abigail Chapin - Vox, Keys,
Lily Chapin - Vox, Keys

SHE & HIM- Live In Session. rar

Kate Maki- Live At The Folk Exchange

Wish I brought my camera!- photo from 2008 by Clayton Turner

I didn't know what to expect when I attended the Kate Maki show last Friday night at the Folk Exchange. I heard this was a good intimate concert venue that had good sound and nice sight lines. For me as a concert taper I like small spaces that have good acoustics that fill the room without too much crowd noise and distractions. Well, I guess I should have anticipated a small crowd because exactly a week before the show when I bought my tickets at the Folk Fest office, my ticket numbers were 001 and 002. Yes, I think I bought the first two tickets! Sure enough when we showed up 10 minutes before the concert was to begin (8:00pm, doors were 7:15), there were only 3 other people there already. Things picked up though, as in total there were 11 audience members (+ 5 volunteer staff) that paid $12 to see Kate Maki.

Kate Maki is a singer-songwriter from Sudbury, Ontario who had a career as a teacher, but quit to pursue music full-time. She says she still substitutes ("to pay off her tour expenses"), but her true love is music and you have to respect someone that goes after that dream and can make a living doing what you love. She has four albums to her credit and has toured back and forth, up and down extensively across the country (U.S. as well) touring on her own and as a supporting act. Her last stop in Winnipeg was last year with the Great Lake Swimmers.

The show opened with Kate's tour mate, Brent Randall from the band, the Pinecones. Brent played a respectable set of organ-infused pop songs that brought to mind late 60's Brit-pop. Maybe it's his sleepy-Paul McCartney eyes that kept me thinking he was British, but he obviously has a lot of talent and as sparse as they were performed, the songs sounded good. I would definitely like to see him with the whole band if they tour through here anytime soon.

By the time Kate took the stage, we had already become familiar with her. During Brent's set she called out some requests from the chair beside us and later joined him on stage to sing backing for a song. Her set got off to a little slow start, after her first song, Bloodshot & Blistered, she searched on the floor in front of her to try and find a screw that fell off her pickguard on her vintage Gibson hollowbody. She ended up using a piece of electrical tape the sound guy offered, to tape on the guard and the show carried on. The show was everything a good concert should be, Kate actually talked to the audience, not just, "Hey Winnipeg I love your hockey team or whatever", but actual conversation, asking us questions and telling us about her last few years. She said she was being much more candid than she should be, but that just added to personal and genuine performer (and real person) that she seems to be. She was funny, she was charming and she was sincere. At one point she pleaded, "Whatever is said in this room does not leave this room" and "Please don't say anything, I hope no one's recording this"... Oops, I guess I won't be sharing this recording. Her songs kept me captivated despite playing without a band, though Brent added some keyboards and bass on some songs, and she was a very capable guitar player that was able to fill out the sound. All in all, the small audience, the cozy venue and Kate's easy-going honest persona made for an enjoyable evening out. It was almost like having her play in your living room. (except with a better sound and light system)

At the end of the show I bought her latest CD, Two Song Wedding (I have her other 3, buy them! If you can find them.) and asked Kate to sign it. She also signed the back of her setlist for me with, "What was said in the exchange, stays at the exchange", how appropriate!

(I think I'll send Kate a copy of the recording and see what she thinks. I'll try to post a sample or two from the show.)

The Guess Who Live At River Heights Community Club

Since we're on the topic of Winnipeg and Burton Cummings, I thought it would be appropriate to post an early show from one of the most well-known bands to ever come out of Winnipeg.

Back in the early and mid-sixties, bands in Winnipeg played anywhere they could just for a chance to play in front of an audience of anxious teenage kids. Bowling alleys, drive-in theatres, coffee shops, restaurants and community clubs were a popular meeting place to hear the newest sounds from the many young bands in our city. I haven't seen a lot of early Guess Who live recordings especially with their original front-man, Chad Allan, so this is worth a listen even if you're not from the band's hometown.
Other reasons why this recording is special:

• River Heights Community Club is where I played hockey from the age of 6-19. This is the neighborhood where I grew up and the community centre, or at least the hockey arena part of the building is where I spent a huge part of my childhood. The gymnasium was upstairs with an old stage and curtains (the last time I saw it was maybe 20 years ago?), this would have been similar to a school gym, but probably smaller.
• Chad Allan was still the leader of the band, while Burton Cummings was a supporting player (piano), but takes lead vocals on a couple of songs. This may have been one of Allan's last shows with the Guess Who, so this is a pretty historic show.
• The sound quality is great, especially given the time period. A soundboard recording both for the River Heights show and the bonus songs from the Winnipeg Arena. They could easily officially release this recording and I know there would be a demand with fans worldwide.
  
• During this time period the band was known as the Guess Who?, the question mark would be dropped in 1968. They were formerly known as, Chad Allan And The Expressions.

THE GUESS WHO
River Heights Community Club
Winnipeg, MB
February, 1966

01 - Wham!
02 - Tribute To Buddy Holly
03 - Back & Forth
04 - Shy Guy
05 - Made In England
06 - Baby's Got A Brand New Beau
07 - Inside Out
08 - A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues
09 - Stop Teasing Me
10 - Shakin' All Over
11 - Where Have You Been All My Life
12 - Tossin' & Turnin'
13 - Instrumental (Title Unknown)
14 - Hey-Ho (What You Do To Me)
15 - Monday Monday (partial)
16 - California Girls
17 - I Should Have Realized
18 - It's The Loveliest Time Of The Year
19 - I'd Rather Be Alone
20 - I Saw Her Standing There
21 - Tuff E'nuff
22 - We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (partial) (Vocal: Burton)
23 - Wait
24 - Blue Is The Night (Vocal: Burton)
25 - Little Latin Lupe Lu - Money (That's What I Want) (Vocals: Burton/Jim)
26 - Baby's Birthday
27 - Shakin' All Over (Winnipeg Arena)
28 - It's Too Late (Winnipeg Arena)
29 - I'm Down (Winnipeg Arena) (Vocal: Burton)
30 - Wham! (Original rip w/ tape glitch)

Chad Allan - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Burton Cummings - Keyboards, Vocals
Randy Bachman - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Jim Kale - Bass, Vocals (Lead vocal on "Money")
Garry Peterson - Drums

THE GUESS WHO- Winnipeg, MB- Feb. 1966. rar

THE GUESS WHO- 1966-02-xx Winnipeg, MB FLAC. rar (NEW version!)

Weakerthans- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre

It's not often a concert I attended becomes a official CD release, but even more intriguing is the fact I also recorded this same concert last April. On Tuesday March 23, hometown heroes, The Weakerthans are releasing a CD/DVD package entitled, Live At the Burton Cummings Theatre, which documents their concert here last April 17, 2009. Up until today (actually, now yesterday), Exclaim.ca streamed the album in it's entirety to give fans a preview of the goods (you can now listen at epitaph.com). I had a listen so I can compare their recording to the one I captured on my mini-disc recorder. As expected, the official release is a well produced soundboard recording that is crisp, balanced and basically flawless sound quality. My recording is actually pretty respectable even though it was recorded from the back half of the floor with a little bit more crowd noise and chatter. In my review of the show, I complained about all the talking and shouting from the crowd that became a bit of a distraction to John K, which led to him stopping mid-song to compose himself. Interesting enough the song in question, My Favourite Chords is not included on this release along with 4 other songs that were performed at the show. If you want the complete recording of the concert, I suggest you download my version (see link below), what you don't get in perfect sound quality, you do get the full concert as it was performed (especially to all you completests, personally I would sacrifice sound quality for all the songs). Incidently, my recording (along with a Ray Davies and Wilco show) of this concert showed up and was being sold at a local record store. Just to set the record straight, I never sell my shows for money, I only trade and share my recordings and if you see anything you like and can't or don't want to download, send me a message and I'll make you a copy.

I'm confused, as I look over the set list from the show then compare it to the Live At Burton Cummings Theatre track list I notice something strange. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if you subtract the songs that aren't on the official release (Elegy For Elsabet, Relative Surplus Value, My Favourite Chords, Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist, Pampheteer), and the fact they played 21 songs at the show, you get 16 songs, but wait, there's 18 songs on the CD. On the track listing they have substituted Sun In An Empty Room and Wellington's Wednesdays for EFE and RSV...I don't think they played those songs, again correct me if I'm wrong, but it's very bizarre.

Editor's note: Oops, I'm an idiot! Thanks John for correcting me (in the comments section), the Weakerthans played two consecutive nights last April, April 17 & 18, 2009. This is ideal if you're recording a live album because you can play a similar set, with a few different songs substituted in, and be able to pick and choose the best versions from both shows. Back in December, Danny Michel recorded two nights at the West End Cultural Centre with the intention to release a live album. My apologies to the Weakerthans for jumping to any conclusions about the origins of the songs without completely thinking.

So, buy this CD/DVD, it sounds amazing and it's a great representation of their live show! The bonus is the accompanying DVD that allows you to see the band up close and in action.

"Weakerthans Roll Into Town"- April 23, 2009 (my original post/download link)
Download re-post: Weakerthans 2009-04-17. rar (mp3's)

Big Star- Nobody Can Dance

Nobody Can Dance is a collection of unreleased tracks, the first half of the disc is a band rehearsal and the second half, a live set. The rehearsal is a real treat, the band is loose, raw and Alex Chilton is spirited and the band is tight and crisp. Personally, in some ways I prefer these versions compared to the studio albums (#1 Record and Radio City). The live set is okay, but the sound quality isn't quite as good as the rehearsal half, as it suffers from a bad mix and a rough performance. The live segment was recorded a couple of months later and even features a version of The Letter, a classic tune made famous by Chilton's previous band, The Box Tops.

This is a must for Big Star fans! Please seek out some of their other releases and see for yourself why they are considered the quintessential American band.

BIG STAR
Nobody Can Dance (1999)

1		Don't Lie To Me	3:25
2		Back Of A Car	2:56
3		O My Soul	5:33
4		Mod Lang	2:33
5		She's A Mover	4:02
6		September Gurls	3:02
7		In The Street	3:16
8		You Get What You Deserve	4:00
9		Baby Strange	3:54
10		Mod Lang	2:55
11		You Get What You Deserve	3:07
12		The Letter	3:12
13		September Gurls	2:56
14		Way Out West	2:32
15		O My Soul	6:01

Tracks 1-8 studio rehearsals, Ultra-Sonic Studios, Hampstead, NY, March 1974
Tracks 9-15 live at The Overton Park, Memphis Tennessee, May 1974

BIG STAR- Nobody Can Dance. rar

The Replacements- Shit, Shower And Shave

When I think about some of my favourite bands and their influences, one name that seems to often pop up is Big Star. Though they only really recorded three proper albums, their musical influence and underdog attitude can't be denied in the history of alternative-rock. Bands such as the Replacements, R.E.M, Teenage Fanclub and the Posies carried on the spirit and melodic gift Big Star brought to the world and you can imagine my shock when I heard Big Star front man, Alex Chilton died at the age of 59 today.

Paul Westerberg immortalized Chilton on the song, Alex Chilton with, Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round. They sing "I'm in love. What's that song? I'm in love with that song." . In fact, Westerberg was considered or possibly turned down an opportunity to join a revamped version of Big Star in the early 90's, instead Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow (of the Posies) filled in alongside Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens for the reunion. The Replacements often included Big Star covers into their set, as Westerberg was instrumental in educating the masses (modern music fans) about what a great unsung band Big Star was.

If you want to seek out some Big Star music, essential listening should start with #1 Record and Radio City and if you have the cash, buy the recent 4-disc box set, Keep An Eye On the Sky, which pretty much includes everything, plus demos, rehearsals, alternate and unissued tracks.

I was originally going to post a Big Star show or some outs, but I need to search on my other hard-drive or "the room with the boxes" to find something good first. As a consolation, I'm posting a live concert compilation from the Replacements' (ill-fated?) 1989 tour with Tom Petty. Shit, Shower And Shave isn't the Replacements at their best live (I personally love their loud and sloppy), but offers up some fine songs and the sound is excellent soundboard quality, probably the best sounding Replacements bootleg out there. This is still a reminder of what a great band the Replacements were live and why they should have released a 4 disc live anthology instead of Tom Petty. SS and S also features an outstanding version of Big Star's, September Gurls and Westerberg's tribute song, Alex Chilton.

REPLACEMENTS
Shower, Shit And Shave (1989)

1		Talent Show
2		'Round And 'Round
3		The Ledge
4		Can't Hardly Wait
5		September Gurls
6		Another Girl, Another Planet
7		Within Your Reach
8		Left Of The Dial
9		Alex Chilton
10		Nightclub Jitters
11		I'll Be You
12		Bastards Of Young
13		Talent Show
14		Answering Machine
15		Anywhere's Better Than Here
16		Another Girl, Another Planet
17		Here Comes A Regular
18		Achin' To Be
19		Waitress In The Sky
20		Don't Ask Why
21		Unsatisfied
22		I'll Be You
23		I Will Dare

Tracks 1-12 Bristol Connecticut August 31 1989 Tracks 13-17 Milwaukee Wisconsin, June 1989 (originally released on Sire’s Inconcerated promo CD) Tracks 18-23 Mansfield Massachusetts August 28, 1989

THE REPLACEMENTS- Shower, Shit And Shave. rar

Before They Was Famous- Emily Haines

Long before she fronted Metric or even before she was part of the Broken Social Scene, Emily Haines self-released a solo album called, Cut In Half And Also Double. Released in 1996, this album is rare and very hard to find and sells for big bucks on eBay, as there were only about 1,000 copies made. She wrote and recorded the songs while in university, UBC in Vancouver 1992-93, Toronto 1995 and Concordia University in Montreal 1995-96. This is actually a really strong sounding record, it has the foreshadowing of what's to come, as the influences and the pop rock sounds are evident even before she recorded Grow Up And Blow Away with Metric. Compared to her second solo project, Knives Don't Have Your Back, the acoustic guitar is foundation for the songs instead of piano, but that might be attributed to the fact it's easier (and more portable) to write songs on guitar than piano when changing locales every few years. A fine record worth a listen especially if you're a big Metric fan. Emily might be embarrassed to see this recording being traded and shared amongst her fans (she shouldn't be!), but this is a chance to hear Emily Haines before she was famous, or at least life before Metric. EMILY HAINES Cut In Half And Also Double (1996)

1. Dog

2. Bore

3. Eden

4. Pretty Head

5. Freak

6. The View

7. Eau De Toilette

8. Carpet

9. Pink

EMILY HAINES- Cut In Half And Also Double. rar

Baseball Project Every Month! (At Least Until November)

Baseball and music, is there a better combination? And if you're a fan of the Baseball Project (Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn, Linda Pitman and Peter Buck) you are in for a big treat this season as the Baseball Project present, Broadside Ballads. Since the band members are such hardcore ball fans, they have offered up their musical commentary throughout the season by writing and recording one song per month. Technology has allowed McCaughey and Wynn to pass portions of a song back and forth to complete the songs while at their homes on the opposite sides of the country (New York City/Portland, Oregon). They will be draw their inspiration on what actually transpires during the season. As Scott McCaughey says, "We figured out a way to give ourselves even more work and make less money," while Steve Wynn offers up, "I think doing one a month, that'll be a breeze -- I think I could do one a day, but I don't know if my bandmates would agree with my enthusiasm on that". This promises to be a fun and interesting season and of course will be soundtracked by a great band.

Read more: ESPN- Baseball Project Steps Up To the Plate.
ESPN- Chat: Steve Wynn

Download: BASEBALL PROJECT- "All Future And No Past" mp3

Jonathan Richman- The Laura Palmer Tape

If you are a true Jonathan Richman fan (like I am!), this recording is truly an amazing find! I stumbled upon this recording when I was searching for information about the "Living Room demos" and I can't believe I hadn't heard about this before. This is another home recording from Jonathan, circa 1974, that is essentially an audio love letter to a girl named, Laura Palmer. Jonathan sings and talks directly to Laura about the difficulty he's having balancing the mic and how he has to stop the recording to change a string. This was recorded after the original Modern Lovers broke up so Jonathan was in a transitional period in his career. He experiments and "wings it" while he casually performs these demos of demos in his bedroom or living room. All I can say it that this is one of the most unique and special performances I've heard in a while and you MUST hear this!

The supposed back story about this tape is that many years after Laura received the tape she packed it away. She was visiting a friend who was playing some Jonathan Richman and she recognized the voice as someone she once dated. She still had the tape he had made for her and passed it onto the Jonathan Richman fan trading circles.
The volume is a little low, so crank it up!...Enjoy!!

JONATHAN RICHMAN
The Laura Palmer Tape (1974)
Government Center
The New Teller
Thunderbolts Of Joy
My Honest Dear
Singing In The Rain
So Much Respect For You
I'm Not Alone (The Heaven's Love Me)
Cumbaya
Hi Fred, We Still Love You
Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll
Wonderful Girl

JONATHAN RICHMAN- The Laura Palmer Tape. rar

Jonathan Richman In Your Living Room!

Not quite IN your living room, but pretty darn close. If you close your eyes while listening to this, you'd swear it was Jojo performing at your house, a strange, but unique concept. This recording surfaced as an acetate which are generally produced in very low quantity and often had hand written labels. It may have been made possibly for a promo or Jonathan was using this format much like recording to a cassette tape recorder. The intimacy of this recording makes it very charming and his loose performance is reminiscent to a practice in a bedroom or living room, hence these recordings became known as the Living Room Demos (aka: 74 Acetates). The music fills the gap between Richman's break-up from the Modern Lovers and post-76, the new version of the Modern Lovers. While some of the songs are fragments and some are repeated, this recording has some great songs still on it and offers an early look at Jonathan's unaffected child-like approach to performing that he started to embrace at this time and continued with throughout his career.

JONATHAN RICHMAN
The Living Room Demos (1974)

I Feel Alright

Veil Of Cold

Crazy Little Mama

I See Your Light

Falling In Love Must Be Two Way

Awkward Love

Song Of Remembrance For Old Girlfriends

Hey There Little Insect

Goin' Home

Guitar Doodle No.1

Touch Me If You Want

Do You Believe In Magic

It Will Stand

Chat And Guitar Doodle No. 2

Let's Take The Long Way Home

Young And In Love

Just Wanna' Be Young

Government Center

Do de do do

Little Latin Lupe Lu

Winters Get Hard In New England

Song Of Remembrance For Old Girlfriends (LA Version)

Twist And Shout

Willie And The Hand Jive

Trip To The Sea

JONATHAN RICHMAN- Living Room Demos. rar

Talking Heads- 1975 Demos

The Talking Heads were one of the most influential and critically acclaimed American bands from the 1980's. Their new wave musical style combined elements of punk, pop, avant-garde, world and art rock. In 1975, the trio of David Byrne, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz recorded a series of demos for CBS, the label didn't sign them, but in 1977, Sire Records did.

What I'm posting today are those original CBS demos from November 1975, these are pretty much the earliest recording the band made. It contains songs that would appear on their first album, Talking Heads 77 and More Songs About Buildings and Food, as well as four songs that went unreleased until they appeared on the Vaseline In The Sand compilation. I'm not a huge Talking Heads fan, but I do love their first two albums. In fact, I think Talking Heads 77 is one of the best debut albums of the 70's! Maybe it's because they have a simple straight forward sound before they added more instrumentation and other worldly influences to their music. The demos are even more raw and basic, but the band is tight and precise. This is a historic and important recording that is a must for any Talking Heads fan and a very satisfying listen for anyone else.
Enjoy!
(Note: I'm out of town for the first part of this week, but I have some more demos and unreleased material to share when I return.)

TALKING HEADS
Demos, CBS Studios
New York, NY November, 1975

01 Psycho Killer
02 Sugar On My Tongue
03 Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
04 I Want To Live
05 I Wish You Wouldn't Say That
06 The Girls Want To Be With The Girls
07 Who Is It?
08 With Our Love
09 Stay Hungry
10 Tentative Decisions
11 Warning Sign
12 I'm Not In Love
13 The Book I Read
14 Love Goes To Building On Fire
15 No Compassion

Talking Heads- Demos 1975. rar

Blake Babies- Sunburn Demos

To celebrate the release of Juliana Hatfield's latest album, Peace & Love this week (release date February 16, BUY IT!), I thought it would be appropriate to post some demos from her early days as a member of the Blake Babies. These demos are from their last full length release (until they reunion), Sunburn which was in my opinion their strongest, most commercially accessible album of their short, but influential career. Juliana Hatfield went on to fame and a long and successful (for the most part) solo career, while John Strohm and Freda Love kept it more small scale and indie, performing together in the band, Antenna. The Blake Babies reunited briefly in late 1999 and embarked on a US tour in 2001. Also in 2001, they released, God Bless The Blake Babies and their final release, an EP, Epilogue in 2002 before their "final" break-up.

• I can't recall where I got these demos from, but a couple of my files were mislabeled (tracks 9 & 10). The sound quality is pretty good and for the most part the tracks are similar, but they have a slight looser, raw sound. As a fan of the band, that's what I like about demos.
  
• Take Me and Downtime were not on the official release of Sunburn, but later appeared on the EP, Rosy Jack World.
  

BLAKE BABIES
Sunburn Demos (1989)
1. I'm Not Your Mother
2. I'll Take Anything
3. Star
4. Look Away
5. Train
6. Kiss And Make Up
7. Watch Me I'm Calling
8. Take Me
9. Downtime (file mis-labeled as, "Look Away")
10. A Million Years (mis-labeled as, "Sanctify")

BLAKE BABIES- Sunburn Demos. rar

Nothing Illegal Here!

Here's interesting piece of news courtesy of Pitchfork.com, that may or my not affect the future of this TDIT (from February 10, 2010):

Over the course of the past day, the Google-owned blogging service Blogger has shut down a number of popular mp3 blogs, including Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, I Rock Cleveland, LivingEars, and It's a Rap. If you follow the links to any of those blogs, you'll see that they've been wholesale deleted. All you'll find is the Blogger message, "The blog you were looking for was not found." The apparent reason? The music posted on the blogs allegedly violates Blogger's terms of services.

The bloggers whose sites were affected are currently trying to understand the situation. Many of them argue that they have followed the rules and taken down unauthorized songs when asked in the past. They say they received no warnings prior to the removal of their blogs. The Daily Swarm has compiled a few blogger responses to the situation.

Google rebuttals with this response (Pitchfork February 11, 2010):

Over the past few days, the Google-owned blogging service Blogger has been deleting a number of popular mp3 blogs. After news of the removals circulated, Google's Blogger Buzz blog issued a statement. (Via the Daily Swarm.)

It said, "When we receive multiple DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act] complaints about the same blog, and have no indication that the offending content is being used in an authorized manner, we will remove the blog".

The post points out that the company's usual policy when receiving a DMCA complaint is to notify the offending blogger and to reset the offending post to "draft" status to allow the blogger to delete it. The post also acknowledged that the company sometimes gets DMCA complaints about material that a blogger is actually legally allowed to use, like the authorized mp3s that publicists and record label marketing departments send out for promotional purposes. "If this happens to you, it is imperative that you file a DMCA counter-claim so we know you have the right to the music in question. Otherwise, if we receive multiple DMCA complaints for your blog, this could very well constitute repeat offenses, compelling us to take action."

The statement doesn't explain why so many blogs were removed in such a short period of time.

First of all, I should state I have posted copyrighted material on this blog in the past, including advance copies of albums that weren't available yet. That's a big no-no, as large record labels are extra touchy about leaked content getting heard before it's release date. I've had a 2 requests from the DMCA to remove content they deemed were a violation and I've complied with all their requests and deleted those posts. But, on one other of my posts, it just disappeared without warning and without sending me a request. Since those incidents, I've been more cautious not to post full-albums of popular major label releases, instead sticking to smaller label, out-of-print, import, unreleased and live recordings. I post songs, albums and shows because I love the music and want as many people as possible to listen. If I was in a band, I would embrace the extra exposure that good music blogs offer and it gives the fans an opportunity to share and sample the music.

I think a lot of bloggers are worried their hard work, writing, promoting and sharing will be wiped out without notice and without recovery, years of writing gone! I've read on a couple of blogs that they have been backing up their posts on MS word doc, Wordpress, Dreamhost or moving everything to their own domain in fear their blog will be removed. I've given this issue much thought and it isn't so much an issue of legality and moral stands because Blogger and Google technically own all the content, it's more of protecting what I've already written, as it's been my music diary for the last past years.

As a disclaimer I should re-emphasize that if you're an artist that appears on this blog and would like to have something removed, please let me know and I'll address your concerns ASAP. In the future I will be extra careful what I post, but regardless I'll try to keep it as interesting as possible without watering down the content.

p.s. Another interesting article about the issue of illegal downloading of copyright material and peer to peer sharing was in this weekend's Winnipeg Free Press. Kamal Dhillon was the winner of Glassen Ethics Competition with the topic, "Is It OK to download music, movies and games without paying?" Kamal's essay was titled, "Not Wrong, Just Illegal". For a thought-provoking read, follow this link to the Free Press site. Let me know your thoughts on the issue.

Whiskeytown- Forever Valentine Demos

I was going to post this yesterday (February 14th, thought it would be appropriate), but watching Winter Olympic action distracted me too much.

Ryan Adams fronted the 1990's band Whiskeytown who were known to be very prolific, recording more material than they had room for on their official releases. Though they only released three albums, now many of these unreleased recording sessions have been available through tape trading and the wonder of the world-wide web. Adams continues his frantic recording pace well after Whiskeytown, writing and recording tons of good unreleased music, solo and with the Cardinals.

The Forever Valentine demos were recorded in December 1997 in Ralaigh, North Carolina. Here are some notes about the session from the website, Answeringbell.com:

Personnel:	Ryan Adams; Caitlin Cary; Mike Daly; Ed Crawford; Skillet Gilmore; Chris Stamey; Ben Folds

Chris Stamey - "Skillet played drums, I played bass. Recorded in Raleigh at Scores/Slackmates, and at Modern, my place." "Addendum: I forgot to add that the piano player on the Forever Valentine Whiskeytown sessions was Ben Folds. My memory was jogged by his smashing show this Saturday at the Cradle."

Skillet Gilmore - "Forever Valentine was recorded around Xmas '97. The band at the time (for the purposes of recording) was Ryan, Caitlin, Mike Daly, Ed Crawford on guit, Chris Stamey on bass and me." "Although the record was made in about a week, the challenge was actually that Ryan wanted to make a record without the label knowing about it. And so we did." (Thanks to Jonathan Lee for the information).

WHISKEYTOWN
Forever Valentine (1997)

01 Anyone But Me (a/k/a Dial Tone)
02 Don’t Wanna Know Why
03 Easy Hearts
04 Sittin’ Around
05 Rays Of Burning Light (a/k/a Rays Of Light)
06 Ghost Without Memory
07 Runnin’ Out Of Road
08 Can’t Take A Lover (a/k/a Talkin’ In My Sleep)
09 Think About Me (a/k/a (What You) Think About Me)
10 Crazy Lonesome (a/k/a A Memory Away)
11 Caroline  

WHISKEYTOWN- Forever Valentine. rar

Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash- Demos And Outtakes

Here are the bonus tracks from the deluxe reissue of the Replacements debut album from 1981. Can you believe this album was released almost 30 years ago! I wouldn't consider this the Mat's finest moment, but if you're a fan of their faster punker music, this is a good place to start. As a matter of fact, if you purchase (or find downloads) the Replacement's library, I recommend you start at the beginning with Sorry Ma and proceed forward in order with Stink, Hootenany, Let It Be, Tim, Pleased To Meet Me, then listen to a bunch of Mats bootlegs up until 1987, then repeat. Only after listening to these releases repeatedly, then advance on to Don't Tell A Soul and All Shook Down, you'll thank me later.

The Sorry Ma... bonus tracks are interesting because they include some alternate versions and demos of songs that made it onto the album (Customer, Raised In the City, Shutup), as well as outtakes that never were heard from again (Like You, Get Lost). The early Mats were basically a great straight up rock 'n' roll band influenced by classic rock with a punk attitude. They weren't a punk band, at least not in the way a band like Husker Du or Black Flag were. On their first two albums, Westerberg and the band were still finding their "sound" and honed those skills by playing frequently at any small bar and club that would take them and all this despite the fact Tommy Stinson was only 14 when Sorry Ma was released. These early tracks display the energy and character that would define their sound by the time they recorded Let It Be. Every album they released up until Pleased to Meet Me, showed a progression and maturity in their sound and songwriting. Since I have all the Replacements records on vinyl (without the bonus tracks), the reissues are essential for serious fans and I'll try to eventually post the demos and outtakes from them all. About a year and a half ago I posted the bonus tracks from Pleased To Meet Me and I think they're still active for download, so get them while you can!

THE REPLACEMENTS
Sorry Ma, I Forgot To Take Out The Trash
(Deluxe edition bonus tracks only)

19. Raised in the City (demo)
    
20. Shutup (demo)
    
21. Don't Turn Me Down (demo)
    
22. Shape Up (demo)
    
23. You Ain't Gotta Dance (demo)
    
24. Get on the Stick (demo)
    
25. Oh Baby (demo)
    
26. Like You (outtake)
    
27. Get Lost (outtake)
    
28. A Toe Needs a Shoe (outtake) (Bob Stinson)
    
29. Customer (alternate take)
    
30. Basement Jam (rehearsal) (Chris Mars/Bob Stinson/Tommy Stinson/Paul Westerberg)
    
31. If Only You Were Lonely
    

• Tracks 19-30 previously unreleased.
• Tracks 19-25 are studio demos.
• Tracks 26-28 and 30 are session outtakes.
• Track 29 is an alternate take.
• Track 31 originally released as the B-side of "I'm in Trouble".

THE REPLACEMENTS- Sorry Ma, demos and outtakes. rar

Demo Week- Wilco A.M. Demos

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week, I've been sorting through my CD's and I've been stockpiling some interesting music to post. Along with live recordings, I'm also a big fan of demos, outtakes, rough mixes, rehearsals and alternative versions, this is music that usually doesn't appear on the official release. Sometimes the songs sound pretty much the same as the official release, sometimes totally different, but regardless, these recordings often provide a glimpse into the creative process of the band and we get to hear some material that was recorded, but for whatever reason never sees the light of day. Just as a forewarning, the sound quality of most demos aren't up to the sound quality of the released version, so don't expect perfect hi-fi. Many of these recordings have pops and static or they might sound a little muffled or the mix might be a little off...so, they might be recommended more for fans or completest.

This week I'll be posting some random album demo recordings by random bands that should be heard. To kick off the week, I'm offering up some demos from Wilco's excellent debut album, A.M.

• This was Jeff Tweedy's first release after the break-up of Uncle Tupelo and this album more than Wilco's later releases, continues musically where Uncle Tupelo left off, at least with Jeff's songs.
• Jeff Tweedy forms Wilco only days after Uncle Tupelo's last show (May 1, 1994), he retains bassist John Stirratt, drummer Ken Coomer and Max Johnston from U.T. (minus Jay Farrar).
  
• Brian Henneman, the lead singer of the Bottle Rockets plays lead guitar on the album. After the recording of the album, Henneman has to leave the band and is replaced by Jay Bennett.
• Demo tracks were recorded in June, only weeks after the band forms. Wilco gets signed to Reprise and they record the full album in August.
• Promising appears on the Chelsea Wall soundtrack and a 10" promo. Let's Hear It For Rock and Gone are never officially released (correct me if I'm wrong).
  

WILCO
A.M. Demos (1994)
1. I Must Be High
2. Shouldn't Be Ashamed
3. Box Full Of Letters
4. Pick Up The Change
5. Passenger Side
6. Promising
7. Let's Hear It For Rock
8. Gone

WILCO- A.M.Demos. rar

B.T.W.F- More Flake Music

As a companion to the Shins pre-fame band, Flake Music's Spork EP, here's their full-length debut. This album, more than Spork, has more of the trademark sounds that soon would be heard (and critically acclaimed) from the Shins. When You Land Here, It's Time To Return was recorded in 1997 and very much could have passed as The Shin's debut as it was recorded while still known as Flake Music. In an interview with Pitchfork in May 2009, Shins (Flake Music) frontman James Mercer announced plans to re-release the album on his own record label. It's a very respectable CD that isn't quite as good as Oh, Inverted World or Chutes Too Narrow, but I prefer it to Wincing The Night Away.
It's well worth a listen!

FLAKE MUSIC
When You Land Here, It's Time To Return (1997)

1. Spanway Hits
   
2. Blast Valve
   
3. Roziere
   
4. Structo
   
5. (untitled)
   
6. Deluca
   
7. Mieke
   
8. (untitled)
   
9. The Shins
   
10. (untitled)
    
11. Vantage
    

FLAKE MUSIC- When You Land Here, It's Time To Return. rar

MFM Showcase- Live Music!

Usually I'm not a big fan of attending showcases because it's basically a big promo for something, you have to sit through speeches and self-promotion before you see what you came for. This was the second annual Manitoba Film & Music showcase that featured participants from our local film groups and music performers from our Province, a three hour show for FREE. Free was good, because I really wanted to check out just a few bands that I'm familiar with, but these type of shows are meant as a sampler so you can to get a taste (teaser) of some of the local talent I've been neglecting. Again, if I didn't have to sit through all the interviews and speeches, the music portion would have taken up only a fraction of the total 3 hour show. Don't get me wrong, there were some other interesting non-music items such as Cordell Barker's 9 minute short, Runaway and Talia Pura performed a beautiful breathtaking aerial dance, twisting and turning high above the stage grasping a pink silk fabric...nice. Showcases like this are meant to remind people what a diverse and talented community we have here in Winnipeg.

The music ranged widely: country-folk sounds of Nathan and Sierra Noble, rap' n 'roll of Grand Analog, pop-rock of Quinzy and Paper Moon, blues-rock of Billy Joe Green And Romi Mayes, metal thrashings of Domenica, unique sounds of Daniel Roa, classic rock of Harlequin and the indie-rock stylings of the Weakerthans. Everyone got to perform one song (except the Weakerthans-2) and in between each band, the time was used for the interviews and film clips. To close the show, kid's performer Fred Penner led a sing-a-long of his classic, The Cat Came Back, with many of the previous performers joining in. An appropriate way to end this (too?) long show.

I have to admit I had an ulterior motive for attending this show, I received a new portable digital recorder, Tascam DR-07 for Christmas and this was my opportunity for a trial run. This is the first recording I've made with this machine and I thought a casual crowd in a nice acoustically sounding building, like the Concert Hall would be ideal to test out how the recorder performed. The seating area was dimly lit (not too dark, so I could see the controls) and I seated myself close to the back of the main floor, but dead centre with no one immediately beside, in front and behind me. I played with the volume levels and tried both the built-in mic and the external Sony mic I've been using with my mini-disc recorder. The results are very satisfying and I'm excited to share this recording exclusively with the TDIT blog.

Manitoba Film & Music Showcase
Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall
January 31, 2010

1. Nathan *
2. Quinzy *
3. Billy Joe Green *
4. Grand Analog
5. Romi Mayes
6. Domenica
7. Paper Moon
8. Daniel Roa *
9. Sierra Noble
10. Harlequin
11. Weakerthans
12. Fred Penner & Friends

* used the internal mic (can you tell the difference?)

I decided to post each artist/song separately in case you wanted to just sample a couple of artists instead of downloading them all. I didn't record any of the other on-stage presentations (talking, interviews etc.), only the music (except JP Hoe who opened the show and I arrived late), so I stopped the recording after each song.
Enjoy!

Before They Was Famous- The Shins (Flake)

Remember The Shins? They really haven't released anything in almost 3 years now and I just read that front-man James Mercer wants to take a break from The Shins until 2011 when they're next album will be released. As you're anxiously anticipating their next album, take a look way back before The Shins were The Shins. The Shins were known as Flake (later Flake Music), they formed in 1992 and released a whole bunch of 7''ers, a EP and a full-length album. Initially The Shins were a side-project for James Mercer and Neal Langford and when Flake Music disbanded in 1999, it's former members became The Shins. The Spork EP was released in 1995 and this lo-fi recording shows a much different sounding band than 5 years later. The Shins soothing lush indie-pop sound is replaced by a more rockier crunchy, fuzzy guitar sound and Mercer's vocals have a more uncontrolled urgency. Their sound reminds me a bit like Superchunk or early Buffalo Tom. Personally, I'm kind of enjoying this EP, I'm sure you won't find this CD at your neighborhood Walmart or Starbucks and you'll be still hard pressed to find it at any indie record stores (try eBay or download it here). If you're a Shins fan this is an interesting listen and stay tuned as I'll post the Flake Music's full length album as well. Now you don't have to wear out your copies of the first two Shins albums as these should tide you over until the new album arrives. FLAKE MUSIC Spork EP (1995)

1. Pull Out of Your Head Size
2. Dying Lack of Spit
3. Totto
4. Nuevo
5. Dilly Dally
6. 6.

FLAKE MUSIC- Spork ep. rar

Live From The Women's Club Vol. 2

Sorry for taking so long to post The Jayhawks, Live From The Women's Club Vol. 2, I'm in the process of reorganizing the room that houses my boxes of live concert CD's. They were previously stacked on my drafting table that hasn't seen a clear surface in over 10 years. This is part one of my plan to organize and catalog the shows and try to figure out which boxes I've already inputted into the computer (I haven't updated since 2004). This whole process may (will at least...) take weeks, but that means I will come across some cool stuff to post here as I'm sorting through the boxes. I've already found a couple unlabeled discs that feature a live in-studio performance by Winnipeg band, B'ehl and a 2000 SXSW show by the Weakerthans. Stay tuned! In case you're counting I have 37 "orange boxes" and shoe boxes of concert discs on the shelf, the boxes that have the pink tags have already been cataloged...should be fun!

Live From The Women's Club Volume 2 continues where Vol. 1 left off, almost literary, because it's songs are taken from the same concert (04/26/02). Volume One was edited to one disc before the band probably considered to release the rest of the show. Personally, I like to hear the complete concert from start to finish in it's original setlist order, so in some ways these were the left-overs from the first disc. Unlike Lou Reed's albums, Rock 'n' Roll Animal and Lou Reed Live which featured different tracks from the same concert (Rock 'n' Roll Animal was far superior to Lou Reed Live), WC Vol. 2 is equally as strong in quality and performance as Vol. 1. As a bonus there are demos from the Smile album (12-13), Rainy Day Music (14) and a demo recorded at The Jayhawks practice space (15).

THE JAYHAWKS
Live From The Women's Club Volume 2

1.One Man's Problem
2. What Led Me To This Town
3. The Man Who Loved Life
4. Tampa To Tulsa
5. Somewhere In Ohio
6. Settled Down Like Rain
7. Angelyne
8. Jennifer Save Me
9. Clouds
10. All The Right Reasons
11. Reason To Believe
Bonus Tracks -
12. Gypsy In The Mood
13. Okhee's Theme
14. Save Me From Myself
15. Boston Maid

THE JAYHAWKS- Live From The Women's Club Vol. 2. rar