Something New Mondays- October 20

Last week was Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada, so I'm sorry for no post last week as I was indulging in turkey. I'll make it up as I promise to post something everyday this week.

ANGELA DESVEAUX- The Mighty Ship
Other Side
Hide From You- I talked about this CD briefly a few weeks ago, but I finally bought the rest of songs (from iTunes) and it's a fine album. In my mind, the first three songs are the best tracks (the two here and Sure Enough), as they really set the bar high for the rest of the disc. It drags a bit in the middle, but album closes with two more great songs, For Design and You Remind Me. In many ways she reminds me of Kathleen Edwards (without the sharp tongue and hockey references) when I listen to this or her first release, a little bit alt-country, a little bit alt-rock. Angela's voice is stronger and more confident on Mighty Ship and the band is tighter and the songs are more complex. Well worth buying or downloading!

DEERHOOF- Offend Maggie
The Tears And Music Of Love
Offend Maggie- I must admit I didn't know much about Deerhoof a few weeks ago, but they looked and sounded interesting enough to seek out their newest album, Offend Maggie. Deerhoof have been around over 10 years forming in San Francisco and have released ten full length albums and a couple of EP's. The band's vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki, had no prior musical experience when she joined the band and within a week of joining they toured. Their unconventional sound is hard to classify, their earlier work was much more frantic and heavier than Offend Maggie, which almost sounds melodic. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the band:
Although typically classified as indie rock due to their having been on an indie rock label (Kill Rock Stars) for the entirety of their career, the unconventional nature of Deerhoof's music makes genre identification difficult. But several recurring features can be said to constitute Deerhoof's distinctive sound: unassuming vocal delivery set against hyper-expressive instrumental playing; an elastic approach to group dynamics and rhythm more akin to the rubato of classical music performance practice than rock; odd melodies; harmonic sophistication and dissonance; disjointed, condensed, asymmetrical and otherwise unconventional song structures; raw and at times strident sound surfaces; and improvisation. Sounds crazy, if you like this, do yourself a favour and seek out their earlier albums.

Something New Mondays- October 6

I finally bought some songs from iTunes and joined the millions that purchase their music as a digital file online instead as a physical CD. I have two gift cards totalling $100 in credit from our friends at Apple (iTunes) and I intend to use it on hard-to-find items. To be honest I get a lot of music already through the internet, scouring and surfing looking for free downloads or torrent sites that provide peer to peer sharing, but I have to admit I still love buying (new or used) CD's, cassettes and LP's that you can hold, read liner notes and display for all to see. Looking through someones record collection doesn't quite have the same effect if you're scrolling through virtual folders in their hard drive than it does with the real thing. I know young people that only own digital music mp3's!...what the hell's with that?

SHANNON McARDLE- Poison My Cup
SHANNON McARDLE- This Longing- What happens when you marry and then divorce your bandmate? The first solo disc from the ex-Mendoza Line vocalist, Summer Of the Whore is dark, sparse, unhappy affair, a response perhaps from her marriage and band breakup and will ceremoniously be considered the "not feel-good" album of the year. For added misery, check out the Mendoza Line's last record, Thirty Year Low, which was written and recorded before her breakup, with hints of things to come...? Both highly recommended!

FRIGGS- Bad Word for A Good Thing
FRIGGS- Friggs Theme- From 2007's, Today Is Tomorrow's Yesterday, a collection of early vinyl 7's, ep's and unreleased. From their myspace page, "The Troggs + the Fugs + the Shaggs = THE FRIGGS - One of the 90’s fave rockin’ girl bands! The Friggs play supercharged, harmony saturated, trashy pop with a dash of surf on the side the way Russ Meyer intended it to be... Nuff said!!

Something New Mondays

Here's a new feature I'm going to try to do every week, "Something New Mondays". A kind of roundup of new releases, soon to be released and previously available albums from past months that may be new to me, that I might have overlooked. Some of these albums might be so new that i haven't really given them a good solid listen yet, so my reviews and opinions may be incomplete or still pending.

ALL GIRL SUMMER FUN BAND- Something New
ALL GIRL SUMMER FUN BAND- Not the One For Me: The name of the band describes them perfectly; all girl, their music is sunny pop gems and the music is fresh and a lot of fun to listen to. On the new album, Looking Into It, the band has pared down from a 4-piece to a trio, their sound is more full, gritty and rawer than their previous two releases. With crunch-fuzz guitars combined with their sweet honest vocals, AGSFB deliver the must-have album for the end of summer.

JENNY LEWIS- See Fernando
JENNY LEWIS- Carpetbaggers: On her second solo record, Acid Tongue, Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis continues to explore different genres and styles with much success. I Haven't had time to fully listen to the disc yet, but from what I've heard it seems more accessible and powerful than her first. These two songs are my favourites...so far.

HOTEL LIGHTS- Dream State Flying
HOTEL LIGHTS- Norina: From the album, Firecracker People, a beautiful eclectic mix of heartfelt quiet engaging songs that are easy to listen to. Hotel Lights is Darren Jessee the former drummer for Ben Folds Five who has produced two fine underrated classics that are worth seeking out.

STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS- Real Emotional Trash: Haven't listened to much Malkmus since Pavement, but after hearing this new release, Real Emotional Trash, it's convinced me to seek out his other solo material. The title track is a sprawling epic length (over 10 minutes) song...but wait! Mr. Malkmus and the Jicks are coming to Winnipeg next month, should be a good show, I might check it out.

Song Of The Day- "Hang Fire"

Here's another 7" gem from Top Drawer records in Seattle featuring two great bands from B.C. The Smugglers from Vancouver and Victoria's Bum who combine forces for a live one-off performance of the Rolling Stones song, Hang Fire, while on the A-side of the record both bands perform covers from DMZ (Lift up your Hood- Bum) and Boys (Kiss Like A Nun- Smugglers).

While on tour together in the summer of '93, Bum joined the Smugglers on stage for the last song of the night where the nine members of both bands engaged in their best unrehearsed version of Hang Fire. This love of the Stones lead to David Carswell (guitarist from the Smugglers) and Bum forming a Stones cover band entitled Steel Wheels: "Suckin' In The Eighties"; a tribute to the Stones hits from the 1980's.

BUMGLERS- Hang Fire (Dave Carswell sang Mick, everyone else sang back-up: 4 guitars, 2 basses and 1 drum set)- Recorded June 19, 1993 at the Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA.

Song Of The Day- "Welcome Back!"

I'm back from my mini-vacation in Vancouver, BC and I'm trying to get into the swing of things, but I just hadn't the time (or effort) to post anything new since I got back. Last week I mentioned I would dedicate some songs to a friend that's getting married, but I think I'm going to postpone that until next week. In the meantime, here's a tribute to my return, an awesome 7" recording from 1993 from Seattle's late great, Stumpy Joe. Though they recorded only one full length CD, One Way Rocket Ride To Kicksville (1992), Stumpy Joe had a small, but loyal following in the Pacific Northwest. The band provided the spring-board for the career of singer/guitarist John Ramberg who went on to front the Model Rockets and the Tripwires, as becoming a solid permanent member of the Minus 5.

STUMPY JOE- (A-side) Sugar And Glue- A tribute to my two favourite food groups, since I have a reputation for drinking (not sniffing) white glue. Somehow I don't think this is what they had in mind. A great rockin' song!

STUMPY JOE- (B-side) Welcome Back- Yes, this is the John Sebastian penned theme song from TV's, Welcome Back Kotter, a cool unplugged acoustic version that will have you singing along in no time. This rare exclusive 7" release from Top Drawer Records was the perfect swan-song for Stumpy's career.

Song(s) Of The Day- "Vancouver, BC"

When I think of Vancouver, BC, I think of the mountains, the Pacific Ocean, Stanley Park, salmon, the Canucks and the Smugglers. If you're not familiar with the Smugglers (the band), check out the Mint site or their website. To me they are best remembered as a band that wore matching dark suits along with rubber boots on stage and their first "hit", Vancouver, BC. This song is like a traveloge for the Smuggler's hometown with references to the skytrain, Robson Square, Grouse mountain, the ferry line and Terry David Mulligan. A super fun song and for added fun check out the video on YouTube.

As an added bonus, I've also posted a song from the present indie-kings from the west coast, the New Pornographers. Unfortunately, Carl Newman and Neko Case no longer have an address in Vancouver, but the band still considers it their home, as evidenced by the show on August 31-September 1, the New Pornographers present...The Stanley Park singing Exhibition.

THE SMUGGLERS- Vancouver, BC (from "At Marineland" 10" LP)
NEW PORNOGRAPHERS- Letter from An Occupant (West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg, MB, August 18, 2002)

Note: I'm jetting off to exotic Vancouver today until next Monday, so unless I acquire a laptop computer over night, I'll be off-line. Next week I'll be posting some tribute songs for a friend that's getting married soon, so stay tuned!

Song Of the Day- "Sure Enough"

Speaking of strong debut albums, Montreal's Angela Desveaux produced a wonderful album, Wandering Eyes (2006) that showcased her marvellous country-tinged voice that came out of nowhere. It was so good I wanted to tell everyone to give her a listen, as evidenced by my past posts (Nov. 6, 2006 and Nov. 23, 2006) about Angela.

Her new album (just released on September 9), Angela Desveaux And The Mighty Ship suppose to rock more, but similar to her debut as she explores different genres and sounds, country-blues, traditional folk, but for the most part she flaunts with an indie-rock sound that I'm looking forward to hearing. I haven't had a chance to hear the whole album yet, but from what I've heard this will be the next album on my pod (or I'll buy when I go record-store hopping in Vancouver in a couple of days). I'll give my full review of the album next week.

The first song I heard is Sure Enough, it's a great upbeat rocker and it sure has enough bounce and jangly guitars to make me recall early Broken West.

ANGELA DESVEAUX- Sure Enough

Song(s) Of The Day- Broken West

Last year the Broken West released their debut CD, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On and it was met with positive reviews and much anticipation for their follow-up. The sound on the debut was refreshing and a bouncy toe tapping pop/rock album. Their jangly guitar sound reminds me of Teenage Fanclub, the Posies and a bit of Big Star. I had the pleasure of seeing the band tour this album when they opened for Fountains Of Wayne last summer in Minneapolis and I thought these two bands were a good match. They played one cover and it was, Mr. Soul from Buffalo Springfield (Neil Young), so you know how great the guitar sound is on that tune.

Unfortunately, the new album, Now Or Heaven has lost that bounce and chime and has produced a slicker, tighter and smoother lush alternative rock album that treads into Brit-pop territory and less California. That's not to say this is a bad album, it's a little disappointing, but I'm just saying the sound that drew me to them in the first place is lost amongst the drum machine beats and synths that have crept into their sound. It's still a good album and I need to give this more listens and I may appreciate their new sound more as time goes on, but it just doesn't immediately grab me like the song, Down In the Valley from the first album.

These songs grab me the most and it's no coincidence it's the most uptemple rockers. Judge for yourself.

BROKEN WEST- Gwen, Now And Then
BROKEN WEST- Auctioneer
BROKEN WEST- Perfect Games

Song(s) Of The Day #3- James, Mandy and the Cars

Soul Asylum, before their Runaway Train success was a great band! During the late 90's they were known as one of the best live bands around and some of their albums, Made to be Broken, Hang Time and the Horse They Rode On are a good representation of their early days before mainstream success sucked the creativity and intensity from the band. Along with the Replacements and Husker Du, Soul Asylum helped create and bring much attention to the Minneapolis sound, during the late 80's I seeked out bands from Minneapolis that we're riding the coat-tails of these trailblazing bands. The Magnolias, Run Westy Run, ZuZu's Petals, Babes In Toyland and the Jayhawks were just some of the fine bands to emerge from the Twin Cities scene during this period.

During their late 80's live shows, Soul Asylum liked to pull out some interesting covers that were both brilliant and tongue-in-cheek, but always a highlight.

SOUL ASYLUM- James At 16 (Heavy Medley): I've heard this medley attempted on another concert recording before where the band seemlessly meshes together a medley of goofy covers. This is a classic SA moment that is a prime example of how fun and fabulous a Soul Asylum show must have been.

SOUL ASYLUM- Mandy/Drive: Another mini-medley performing the sappy Barry Manilow hit merging into the Cars song, Drive. It's amazing how two songs that I cringe at when I hear performed by the original artists, can put a smile on my face when I hear Soul Asylum cover it...another classic moment.
Enjoy!!

Song(s) Of the Day #2- Vivian Girls

If you're a fan of noisy sweet all-girl rawk, you'll love the Vivian Girls! This art/punk trio from Brooklyn serves up a tasty disc of infectious no-nonsense pop that grabs and shakes you. Their sound isn't unique or innovative, but their short, fast tunes are refreshing and fun. The Vivian Girls are Cassie Ramone on vocals and guitar, bass player Kickball Katy and drummer Ali. The band has released three 7" singles as well as a very limited (500 copies) full length self titled album last Spring (which sold out quickly), that will be re-released in October on In the Red records.


VIVIAN GIRLS- All The Time (s/t LP)
VIVIAN GIRLS- Tell The World (s/t LP)
VIVIAN GIRLS- Wild Eyes (7" single)
VIVIAN GIRLS- Telepathic Love (unreleased demo)

Song(s) Of The Day #1- "High"

Make that the word of the day..."High". This isn't a reflection of my state of mind or my IQ, but today at work I noticed that during the course of the day I played these three songs and I thought duh, what a coincidence they all have "high" in the title...pretty stupid eh?

Anyways, the Song Of the Day will hopefully be a regular spot on this blog, it will feature one or more songs, depending on how I feel that day. There might be a theme, dedication or maybe just a random rare song I thought should be heard. Requests and ideas are always welcome and as usual I'm not reliable for posting consistently, so please be patient.
Enjoy!!

WILCO- I Must Be High ("The Riviera", Chicago, IL, 02-19-08)
BLAKE BABIES- Baby Gets High ("Knitting Factory", Hollywood, CA, 6-16-01)
YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS- High Time ("Here Ain't The Sonics" Tribute to the Sonics, 1989)

Blake Babies on the Saturday Early Show 2001

A reunited Blake Babies rare TV performance from 2001. Juliana Hatfield fronted this band from the late 80's until 1991 when she briefly joined the Lemonheads and then went solo. The 2001 B.B.'s reunion tour also resulted in the album, God Bless the Blake Babies which was a very respectable recording...highly recommended! Actually, if you're a J.H. fan, check out the original Blake Babies backlist.

Juliana Hatfield live on The Tonight Show - 08/25/08

Wow! Juliana Hatfield on network TV, it's been a while. She looks great and she performs, "This Lonely Love" from her newly released album, "How To Walk Away". Juliana looked a little nervous and overwhelmed by the band, but she became more comfortable toward the end. Despite the presence of two other guitar players and her not playing a lot of guitar (looking kind of model-ish), she is a very very competent guitar player. I would love to see her live, though she is only playing east and west coast dates and again she won't venture into to Canada...Minneapolis, please!

(Apparently there was problems loading the video, so I have since deleted the post and relaunched it. It should work now, let me know if there's any problems...enjoy!)

49:00-43:55= 5:05

If you recently tried clicking the links to download the new Paul Westerberg recording you may have been met with disappointment. 49:00 is no longer available for download on amazon.com and Tunecore, it was removed sometime during the first week of August. Both sites don't offer any explanation and I haven't heard or read any official reason about why the download was removed. There is a lot of speculation, but I suspect it might have to do with copyrights more specifically for the "medley" at 39:46 which contains a few seconds of Paul performing various cover songs. An interesting article from KCRW's: News Collage of the Week discusses this issue about 49:00.

On Tunecore, 49:00 was replaced with the song 5:05, which I guess is the other 5 minutes and 5 seconds missing from 49:00. (the album really clocked in at 43:55... get it?) This song is available for .99 or $5.05, you choose, it's the same song regardless of what you spend. I've decided to save you the money and I'm posting both the song 5:05 and the (now) hard to find recording of 49:00 in it's entirety, but in two parts. (If you burn the two parts to disc make sure you click off the 3 second gap on your software) I've been listening to this album often and it gets better every listen and in my option it's sure to be a classic...get it while you can!

49:00 (part 1)
49:00 (part 2)
5:05

49:00

I paid money for a CD online the other day, actually it wasn't an actually CD per say, but a download of Paul Westerberg's latest release, 49:00. The release date was July 49th (July 19) and the music is only available from Amazon.com (in the U.S.) and Tunecore.com (outside the US including Canada) as a mp3 download. The recording is hovering atop the #1 position on the Amazon mp3 charts thanks in part to suspiciously low price of .49 cents and what you receive is one long mp3 file (not 49:00, but 43:55) consisting of approx. 23 songs full or in part. This includes a short medley of covers such as, Hello Goodbye, Lost Highway, Born To Be Wild, Rocket Man etc.

Many of the tracks fade into each other and at times it seems songs overlap...be warning nothing is wrong with the tracks or CD player, it suppose to be like that. Paul states on the downloadable liner notes, "This product is not faulty-all sounds are intentional and valid as a work of art". This was recording in Paul's basement and he handles all instruments and vocals with the exception of the last track, Oh Yeah!, which features Paul's son Johnny on microphone. This release bypasses any label interference and the music was made available within a week after the recording was recorded and mixed. There are some great songs on here that has a similar sound to his last releases, but with a more raw sound and spontaneous feel to it, it reminds me the home recorded, Stereo/Mono discs from 2002. Even if you're not familiar with Westerberg (or the Replacements), I highly recommend you give this recording a listen, it's well worth the money!

Chrissie Hynde-Demos circa 1978

Demos recorded in 1978 by Chrissie Hynde before she fronted the Pretenders have recently been discovered. The 3 track demo cassette includes a song, "Do I Love You" recorded with Sex Pistol members Steve Jones and Paul Cook possibly from a recording session for Johnny Thunder's album, So Alone. The song has a Phil Spector-type feel to it and is well worth the listen.

The other songs are 4-track recordings including Mercy Mission an early version of The Phone Call from the Pretenders' debut. The other song, Suicide is previously unreleased.

01. Do I Love You
02. Mercy Mission (Phone Call)
03. Suicide
The previous mp3 links were not longer available, instead I re-uploaded the files to an upgraded FLAC (uncompressed) version. Let me know if these links do not work.

ChrissieDemosFLAC. rar

Ray Davies (Kinks) At The 2008 Winnipeg Folk Festival

It was two weeks ago that legendary Kinks frontman Ray Davies performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. My posting on dimeadozen.org received well over 200 downloads from the day I posted the concert. The nice thing about this performance is that it wasn't an abbreviated set that usually is the standard for WFF mainstage shows. The Sunday evening concert had a cancellation from Jakob Dylan (who thinks playing Leno is a better career choice?) and instead of replacing his slot the WFF decided to let the remaining performers (Joan Armatrading and Kathleen Edwards) have extended sets closer in length to an actual concert....thank you Chris Frayer!

I've decided to post mp3's from Ray Davies's set because I know a lot of people that want to hear this concert. This might be the closest we'll ever see to a Kink's show, so we should all be grateful Davies survived being shot a few years ago. I hear his brother Dave is recovered from his stroke a few years back and there is talk the Kinks may play again. I'm there if that happens! The Kinks are at the top of my list of must-see bands in my lifetime (a Replacements reunion would also be nice!).

Please let me know if the links don't work or they don't download properly. I'm trying a new online storage, so be patient if there's problems.

RAY DAVIES
Winnipeg Folk Festival
Mainstage
Birds Hill Park, Manitoba
July 13, 2008

Audience MD MASTER
Sony ECM-DS70P mic> Sharp MD-MT90

01. I Need You (aborted)
02. Waterloo Sunset
03. I Need You
04. I'm Not Like Everybody Else
05. Where Have All The Good Times Gone?
06. 20th Century Man
07. After The Fall
08. Sunny Afternoon
09. Dead End Street
10. Dedicated Follower Of Fashion
11. A Hymn For A New Age
12. Working Man's Cafe
13. Vietnam Cowboys
14. Well Respected Man
15. See My Friends
16. Tired Of Waiting For You
17. Set Me Free
18. All Day And All Of The Night

encore-
19. Lola
20. You Really Got Me

Better yet, for the complete show folder.

Winnipeg Folk Fest Part 1

Just to update: I'm taking the week off, but when I return I'll post some concert audio from the 2008 Winnipeg Folk Festival. I only attending the final day (Sunday), but what a fine day it was! Saw one of my all-time favourite performers, Ray Davies from the Kinks and my favourite Canadian, Kathleen Edwards. I recorded Edward's mainstage set, but I consider it a write-off as the sound was seriously hampered by wind and chatter from surrounding tarps (I include myself). I'll post some highlights from her mainstage set as well as from her daytime workshop.

Ray Davies' set was excellent and my recording turned out pretty good. It is presently posted at Dimeadozen if you want the full uncompressed recording, but if you want to wait a week, I'll post mp3's of most or all of Davies' set. I managed to get close to the stage to snap some photos and I spend half of his set sitting at the "golden tarp" directly in front of the stage. More about that later...Adios!

Kathleen Edwards At The World Cafe

My obsession with Kathleen Edwards continues with this excellent recording from the World Cafe that was broadcasted May 16th, 2008 on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia, PA. This show is unique because it features not only the band playing live in studio, but also an interview portion with Edwards talking about the new album, Asking For Flowers and the making of the video, I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory (see last post).

This session allows the audience both at home and in studio to really capture the depth and personality of the performer, in this case Edwards, something you might not encounter in the audience of a large theatre or concert hall. Enjoy!

For the uncompressed FLAC version- dimeadozen.org
For a audio stream from- npr.org

KATHLEEN EDWARDS
World Cafe
Philadelphia, PA
April 12 or 13, 2008 (May 16, 2008 broadcast date)

01. Intro
02. Asking For Flowers
03. Interview
04. Run
05. The Cheapest Key
06. Interview
07. Goodnight, California
08. I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory
09. Interview
10. Buffalo
11. Outro

I Make The Dough, You Get The Glory

Sorry for the long period between posts...wow, that sounds kind of hockey-ish. Speaking of hockey, here’s a cute video by the lovely and talented Kathleen Edwards who I know is a huge hockey fan. So much so she filmed her latest music video at a hockey arena (St.Mikes’s in Toronto) and enlisted some very special guests, Jim Cuddy (of Blue Rodeo), Paul Coffey, Dave Hodge and of course Marty McSorley, whom Kathleen really wanted to have in her video.

Interesting to note, Kathleen’s husband and bandmate Colin Cripps is the referee who steps between Kathleen and Cuddy. Hilarious moment is TSN’s Dave Hodge lip-syncing with Kathleen the lines, “Heavy rotation on the CBC, whatever in hell that really means”, if you are familiar with Hodge’s dismissal from the CBC, it makes this moment that much sweeter.

Kathleen Edwards is scheduled to play the Winnipeg Folk Festival main stage in early July, but I really wish she would come to Winnipeg and play a smaller indoor venue (Burt or Pantages?) instead, because you really don’t get that same vibe sitting in a field a half a city block away from the stage squatting on a piece of plastic, oh well.

Remember LP's? Celebrate Record Store Day!

Just this month it was announced that the Apple iTunes store has surpassed Wal-Mart to become the biggest music retailer in the US. With the increased popularity of online downloading of music, both paid and unpaid, the record store has become a rare retail sight in our cities. With the record album format near extinction, one of my favourite pastimes of browsing through the used record bins is a foreign sight for many young music fans. I used to love spending my Saturdays and spare cash on those black vinyl 7" and 12" discs and making my rounds to the many new and used record stores on or near Portage Ave in the once popular downtown Winnipeg, searching for rarities and overlooked classics. Kids nowadays buy their music at BestBuy, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Indigo/Chapter's book stores or they pay a dollar a song for a low quality compressed sounding, use restricted digital mp3 file from iTunes. There's something wrong with this phenomenon, the independent record (music..CD/cassette, LP) store employs "music" knowledgeable staff and doesn't rely on the sale of top 30 music to survive. These people listen to music, they talk about music and best of all they love music and want to introduce others to music they want to share.

On Saturday, April 19, 2008 hundreds of independently owned record stores across Canada and the US will celebrate "Record Store Day". On this day participating stores will host events and celebrate the culture and community of the record store. Many of these stores will have musicians perform and work behind the counter to greet customers and share their love and joy of vinyl. As you may have guessed I'm still a big fan of vinyl, my record's occupy a major place of my dining room shelves and in boxes in my basement and my parent's house. Yes, I still have a operating turntable and as a matter of fact I just ordered (2 days ago) a portable turntable so I can inflict my co-workers with my vinyl addiction. Sure i have piles of CD's, cassettes and a mp3 player, but there are many Lp's that have been transferred to digital or aren't available on CD. While music formats get smaller and more compact, the record album features a large cardboard sleeve with easy to read jacket notes, great graphics and as any record snob would say, a warmer (though somewhat scratchier) full sounding experience. Sometimes I feel a lot like the John Cusack character (Rob Gordon) in the film, High Fidelity, because music does have an influence on how I'm feeling and how it reflects on everything I do. I must have a top 5 list for all the people I meet (both love and hate) and the life experiences we encounter on a daily basis...and my dream was to own a record store! Let the dream live...buy a record this Saturday...or at least play one.

Wilco...They're Coming Back!!....I Hope.

Unless another member of Wilco gets a case of the chicken pox or any other sickness, Chicago band Wilco will return to the Burton Cummings Theatre, Friday May 2, 2008. If you recall last August, guitarist Nels Cline caught the Pox and the band was forced to postpone the Winnipeg and Duluth dates of the tour. Duluth had their make-up later in the Fall, while Winnipeg fans have been waiting in anticipation to be included on their North American leg of their World tour. (they are presently in Australia and New Zealand). I noticed we are the only Canadian date, so this gig will be the make-up show since Canada west already hosted the band in August.

I know I want to get good seats for this show, as I had row 4 seats for the cancelled concert, so hopefully my boss will be feeling generous and let me escape from work and go home so I can buy online. To improve your chances of decent seats, I would advise fans to buy from the pre-sale on Wednesday.

• Ticketmaster/Winnipeg Folk Festival- pw: skyblue
• Live Nation/House Of Blues- pw: ROCK

Good luck!!

Steve Earle -Winnipeg March 10, 2008

The last time I saw Steve Earle in concert was at the 2006 Winnipeg Folk Festival playing the main stage solo acoustic and the previous time was ten years ago with his band the Dukes at the (then) Walker Theatre. This visit to the Burton Cummings Theatre (former Walker) saw Steve share the stage with an unlikely partner. I know what you're thinking, it's his wife opener Allison Moorer right, well yes and no, she did come out and provide some vocals and some guitar on 3 songs, but his DJ Neil McDonald spent half the show on stage behind Steve. If you've heard Earle's latest album, Washington Square Serenade you'll notice there was no Dukes and didn't exactly sound like Nashville, instead it was Earle's urban New York sound, his new home. McDonald provided beats and percussion along with some scratching and sampleswith mixed results.

• The evening began with a short, but sweet set from opener Allison Moorer. I previously saw Moorer at the 2006 WFF also performing a solo acoustic set. I have listened to her two most recent albums and they are quite good, if you like that female singer-songwriter genre, but I would really like to hear her with a band next time. I don't know if she works with just studio musicians or she has a band, but I think she performs solo because it's easier for her and Steve to tour together...practically and financially.
• The first nine songs Steve performed solo playing guitar, mandolin, steel guitar and harmonica. A nice mix of older songs (My Old Friend The Blues, Someday) along with some late 90's fare (Billy Austin, Tom Ames' Prayer).
  
• Mid-set included the DJ and concentrated on his Washington Square material as Earle played 11 of the tracks from the album. It seemed strange at first and I'm sure the Steve Earle purists out there that still regard Earle as country we're both surprised and possibly disappointed. Personally it took me a song or two to get used to the DJ, but all in all it was well received and provided an upbeat tempo to the show. It wasn't as if Steve was playing synths or keyboards, he still played the guitar, mandolin, steel guitar and harmonica over the backbeats. During the concert some of the beats seemed too loud for the mix, but when I listened back to the show it sounded well balanced and well suited.
  
• The encore consisted of crowd pleasers such as his first hit, Guitar Town (I still have a GT t-shirt from the Exit-O tour somewhere...?), Jerusalem and Copperhead Road. He dedicated Little Rock 'n' Roller to his father who passed away late last year..very touching.
• A very enjoyable show, he played for over 2 hours. One of the best concerts I ever went to was during the aforementioned Exit-O tour when he performed at the Playhouse (Pantages) Theatre in the late 80's. Earle and the Dukes completely rocked the place, a long show that after the second encore when half the people left the building already, Earle and the Dukes returned for a third encore...magic! After that I kind of considered Steve Earle a Texas version of Springsteen. One of the greatest singer-songwriters and hardest working musicians around!

STEVE EARLE Burton Cummings Theatre March 10, 2008
(complete uncompressed show @ Dimeadozen)

Devil's Right Hand
Someday
Tennessee Blues (w/ DJ McDonald)
Jericho Road (w/ DJ McDonald)
City Of Immigrants (w/ DJ and Allison Moorer)
Guitar Town
Copperhead Road

ALLISON MOORER (complete show @ dimeadozen)
Dancing Barefoot (Patti Smith cover)

If you are interested in the complete show, let me know. I'll see what i can do.

Gary Louris- Vagabonds

Hey Jayhawks fans, Gary Louris's long awaited solo debut comes out on February 19th! The new album is called Vagabonds and it is the most intimate work of his career considering the length of his career so far. I have to resign myself from waiting for a new Jayhawks album as it may never happen and his other band, Golden Smog puts out albums in a non-consistent rate. I heard there is a possibility of an album with former Hawk, Mark Olson as they toured together in 2005 and have been writing songs together for a duo project.

The sound on the album is stark and haunting, and at times the songs build to a gospel-like hymn. The 10 songs on Vagabonds will need more listenings to fully appreciate the depth and quality this album obviously possesses.

Judge for yourself, check myspace.com/garylouris for some song samples and I've also posted some additional songs to preview.

True Blue
Omaha Nights
Well Get By
Vagabonds

Scarlett Sings Tom Waits...Seriously!

Scarlett Johansson will release her debut album this year. While it's no longer a secret that she holds a passion in the music field, the acclaimed actress chooses to have a cover album for her first instead of an album full of new materials.

Johansson who will portray the titular character on ' Mary Queen of Scots', has compiled her rendition of Tom Waits song. The production is taken by Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio and collaborations come from Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist, Nick Zinner, and Celebration's Sean Antanaitis.

Johansson recorded the album over 5 weeks last spring in Maurice, Louisiana at a Dockside studio. Not only is her voice considered on the same level to the late Marilyn Monroe but it is also predicted to earn her a Grammy, said the Dockside studio owner Steve Nails.

The album which is titled 'Anywhere I Lay My Head' consists of 10 cover tracks and an original material. It will be released on May 20 via Rhino Entertainment's Atco imprint, according to Billboard.com.

Her prior music dalliances include singing the track "Summertime" for "Unexpected Dreams," a 2006 charity album featuring film stars, and Johansson's first public singing is when she served as the backing vocal of reunited The Jesus and Mary Chain at the 2007 Coachella Festival, singing 'Just Like Honey'.

When I first heard about this I thought it was a joke, but I didn't realize she signed the deal with Rhino back in October 06. The eventual release was dependant upon her busy filming schedule and when she could actually make it into the studio. My first thought was how was Scarlett, who as far as I know hasn't really sung, going to pull off covers of Tom Waits of all people? His voice, the unusual lyrics, the weird melodies would be tough for even the most seasoned singers. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Tom Waits fan and I enjoy Johansson's acting, but the two together is a unexpected combination. The more I think about it, the more I think this might be worth a listen. Her smoky voice and her more sophisticated taste in music could make this interesting, this definitely couldn't be any worse than would-be "singers" Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton.

I wish I had a sample from the upcoming album to post (I will once I find an "advance copy"), but for now I have the aforementioned Summertime to preview her singing prowess.
My question is will you buy this?...or at least give it a listen?

Summertime mp3

The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight

Right now I'm hard at work compiling my special "Surprises and Disappointments for 2007 post" to reminisce about the past year's music releases. Stay tuned next week!

For now (as a time waster), in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the Weakerthan's video for "Civil Twilight" for your viewing pleasure. This video was shot at the Winnipeg Transit bus depot garage located on Osborne St. in late Summer. My friend Dean, an ex-pat from Winnipeg (now residing state-side) happened to be in town the week of the filming and he knew a mutual friend of the band's so helped out on the set. He said he moved the backgrounds (No, the bus wasn't actually moving) up and down and back and forth....cool! The video itself is amusing, it's shot as a continuous panning shot complete with a cheesy 2-dimensional stage set look to it. The song though is first-rate. Anyways, I saw this video for the first time yesterday, so I thought I'd share it.

Home For The Holidays

Thought I would squeeze one last entry on TDIT for 2007.

Home for the holidays is what a lot of people have in mind at this time of year, while other's would like to be as far from home as possible...perhaps a much warmer location? Winnipeg's very own Weakerthans returned home last week as their "Reunion Tour" took them throughout much of North America and Europe for the past couple of months. In case you missed it, the Weakerthans never broke up (despite the long periods between releases), Reunion Tour is the name of their latest release and as you may have read in a previous post, I think it's one of the year's best.

This concert at the Burton Cummings Theatre felt a bit like deja vu because the band played this same venue last September (see my previous post) and performed a set not unlike last time.
A few random observations:

• They played a similar mix of songs from the new album (last time they were still unreleased) as well as favourite's from the previous 3 albums.
• Both times they played a 15-16 song main set followed by a 7 song double encore.
• My seats were in the same section as last time. (middle 1st balcony)
• Ottawa's Jim Bryson opened the show. Performed solo on guitar and occasionally some keyboard and he was joined by violinist Julie Penner, drummer Jason Tait, egg-shaker Christine Fellows and various incarnations of other Weakerthans' members. (including John K on bass). Bryson also performed as a 5th member of the Weakerthans for their whole set adding guitar, keyboards and backing vocals.
• Was it just me or did John K. seem to sing a bit off-key in a couple of songs most notably, Hymn Of the Medical Oddity and Manifest?
• I love the song, Tournament of Hearts! Best song about Curling ever! (a close second is the Dik Van Dyke's, Curling Song)
• They really should ban beer sales at the Burt. I've complained about this at other concerts before because I had to stand up continually throughout their set for a girl that alternated beer runs with washroom runs. Was worried my recording might get affected having to shuffle up and down...at least wait until the end of a song.
• Great concert, sound was good and in the balcony you can always see clearly without having to stand for the whole show.
  
• The Weakerthan's are a band Winnipegger's should be proud of. They are highly respected and critically acclaimed outside of Manitoba (maybe more so...?) and when I'm in another city and I mention I'm from Winnipeg, I've had people say, "Winnipeg...the Weakerthan's are from there". Yes, I kid you not, I've had that response more than once. Much like how the Winnipeg Jets put us on the sports fan's radar.

I have posted a lossless FLAC version of the concert on Dimeadozen and I'll post a zip of mp3's for those that can't access Dime (coming soon). I would love to post individual FLAC files, but uploading on my archive storage site takes way too long...sorry. If you do download the mp3's, please do not share or trade these lossy versions. If you want a hard copy of the show, please message me.

(photo credits- Davevdb and Keith Hartley)

For now here's some highlights:
WEAKERTHANS
Burton Cummings Theatre
Winnipeg, MB
December 22, 2007

Civil Twilight
Our Retired Explorer
Tournament Of Hearts
Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist
One Great City

Bare (Unreleased/Demos) Juliana Hatfield

A couple of days ago I spoke about the Martial Arts free downloadable tracks from their new album on their MySpace page, another interesting concept is the Honor system. Juliana Hatfield has once again posted unreleased and demos on her website for download, she previously posted most of these songs about a year and a half ago. The Honor system is basically a pay what you want or can afford for the songs she has posted for download, if you choose you can download the songs free guilt-free and without breaking any laws. All payment (paypal-online, cash-mail) will go directly to the artist not a record label or an iTunes-like site. This concept has been recently been deployed for Radiohead's latest release, but I haven't really heard how successful this went, so I can't comment either way. Personally, I like this idea, if a band has some songs they want people to listen to without the restrictions and interference of a major label, the band should have the right to control the distribution of their own songs. For Juliana these demos and unreleased songs nicely compliment her albums to give more insight into her creative processes and obviously she is proud to stand behind all her work. I love Juliana, so support her, buy her albums and see her shows and most of all enjoy her music.

I'm posting some songs she hasn't had available for download before (they are on her site), read about these songs here and visit the site and have a listen. Don't forget if you like what you hear, donate to Juliana!
Enjoy!

Hallucinations
Can't Worry 'Bout It
Just Like That (Some Girls demo, Juliana all instruments)
I Can't Kill Myself (from the unreleased God's Foot)

Been Along Time Since They Rock'n'Rolled

The most anticipated rock reunion in some time took place last night in London to a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 20,000 who paid $250 a ticket...and yes, they we're the lucky ones! An online lottery saw over a million people from more than 50 countries enter for a chance to attend this once in a lifetime show. From all reports so far, Led Zeppelin did not disappoint and the fans that attended can now die happy. The Winnipeg Sun's Darryl Sterdan wrote a song-by-song review from the concert and his first hand (did he attend the show??) observations of the concert.

In the next few days I'll be scanning the internet for links or torrents from this show as I'm sure someone must have sneaked a recorder into the arena. I'm almost positive Led Zeppelin will release an official document of this concert be it DVD and CD, but I'm sure the true fan will want to hear this sooner....stay tuned!

update: an audience recording from the back of the floor is posted on... if you're registered, Dimeadozen (been downloaded over 3,000 times in half a day-Dec. 11) and thetradersden.org.

Instead of posting mp3 samples from the show, here's a link to a zip file of the complete show in mp3 format. I've had a listen to the recording posted on Dimeadozen and it sounds a little distant and has that large arena boom echo. Overall not bad, can't guarantee anyone closer will post the show though, so it's worth the download...at least historically.

The Martial Arts - Free (Legal) Music To Enjoy!

When I saw a link on a message board for a band that was offering it's newest CD for free on it's MySpace page I was skeptical. I expected a lame amateur band giving away some lo-fi recording because it wasn't worth selling...I was totally wrong! What I discovered was some catchy power pop that immediately drew me in and sampled all 5 songs on it's MySpace media player.

The band is The Martial Arts from Glasgow, Scotland fronted by singer/guitarist Paul Kelly who originally used the name for a solo project that eventually led to a full band lineup. Their sound has a great 60's new wave sound, nice melodies and a fresh sound that will get your toes tapping and head bobbing. Their debut full length (they have an EP, Do It Riot Girl as well) is called Your Sinclair and is available for free download, including the front cover and credits (download .rar or .zip file), until Christmas...no strings attached! Yes, this is the band's idea, I think they would be excited to have as many people as possible listen and let them judge if they want to buy a hard copy or see them live.
Have a listen, if you like it tell your friends, I highly recommend Your Sinclair!

MARTIAL ARTS Your Sinclair (2007)

Murry And Audree
Don't Want To Talk