Jayhawks- The First Album

I noticed the '1994-95 version (arguably their best lineup!) of the Jayhawks reunited again (They played their first reunion show last fall in Spain) with dates earlier this month in Spain and a date on July 10th at the Basilica Block Party, held annually in Minneapolis. The show in their hometown is significant because this line up of the band (Gary Louris, Marc Olson, Marc Perlman, Tim O'Reagon and Karen Grotberg) hasn't played together on North American soil in over a decade. I would love to attend this concert, but I'm sure my funds will be drained as I'm heading off to Philadelphia this week for 5 days and I don't think I can afford another journey south of the border.

In about a month from now, the annual Winnipeg Folk Festival takes place and it got me thinking about the first time I saw the Jayhawks. It was 1988 and the Hawks played a small stage along with other acts and the thing that sticks in my head, they jammed out with Mojo Nixon on guitar...seriously! Their performance to me, anyways, was memorable enough to consider purchasing their debut album (vinyl) that was on sale in the merch tent. I never actually bought the record, but fortunately my sister did and it's still in my parent's basement. Their sound is a lot more country than they have been since and this album was recorded by the Jayhawks on the small Bunkhouse label in 10 days for $12,000. It is considered a rare collector's item as there was only a limited supply pressed (few thousand?) and judging by eBay, it's worth some money. As a tribute to this great band, I'm posting this hard to find gem, it has yet to be officially released on CD and this has been long out-of-print.
Enjoy!

THE JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks (1986)

1. Falling Star
2. Tried and True Love
3. Let the Critics Wonder
4. Let the Last Night be the Longest (Lonesome Morning)
5. Behind Bars
6. Cherry Pie
7. The Liquor Store Came First
8. People in This Place on Every Side
9. Misery Tavern
10. (I'm Not in) Prison
11. King of Kings
12. Good Long Time
13. Six Pack on the Dashboard

Download- The Jayhawks- The Jayhawks. rar

Some Past Links Now Working Again.

I've re-upped a couple of links by request. The links on the original posts now work (at least for the next couple of weeks), as I had to re-link them for public sharing because they expire if they stagnant. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'm always happy to it, so please ask if any link you're interested in doesn't work anymore. I'm just happy someone is reading this blog!

Download- Weakerthans 2009-04-17 .rar (mp3)
Download-Pinnwheel demos .rar (mp3)

It's Funny Because It's True!

I couldn't resist, I found this hilarious site GraphJam: "Music & culture for people that love charts". You can even submit your own charts and graphs and I must confess some of these actually make me giggle and nod my head. I'll post more if I think they're appropriate to this blog.

This is very typical with how popular music works, the more unoriginal, the more you have to hear it.

Tribute To Jay Bennett- His Last Wilco Show

Sad news this week with the death of former Wilco member, Jay Bennett at the age of 45 years old. As of this writing the cause of his death isn't known as he died in his sleep on May 24th, but for more information and more details about Jay's life read this piece in the Chicago Tribune.

Earlier in the month, Jay launched a lawsuit against his former band-mate Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract for his work with the band. I'm not sure how much money he was seeking, but my guess is he was desperate for money for a hip replacement which he could not afford because he didn't have health insurance. Legal wrangling aside, most of Wilco's best work was from the Bennett-era and nothing beats the 1-2-3 punch of Being There, Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

As a tribute I'm posting Jay Bennett's last show as a member of Wilco, the 4th of July show from 2001 that was featured in the film, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco. This recording is an excellent show, both performance and sound quality as it was a radio broadcast, a must listen for any hardcore and casual Wilco fan.

A side note: I saw Wilco in Minneapolis on June 29 and 30th (also the first 2 shows for drummer Glenn Kotche), it was Jay's last club shows and still the best Wilco shows I've been to!

WILCO
2001-07-04
Petrillo Band Shell,
Grant Park Chicago, IL

1. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
2. War On War
3. A Shot In The Arm
4. She's A Jar
5. I'm Always In Love
6. Airline To Heaven
7. Feed Of Man
8. Remember The Mountain Bed
9. California Stars
10. Kamera
11. Ashes Of American Flags
12. Red-Eyed And Blue
13. I Got You (At The End Of The Century)

Encore 1:
14. I'm The Man Who Loves You
15. Sunken Treasure
16. Outta Mind (Outta Sight)

Download-Wilco 7-4-01 .rar

It's Only Rock 'N' Roll- Daytrotter Session

Since I'm on a Juliana Hatfield posting run, I thought I would share a recent performance/recording taken from the Daytrotter website. Juliana stopped by the Daytrotter studio in Rock Island, IL to record 4 songs. This is a live, raw recording, just Juliana and her acoustic guitar, with no overdubs and straight to tape. She performs 2 songs from her latest album, How To Walk Away, as well as an unreleased song, Butterflies (that will be on her new album) and a cover of the Rolling Stones classic, It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It). During all four songs you can hear in Juliana's voice the passion and enjoyment of playing music, if you're a fan of listening to music in it's bare-bones form (As I do!), you will enjoy this session. The songs are beautiful in their stripped down versions and in some ways are more honest and heartfelt.

Her interpretation of It's Only R'n'R, is interesting as she alters the arrangement and gives it her own spin. She describes the song like this: Most people, when they think of this song, think of the chorus, and Mick Jagger's aggressive presentation: "I know it's only rock and roll but I like it like it yes I do!" but I think the lyrics in the verses are really touching and poignant, and so I do this pretty and quiet version of the song to emphasize the sadness and longing which are kind of disguised in the Stones' recorded version.

Nuff talk, Enjoy!

JULIANA HATFIELD
Daytrotter Sessions
(Not sure when it was actually recorded, but I guessing late 2008?)
Law Of Nature
So Alone
It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
Butterflies

Download: Juliana Hatfield Daytrotter Sessions 2009-05-14. rar

Juliana Hatfield's Lost Album...?

God's Foot was the name of Juliana Hatfield's unreleased album recorded in 1996 that never saw a proper release because her record label at the time, Atlantic Records was not satisfied with the album. Juliana terminated her relationship with Atlantic, but they refused to give the recording to her. Various reports claimed that Atlantic was willing to sell the album back to Juliana for about $200,000 roughly the cost of making the album so she could release it herself, but she felt though it was a good record, it wasn't worth it. She still can't release it now because she doesn't own the masters, but through the community of file-sharing and music downloading these recordings are out there and available for listening. On Juliana's excellent blog, An Arm and A Leg, she talks about why she was "angry and frustrated" with the versions of her unreleased God's Foot that popped up in cyberspace. She left all the mixes and songs and sequence unresolved and when people acquired the tracks from the sessions and put them in random order and called it, God's Foot it offended her. This is understandable because the artist should have control over what songs are left in, what order and the whole packaging right down to album sleeve and credit notes.

Juliana explains this better (quoted from her entry "Remember November" from her blog: An album that is made to be an album – a series of songs with an arc and a flow – and not a bunch of random songs or singles or “hits” or featured tracks – is called an album because it is presented to the world in a certain sequence. And it matters SO MUCH in what order the songs are presented. If the songs are switched around, it can make a good album a not so good album; something might be “off.” Some kind of je ne sais quoi might be lacking. A great sequence, along with good mix choices, can turn an alright bunch of songs into a whole cohesive listening experience.

But the Internet version(s) of “God’s Foot” were chopped up and haphazardly thrown together, Burroughs-style (and I never liked Burroughs). And it made me sad, etc.

So. That was my beef.

But as the years have passed my anger has faded. I know that the people who found the “God’s Foot” songs (and outtakes) only wanted to hear the music – they had no other way but to download them, since the record was never released (in CD or digital or any format) and since I cannot release it (I don’t own the masters). And I guess I am glad that people know the songs and enjoy them.

I do sympathize with her, but I know there are a lot of people that want to hear her music. I did come across this recording a number of years ago, I can't remember where I got the tracks from, it might have been the old Napster or Soulseek. I don't think I received it in a trade as I usually didn't trade in mp3's and I mainly traded live shows. Regardless, here's God's Foot presented in the original song order I received it. Enjoy! JULIANA HATFIELD God's Foot (unreleased) 1996

1. Fade Away 2. Mountains Of Love 3. Don't Need A Reason 4. Perfection 5. What Have I Done To You? 6. Losing Your Looks 7. Takin' It Easy 8. Can't Kill Myself 9. You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Melody 10. Chance Is Waiting 11. How Would You Know? 12. Eye To Eye 13. Charity 14. Jakes 15. Fade Away (Part Two) download the whole file (I couldn't upload a rar or zip file, I'm experiencing proxy/setting issues, sorry) p.s- for more information about God's Foot, check out Dan LeRoy's book, The Greatest Music Never Sold: Secrets Of Legendary Lost Albums, which features a chapter that tells the story of god's Foot.

New Wilco- Wilco (the Album)

First there was Wilco the band, then the Wilco Book, now we have Wilco the Album and Wilco the song. On June 30th (or earlier if you hear a "leaked" copy), Wilco will release an album of new material called, you guessed it, Wilco. The lead off track titled appropriately, Wilco (the song) is a boogie number that has a bit of a Werewolves of London-feel to it, definitely a more upbeat rock feel overall. This is a release I've been eagerly anticipating and I don't think I'll be able to wait until the official release date for a listen. If you want to hear the goods now, Wilco's official site, Wilcoworld is streaming the entire album for your listening enjoyment. Let me know what you think, I've heard the first couple songs and it seems promising and returns to a sound closer to YHF than the most recent albums. Indeed, a return date to Winnipeg (or close by, Minneapolis perhaps?) would be very welcome and hearing live versions of these new songs will be a treat.
Enjoy!
(Tracklist)
Wilco (the song)
Deeper Down
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
You And I
You Never Know
Country Disappeared
Solitaire
I'll Fight
Sonny Feeling
Everlasting Everything

WILCO (The album) stream

Elvis Is Coming!!

Yes!!! The Winnipeg Folk Festival announced yesterday that Elvis Costello will kick off an expanded 5-day version of this year's festival by playing with his band the Imposters on Wednesday July 8th at Birds Hill Park. This special night will be a separate ticket from the weekend 4-day pass which is good news for me as I plan to go see Elvis and maybe nothing else. I struggle every year with the decision to attend and nowadays there has to be a special draw to drag my lazy ass to the festival. Last year it was the Kink's Ray Davies and Kathleen Edwards and the year before it was Neko Case and Son Volt that got my attention. I'm glad to see Elvis is playing on an evening date (as opposed to a full fee day $70) that will only set me back $40 and this is very exciting news for a picky concert goer like myself. Elvis Costello is in my top 10 bands/musicians I would like to see live, but I would have preferred an indoor venue such as the Burt, Pantages, Concert Hall or even the MTS Centre. I guess I shouldn't be so picky, he hasn't played in Winnipeg since 1978, so I'll have to get there early and stake my plot of ground to sit on reasonably close to the stage if I want a chance to actually see him instead of relying on the unreliable video screens.
This is a must see!

Weakerthans Roll Into Town- Burton Cummings Theatre, April 17, 2009

The Rolling Tundra Revue tour featuring the Constantines and Winnipeg's own, Weakerthans landed in town last Friday night for the first of a two night stand at the Burton Cummings Theatre. The Weakerthans are one of few bands I try to catch whenever they come back home and you can always count on them for an entertaining show. Their 21 song set featured songs from all four albums and they treated the hometown crowd to two encores consisting of 6 songs.

One thing that slightly annoyed me and distracted my attention throughout the concert was the usual chatter and shout outs from the crowd. This usually doesn't bug me too much, but the (high pitch, really loud!) whistling (especially during the encore) during the songs became a competition between a few attention seeking idiots. I know it feels nice to be acknowledged by the performers we paid to watch, but to continually yell and shout, "happy birthday John" and other stupid comments gets tiresome and embarrassing. During the opening encore songs, One Great City and My Favourite Chords when John K performs solo, some guys across the aisle from me shouted out some clever dialogue, "where's your f*cking band!" and "f*ck you John K. Samson!", exactly at that moment (I don't think it was a coincidence), Samson stopped mid-song to re tune his guitar. He started the song up again, but a minute later he stopped again and changed guitars. Earlier in the show he joked about how he remembers his first beer, obviously in reference to some guys that were yelling at him and then a few songs later he asked the "boys" to stop shouting at him because it distracted him and it would be bad for everyone else. Samson is probably too nice a guy to make a bigger deal out of it.

I've listed the setlist from the show and the link below to download the whole show. Enjoy!

WEAKERTHANS
Burton Cummings Theatre
Winnipeg, Manitoba
April 17, 2009

1. Everything Must Go
2. Tournament Of Hearts
3. Our Retired Explorer
4. Night Windows
5. Reconstruction Site
6. Aside
7. Civil Twilight
8. Bigfoot
9. Plea From A Cat Named Virtue
10. The Reasons
11. Elegy For Elsabet
12. Left And Leaving
13. Relative Surplus Value
14. Benediction
15. Manifest

encore 1
16. One Great City
17. My Favourite Chords
18. Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist
19 This Is A fire Door Never Leave Open
20. Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure

encore 2
21. Pamphleteer

Download the complete show:
Weakerthans 2009-04-17 .rar (mp3)
Dimeadozen.org (torrent FLAC files- need to register)
(If this doesn't work for you, leave a message in the comments and I'll link you to the file)

Something New Mondays- (old/new) Whiskeytown

Saturday was Record Store Day and again I failed to take in the festivities at my local indie record store. As you may have heard, the vinyl record is on a comeback with increased sales and more and more bands releasing stuff on vinyl. In Winnipeg, Into The Music reports that a large percentage of it's sales are still attributed to vinyl, as they are one of the few local stores that didn't shun the vinyl format and have continued to buy and sell new and used records...bravo for them! My own vinyl collection is taking up valuable storage space in my living room and basement fridge (non-working empty) and my parent's basement, but I have held onto my old Dual turntable and last year purchased a portable battery powered USB turntable with the original idea of transferring my records to digital files. But you know what, I've hardly transfered anything and I think I'll use it to play and listen to records at home and at work. Why re-buy (or download) my records when I can play them on their original format and the scratchy sound is still better quality than transferring them into compressed digital mp3's.

Many record labels have released special vinyl to commemorate the 2nd annual record store day. Two unreleased songs were made available from Ryan Adam's old band, Whiskeytown which were recorded during the "Baseball Sessions" circa 1996. I don't know why this wasn't previously released, the songs are really good and if you're a Whiskeytown fan, you'll appreciate these samples.

WHISKEYTOWN- 7" Single
A. San Antone
B. The Great Divide

Before She Was Famous- Kathleen Edwards

I just got back from dropping Jesse off at the airport for his 7am flight to Ottawa. He and the team (Kelvin High School) he co-coaches are competing this week for the Canadian Improv games. This competition gathers together all the top teams from across Canada to Ottawa to vie for the coveted crown of national high school improv champs. If you're not familiar with improv as a sport or want more info check improv.ca. As a tribute, I thought I would post something from Ottawa native Kathleen Edwards, who I'm sure you know is a favourite here at TDIT. For my 5:30am drive to the airport I played Kathleen's, Failer CD which upon further reflection might not have been the best choice for luck's sake considering he was going to a competition. (As a related note, I think Six O'clock News and 12 Bellevue are two of her best songs!) Back before Failer, which was released in 2003, Edwards recorded a six song EP entitled, Building 55 and pressed 500 copies. I had not heard of this disc until I was reading her Wikipedia page and I quickly sought out this previously unheard piece of music. This very limited disc must be a collectors item and I would like to own a physical copy, but a little searching on music blogs with the help of search engine, Captain Crawl (which as of a couple of days is not running), I was able to find Building 55. Not a bad first effort, her voice is more raw and gruff, but the sound quality and playing is passionate and inspiring. Most of the songs are exclusive to this release, except for track 7, which was re-recorded and re-titled Westby when it appeared on Failer 4 years later. I like the EP, it's not glossed over and slickly produced and this is a good introduction to her music. It's really more of interest for established fans that want to hear how she hasn't veered too far from her original vision or taken on any other identities or personas. Newbies should really start at Failer, Back to Me and Asking For Flowers, all outstanding albums. KATHLEEN EDWARDS Building 55 (1999)

1. Injustica
2. Nagasaki
3. 5 Years
4. Big Star
5. Wordgamething
6. Violin for Mom
7. Titled Untitled

note: Links are dead, contact me for the files.

Something New Mondays- The Wendy Darlings

I don't actually have the whole album, but I do have 3 tracks from an EP by a band called the Wendy Darlings from France. I sampled these songs from another blog and was so impressed and excited from what I heard, I had to share them here. I don't know much about the band other than they are a three-piece from France comprised of Saddam Suzy on guitar and vocals, Dr Poppy on bass and vocals and Dj Sepia on drums. The band decribes their sound as "naughty pop". They have a fresh twee-pop indie sound that's slightly lo-fi and definitely has traces of Bratmobile, Breeders and the Vaselines as influences. I love crunchy guitars and bouncey melodic songs that make you want to nod your head and hop up and down.

Their new EP, We Come With Friendly Purposes may be hard to find here in Canada and I haven't found any more downloads (yes, I'm even talking to you iTunes!), free or to buy, but it is available from Lost Music Records in the U.K. I would love to hear more and I would be interested to find out if they have any other previous releases. I looked at their MySpace page and just got confused, but if you want to hear more songs, have a listen on the pop-up music player on their MySpace.

Get Up
Eleasy
Enormous Pop

What A Spectacle! Elvis Costello Live At The El Mocambo

If you're an Elvis Costello fan, actually if you're a fan of GOOD music, make sure to tune in to Elvis's TV series debuting on Canadian TV this Friday April 3 on CTV (and on Bravo on the 4th), called Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... In this highly acclaimed show that has already played in the States last year on the Sundance network, Elvis talks to musicians (and other interesting guests) and conjures up eclectic performances and collaborations not seen anywhere. His amazing guest list includes; the Police, Elton John, Lou Reed, Smokey Robinson, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Jenny Lewis, James Taylor, President Bill Clinton among others. This show will be more than the usual Letterman-ish interview show, it will allow the musicians to share their love and passion about their own music and for the music they enjoy. This show looks so promising, not only will I attempt to watch this show weekly, I've already added this season series (when it's available on DVD and should include lots of bonus material) to my Christmas list. Stay tuned!

If you don't know who Elvis Costello is or don't have a reference point for his music, I suggest you look up his discography and start at the beginning with the 1977 classic, My Aim Is True, followed by This Years Model, Armed Forces and Get Happy!! His production through the 80's, 90's and 00's has been prolific with various musical style changes album to album. He has collaborated with everyone from Burt Bacharach, Brodsky Quartet, Bill Frisell, Allen Toussaint to Paul McCartney, Fall Out Boy and Jenny Lewis (from Rilo Kiley).

As a tribute to Elvis Costello, I'm posting an excellent example of early live Elvis with his legendary live album, Live At the El Mocambo. This oft bootlegged album was recorded in Toronto in 1978 and was first available as a Canadian promo album (yes, vinyl!!). It was later included in the "2 1/2 Years" boxset of his first 3 albums (this was the fourth disc in the set). In 1993, it was re-released in CD form by Rykodisc. This is Elvis at his finest, raw, edgy and unbelievably infectious! Enjoy!!

ELVIS COSTELLO
Live At the El Mocambo

1. Mystery Dance
   
2. Waiting for the End of the World
   
3. Welcome to the Working Week
   
4. Less Than Zero
   
5. The Beat
   
6. Lip Service
   
7. (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea
   
8. Little Triggers
   
9. Radio Radio
   
10. Lipstick Vogue
    
11. Watching the Detectives
    
12. Miracle Man/Band Introduction
    
13. You Belong to Me
    
14. Pump It Up

The above files may not be available. If you want a link to the complete show, leave a message in the comment section and I'll send it to you.

Before We Was Famous: Fountains Of Wayne (Pinnwheel)

If you are a fan of Fountains Of Wayne, you may have heard about this set of demos recorded by the band Pinnwheel, the same members that later went on to record as Fountains Of Wayne. These thirteen songs were recorded sometime in the late 80's or the early 90's. When these songs failed to generate interest, Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger split and formed separate bands only to later reunite and change their name to FOW and the rest is history. Four of the songs here would later be re-recorded and appear on later albums, another track, Cry One Tear was later recorded by Collingwood's side-project band, Gay Potatoes. That means eight of these songs have never been released and remain exclusive to this set. The sound on this collection is surprisingly polished and definitely has that FOW sound, it's not a bad set of songs except none of the them especially stand out. If you're a diehard fan, this is a must listen (at least for historic reasons), but if you're new to Fountains Of Wayne, start with their debut and work you're way forward.

PINNWHEEL (Pre-Fountains Of Wayne)
Pinnwheel Demos

1. Raise The River
2. Fading Fast
3. Some Girls Tell Lies
4. Loveland
5. Bluer Than Blue
6. Silvertown
7. Holland Street
8. Troubled Times
9. I Knew You Well
10. Slave To Your Misery
11. Cry One Tear
12. Imperia
13. Half A Woman

I have also uploaded the whole file in .rar format, you have the option of downloading the individual files or the complete file.
Download: Pinnwheel. rar

Note: I have recently re-upped the files since I was informed the links don't work...try it now. (March 10, 2012)

Neko Case- Live At The Triple Door

Here's a fine sounding recording from January 25th at the Triple Door in Seattle from a webcast broadcast by KEXP-FM. This was a special VIP donor concert that was invite only and though her performance is short, it's an intimate acoustic affair that features just Case, vocalist Kelly Hogan and guitarist Paul Rigby. Normally it's difficult to come across Neko Case live recordings (she doesn't often approve of concert taping), but radio broadcasts are public domain and this show is also available in FLAC (uncompressed) format at archive.org in the open source audio section. This a great site for concert recordings (from bands/musicians that encourage distributing/trading their shows) and other "universal access to human knowledge". This site, archive.org is highly recommended and you can literally spend hours listening, watching and reading.

NEKO CASE
Triple Door, Seattle , WA
KEXP-FM webcast
January 25, 2009

1. Intro
2. Middle Cyclone
3. People Gotta Lotta Nerve
4. Don't Forget Me
5. I'm an Animal
6. Hold On, Hold On
7. chat (broken guitar string)
8. Vengeance Is Sleeping
9. The Next Time You Say "Forever"
10. That Teenage Feeling

Before We Was Famous: THE REFRESHMENTS- Wheelie

The other day I was thinking about starting another music blog where I would upload and share CD's/tapes/albums from artists that have gone on to successful careers. This blog would include demos, independent and hard to find releases (I've found on the world wide web or from my own collection) that might not be their most cohesive or flattering moments, but nevertheless interesting and a foreshadowing of what was to come. I've already done this with past postings from the Dead Milkmen, Young Fresh Fellows, Plumtree, Ben Kweller and the Electrocutes. I thought another blog would keep that theme separate and a nice complement to this site. Then it struck me, who was I kidding... I can hardly keep this blog updated and then I would have 3 (counting my other blog, Sick Puppy) stagnant properties taking up space on the WWW. So bare with me as I present yet another regular feature on TADIT, "Before We Was Famous".

Just the other day I was looking through a pile of CD's (in my son's room that he "borrowed") and came upon a much loved and much played disc I had almost lost track of, the Refreshments, Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. This CD along with their other official release, The Bottle & Fresh Horses, are underrated classics that have all the hallmarks of great albums; catchy melodies, humour and memorable songs. Years ago I heard there was a pre-Fuzzy disc called, Wheelie which was their true debut and was sold at shows. Reports of it's rarity are varied depending on who you talk to. I've heard there was 500-2000 copies floating around, but according to Refreshment's bassist Art Edwards he believes there are no more than 5500 copies in existence. Supposeably it's fetching big bucks on eBay, but thanks to the web I found a mp3 version of the CD and it is well worth the download. The songs on Wheelie were later reworked for Fizzy and sound slightly different, with the exception of the track, Psychosis which is exclusive to this release. The song B.O.B.A is an acronym for, "Buffett on bad acid" and was re-named Mexico when it re-recorded for Fizzy... If you miss the Refreshments as much as I do, check out Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers!

REFRESHMENTS
Wheelie (1994)
1. Banditos
2. European Swallow
3. Suckerpunch
4. Don't Wanna Know
5. Mekong
6. Girly
7. B.O.B.A.
8. Down Together
9. Psychosis
10. Carefree
11. Nada

New Neko! Middle Cyclone

March 3 is the due date for Neko Case's new CD, Middle Cyclone, the follow-up to 2006's Fox Confessor Brings The Flood. Everything about the new album screams for attention, the guests musicians (M Ward, Garth Hudsen, Calexico, Los Lobos, NP's etc), the higher production value, the fact this has been hyped for the past 6 months and of course the awesome cover art! After only a couple of listens I assure you this will be on many a best-of lists for 2009 and her exposure via TV, print and the internet will surpass anything she has done previously (yes, I'm talking to you Carl Newman and the the New Pornographers). She will probably tour the hell out of this album which will mean little or no dates with the NP's and I'm sure AC Newman will be busy enough supporting his own solo effort, he in small venues and clubs, she in theatres and large music festivals.

I haven't intensely listened to the album enough to give a fair and informative review just yet, but my first impression is it's a winner (though I have mixed feelings for track 15). I would like to post the whole album or at least a few select tracks from the disc, but I'm worried the record label or blogger will slap my ass and remove this post (It has happened before, twice). So instead I'll link to the download so you can judge for yourself and have a listen. Remember, Neko Case would still appreciate it if you buy the CD when it comes out. Judging by her serious look on the cover, she means business...so listen to her!
Enjoy.

Juliana Covers Springsteen

The Dead Milkmen- Funky Farm

Back in the mid-eighties, if you wanted to listen to some great punk rock that was fun and humorous, a splendid choice would have been the Dead Milkmen. Their debut album from 1985, Big Lizard In My Backyard was a classic with all the snotty charm you'd expect from the Milkmen, giving their opinion on such creatures and things as swordfish, lizards, gorillas, pigeons, retards, nutrition and bitchin' camaros. They followed with Eat Your Paisley and Bucky Fellini in 86 and 87 before reaching MTV fame with Beezlebubba and it's hit, Punk Rock Girl. The band then hit what I call the "Soul Asylum syndrome", when a band who has a great dedicated cult (indie) following gets a hit song, gets heavy rotation on MTV and "alternative" radio stations and performs on talk shows. This is followed by a succession of albums that never live up to the expectations of the mainstream public then they fade to obscurity. Unfortunately for the Milkmen, they got signed by Hollywood records who were a subsiduary of the Disney corporation, they receive little or no promotion then the label goes belly up and the band breaks up...sad.

Before the Big Lizard album, the Milkmen produced a series of self-produced cassettes that they sold at all-ages shows and through friends and fans in and around Philly. Many of the songs on the tapes appear on Big Lizard and later albums, but on these tapes they are lo-fi basement recordings and all these versions are exclusive to these releases.

Funky Farm was recorded live in a barn in Bedminster, PA and was recorded in 1983. It includes an early version of Watching Scotty Die (from Bucky Fellini) and their tribute to Jerry Lewis, Labor Day.

DEAD MILKMEN
Funky Farm (1983)
Self-released cassette

1. Beach Song
2. Labor Day
3. Don’t Abort That Baby
4. I’m Going To Purgatory
5. Watching Scotty Die
6. I Don’t Wanna
7. Taking Retards To The Zoo
8. Dance With Me
9. Girl Hunt
10. Ask Me To Dance
    
11. Stupid Mary Anne
12. Fillet Of Sole
13. Depression Day Dinner
14. Rastabilly

...15th Place!

We didn't win, nor were we in the top 10, but still it was amazing to be a finalist in the My City/My Song contest. To top it off we were the only finalist, besides the winner and the two runner-ups that had their photo published in the Winnipeg Free Press article, Spirited Melody. The Zamboni Joe photo only appeared in the print version, not the online, but it is available for purchase at the Free Press online photo shop ($10-25). This photo was awesome because it gave us great exposure and because we have never had a (formal) band photo before. For another cool photo from the same photo shoot, check out our photographer's, David Lipnowski's blog under the February 4th posting called, Long Day. (So I don't offend any copyright infringements I will not re-post any of David's photo's on this blog)

The accompanying article profiled a few of the performers, including myself which helped explain the origins and meaning of the song. I think a lot of people will be scratching their heads wondering what the hell I'm talking about, but Melissa Martin did a good job including quotes from the song and quotes from me.

The Kid

OK, at 44, Geoff Miki, songwriter for occasional "hockey rock" trio Zamboni Joe, isn't a kid anymore. But he was one in the '60s and '70s, when a local puppet show called Archie and Friends dominated the noon hour on CKY TV. The show was cancelled in the early 1980s, but it lives on in Zamboni Joe's song, Mayor of Funtown. ("Marvin Mouse was the coolest thing on that show / Man, that sock would take no guff from anyone," Miki sings on the tune, which was written in 2001.)

"There may never be a TV show like it again," Miki says. "It was a shock when it came to an end. At first I was hesitant to put the song in, because it isn't your usual sort of Winnipeg song. But we thought it might be something different."

That it was. One of our judges dreamily remembered rushing home to nibble cheese sandwiches and watch Archie; all of them giggled over how the song's chugging rock 'n' roll chords mixed with the impotent childhood rage of the lyrics. "How could they mess with a formula such as this / highest rated show on CKY."

The exposure of the newspaper article not only attracted attention from friends and co-workers, but also the Manitoba Moose who called me the following Monday to ask if we were interested in performing at the MTS Centre. Okay, not in the arena area, but in the lobby at the south end where they have a mini stage (near the Tim's concession) and they feature a band, before the game and between periods at select games. They said, "hockey jerseys, a hockey sounding name and playing hockey-rock, what a perfect fit". The only problem is that Zamboni Joe hasn't played a gig in years and the other two probably aren't interested in playing. We'll have to see, this would have been a no-brainer opportunity a few years ago, but now it'll take a lot of leg pulling and band rehearsals to get in game shape again, but it could be our last chance for success or at least mediocrity.

If you haven't had a chance to listen to the finalists yet, go to the My City/My Song page and leave a comment and vote for your favourite. According to the article there will be a people's choice winner as well, I'm guessing the person that unofficially receives the most votes. So far out of the 171 comments, not one has commented (good or bad) about Mayor Of Funtown. Sure the sound quality is rough and not as slick as a lot of the other recordings, but has anyone actually listened to the song? Another thing before I finish, the top 3 along with a couple other finalists are professional musicians that have professionally recorded CD's, why do they need to enter a contest where the top prize is a recording session (for one song)? Obviously they want the attention and publicity, but I really think this contest should have been open only for non-pro musicians that haven't produced a record label quality work. It reminds me of what pissed me off about Canadian Idol, how can musicians such as Rob James (from McMaster and James) and Keith MacPherson (from Keith and Renee), both professional performers that tour, record and receive airplay compete on the same level as untrained amateurs? Just saying...

(Note: From now on any other Zamboni Joe or local level stories will be written about on my other blog, Sick Puppy)