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)

Zamboni Joe A Finalist!

I got a call from Melissa Martin from the Winnipeg Free Press last night to inform me that Zamboni Joe's song, Mayor Of Funtown is a finalist for the My City/My Song contest sponsored by the Free Press. Melissa told me the song caught the attention of the judges who recognized the references to the show (Archie And His Friends) and that they really thought the song captured the passion and emotional impact this show has had on many people's youth. She said the paper wanted a photo of some of the finalists and asked if the members of Zamboni Joe we're available on short notice.

The three members of the band, Cheryl, David and I reunited for a photo shoot this afternoon (Friday) at the Forks and supposeably our photo will be in Saturday's paper. We met with the paper's photographer, David and set off to find a location for the shoot and just as we entered the Fork's middle skating rink area, we spotted a Zamboni that is used to clean the ice on the river walk. We all looked at each other and asked, "it would be so cool to have the Zamboni in our photo!" Our photographer went over and asked if we could borrow the Zamboni and as luck would have it, he knew the Zamboni driver and gladly let us use the machine. We proceeded down to the river and used a skating rink for the site of the shoot, Cheryl and I climbed inside the Zamboni and David took the driver seat and started and revved it up. Our photographer took many photos of us inside and in front of the Zamboni, I'll be interested to see what photo they use in the newspaper. (I've posted a photo the Zamboni driver took of our shoot... Special thanks to Dave the Zamboni driver!!)

This whole experience was completely random and fortuitous, a real Zamboni for a Zamboni Joe photo shoot, what could be more perfect! If we do win this contest, we'll have to reunite again to record the song and that would be nice, but if we don't win, this day was still an amazing and unbelievable experience!

One last thought, I checked the Free Press website and they have posted the top 10 songs in the My City/My Song contest, you're invited to listen and leave comments...but if Mayor Of Funtown is a finalist, shouldn't it be at least in the top ten? Isn't a finalist ranked higher than the top ten? Just wondering...Check Saturday's paper for the final results!

My City...MY Song!

ZAMBONI JOE- Mayor Of Funtown

The Winnipeg Free Press has a contest (the deadline passed January 23) asking readers to submit a song they wrote and performed about Winnipeg. The song will be judged by a "qualified" jury and it will be judged on "lyrical content, musical structure, overall musicality and how much it reflects on life in Winnipeg". The winner will get to record the song in a real studio with renowned producer Jack Shapira, along with airplay (I'm sure they'll only play it once) on CBC One.

I felt it was my duty as a true Winnipegger to put my money where my mouth is (...or whatever the saying is?) and to submit a song to this contest. I know what you're thinking, how could I, Mr. negativity stand to write a positive song about Winnipeg? Actually, the song can be the good or the bad about Winnipeg, so that should make it easier, but instead I took a different approach. I used a song I wrote a few years ago for my band, Zamboni Joe, about a late great TV show aired exclusively in Winnipeg, to me it's kind of synonymous with our city and the people of this town. Yes, I'm talking about Archie and His Friends and the Sunday morning spin off show, Funtown. Any kid that grew up in Winnipeg in the 60's and 70's surely remembers this program with Archie Wood, Tammy True, Petite, Marvin Mouse and Uncle Bob on this weird, yet somewhat memorable show on CKY-TV. Go to the Free Press My City/My Song web-page, and they have posted a sample of some of the submissions they have received. I noticed a lack of my song, but I'm sure it's just an oversight by the webmasters for the F.P. and not because my song doesn't suck up to the paper with a glorified travelogue of our city. The songs are pretty much what I expected, songs about the cold weather, mosquitos, Portage & Main, the Jets and all the other typical references about Winnipeg. So far nothing about Funtown or Marvin the Mouse!

Judge for yourself, I've posted the song (above) plus as a bonus, (and reference point) some YouTube links to the TV show.
Archie And His Friends part 1, part 2, 3, 4
Archiepalooza (memorabilia display)
Funtown part 1, part 2, part 3, 4, 5, 6

Neko On "Q"

While I was at the dentist this morning getting my annual fillings on my teeth, I received a phone message from Brian my co-worker to let me know Neko Case was on CBC radio 1's arts and entertainment program "Q". I missed the entire interview, but later downloaded today's episode mp3 from Q's podcast page. Neko talked about her much anticipated upcoming album, Middle Cyclone which is a followup to her critically acclaimed CD, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, which I have talked about at great length on past blog posts.

I'm posting an mp3 of just the interview and the song she played live in the studio, so you don't have to listen to the whole program. Since I didn't hear the program live, when I listened to the show mp3 they omitted what I assume were tracks from the new album. In the interview, host Jian Ghomeshi introduces a couple of songs, but the interview continues on without the songs, is this because the album has yet to be released and the CBC doesn't want to infringe copyrights? (Check out her myspace page for a preview) Can someone confirm whether she played more than one song live in studio?
Thanks, enjoy!

NEKO CASE CBC Radio One on "Q" January 26, 2009
1. Interview
2. People Got A Lot Of Nerve (performed live-in-studio)

Plumtree- Flutterboard

Back in the early and mid-90's Halifax was the "hot-bed" of indie-rock talent in Canada. Bands such as Sloan, Super Friendz, Thrush Hermit, the Inbreds and Jale caused a wave of excitement and promise that captured the attention of music fans and opened doors for other East Coast bands in Canada and the US.

One of my favourite bands from Halifax was Plumtree, who released 3 full length CD's and a handful of 7'ers and many appearances on compilations. Plumtree toured extensively across Canada and the US (they only toured in summer months because of university classes) during their 7 year career and I saw the band live four times. I also had the pleasure of talking to guitarist Amanda Braden of Plumtree after a show in Steinbach (30 minutes outside of Winnipeg) back in 2000, we talked about their tour and music and of course got all the band to sign their third CD, This Day Won't Last At All. In case anyone is interested, I recorded the Plumtree shows on my trusty Walkman tape recorder.

I have for your listening pleasure, Flutterboard, a six-song cassette (available only on tape) that the band released a year before their first full-length CD, Mass Teen Fainting came out. It features exclusive songs that are not available anywhere except for an early version of In The Sink. This tape is hard to find and long out of print, but is by no means their quintessential work, I urge you to seek out all of Plumtree's CD's if you love catchy melodies and all-girl vocals. The quality of their sound improves on each release and I consider their final CD, This Day Won't Last At All, their masterpiece. The band broke up in 2000, but Lynette and Carla Gillis are still actively playing music. They formed Bontempti in Vancouver, Bells Clanging and now a new project, Sister with sister Lynette and Ryan Myshrall from Local Rabbits.

PLUMTREE Flutterboard ep (1994)
1. In The Sink
2. Let's Hope There's A Heaven
3. Hey! Whiskers!
4. Depp
5. Festooned
6. Good Time To Tell Me

Freak Out It's...Bromeo

Before he released his first solo album and just after his band Radish disbanded, Ben Kweller released a series of self-released ep's. They were mainly homemade that consisted of recordings from Radish's unreleased Discount Fireworks and demos that would eventually end up on his solo debut, Sha Sha. Many of these demos were recorded in his apartment on a laptop computer. I knew about these ep's but have never heard or seen a copy until I stumbled upon 2 of them on a an outstanding blog, Wilfully Obscure. These are awesome recordings and are a must of any Ben Kweller fans, this kid displays his prodigy-like talent with these self-produced, self-financed releases without sounding amateurist or self-centered. Bromeo features songs that are mainly exclusive to this release except for I Don't Know Why and Different But the Same that were re-recorded and included on later albums. Freak Out It's Ben Kweller...features songs that were more or less demos for Sha Sha, but they are different and altered recordings and in some ways more satisfying. Freak Out...apparently caught the attention of Evan Dando of the Lemonheads who invited him out on tour with him.  

BEN KWELLER 

Bromeo (2000) 

I Have The Power 

Panamanian Girl 

Debbie Don't Worry Doll 

New And Improved 

I Don't Know Why

 Different But The Same

 Concentric Town 

Until I Die 

Freak Out It's Ben Kweller! (2000) 

BK Baby 

Walk On Me 

How It Should Be (Sha Sha)

 Make It Up 

In Other Words 

I Don't Know Why 

Lizzy 

Problems

 

Merry Croutons...

...Mr. Gulp Gulp!
I've been thinking about posting this since last Christmas, but how quickly time passes. This is the title of the rare 1984 X-Mas giveaway by the Young Fresh Fellows. I would have killed for this tape 20 years ago when I was seeking this gem, as it was very hard to find. I acquired a burned disc of this through a trade years later and I truly treasure this unique tape and it's still one of my favourite recordings. I would still kill for an original copy of this cassette-only fan-club release that was released right after their first album, Fabulous Sounds Of The Pacific Northwest ...came out.

This was the Fellows' version of those Beatles' Christmas Fan-Club records from the 60's as they perform loose and fun (drunken!) versions of their songs live-in studio complete with dedications and holiday thank yous to friends and colleagues. They play a version of Down By the Pharmacy with goofy altered Christmasy lyrics, some awesome covers and new Fellows songs. All these versions are unavailable anywhere else. They close out with a spirited rendition of the title track and like the rest of the tape it has a nice party-vibe to the whole recording, that's what make this unique and special.

YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS
Merry Croutons Mr. Gulp Gulp
1. Down By The Pharmacy
2. Im Not Trying To Hurt You
3. Filet Of Soul
4. Someone I Care About
5. This Little Mystery
6. The Sharing Patrol
7. If I Had A Hammer
8. Topsy Turvy Theme
9. I Wish I Was Your Mother
10. Good Guys Dont Wear White
11. YFF Theme
12. You Call That Lonely?
13. Teenage Dogs In Trouble
14. intro
15. Merry Croutons Mr. Gulp-Gulp

Download (whole file or individual tracks)

Merry Belated Christmas!!

I was searching for a good Christmas song to post and I was going to upload one of my favourite Christmas songs, Father Christmas by the Kinks, but then I remembered I posted that song last year (or was it the year before?). Behold, I was surfing around different music blogs and stumbled upon a great cover of that song by the Figgs. They serve up a admirable cover of this Kink's classic on the A-side of the 1995 Christmas single, Christmas Shake. The B-side features, the slower, Christmas Sake and Merry Christmas, Girl, a faster, catchy as hell song that is classic Figgs. Enjoy!

FIGGS
Christmas Shake 7" (1995)
Father Christmas
Christmas Sake
Merry Christmas, Girl

Song Of The Day- "Hanging On The Telephone"

Hanging On The Telephone is a great song written by Jack Lee (for his mid-70's power pop trio The Nerves- Lee, Peter Case and Paul Collins), popularized by Blondie and covered by others such as Golden Smog during their 1996 tour. I bring you three versions of the same song.

THE NERVES- Hanging On The Telephone: The original, from the Nerve's only release an EP from 1976. Case went onto later fame with the Plimsouls and a still creative solo career. Collins later formed the Paul Collins' Beat.
BLONDIE- Hanging On The Telephone: Second single from 1978's Parallel Lines LP. If Blondie recorded more songs this good instead of the Heart Of Glass shit she churned out later, I might actually buy one of her records.
GOLDEN SMOG- Hanging On The Telephone (live 1996-6-26 SF) The Smog unearthed (especially early in their career) under appreciated punk/power pop/classic rock covers. While staying true to the original, The Smog version added that additional kick that originally drew my interest in the song.

Support Your Local Band!

I love when bands are honest. Usually when you hear a band is playing a fundraiser you think they're raising money for a disease, a political cause or their cat is sick, but Winnipeg band Paper Moon is playing a fundraiser for themselves. You see, the member's of this local band probably all have day jobs and playing in a band isn't their major flow of cash. The money raised for this show will go toward costs of an upcoming album (April 2009) and this is a good enough reason to go out and see this fine band. Paper Moon has two previous releases to their credit and if the new one is anything like their previous, it should be worth the listen, maybe they'll even perform some songs from this upcoming record. To tide fans over, PM has just put out a new CD-EP called, What Are You Going To Do With Me? It features a preview (title track) for the new full length, as well as some covers, a remix and some live video.

Go support this fundraiser, help the band out!

I recorded an early show (before their first album) from Paper Moon way back in 2001 (day before 9-11!) outdoors at the University of Winnipeg. I'm posting 2 sample songs and maybe I'll post the whole show if it's okay with the band.
Mercury Is Clearly Opposing Neptune
History Of Punctuation

Can't Be Twenty On Sugar Mountain

For the over-40 crowd like myself, this week saw the release of the highly anticipated release of Neil Young's, Sugar Mountain- Live At Canterbury House 1968. This recording is Young's first solo performance after the break-up of Buffalo Springfield and he performs a set of music that includes stripped down versions of Buffalo tunes and solo songs that he released on his first solo album days after this show. The sound quality is excellent especially for a recording in 1968, with little crowd noise and just Neil's voice and guitar. His easy-going youthful banter is interesting as he talks about music and his songs and offers a real connection with the audience. This intimate venue (campus coffeehouse ministry in Ann Arbor, MI) really has that "performing in your living room" feeling when you listen and many would consider this the ultimate Neil Young show. I can't believe this hasn't been available as a bootleg and we are surely privileged to finally hear this incredible concert. This is essential Neil Young!

The only disappointment with this CD/DVD package is that it includes the standard CD (playable on the computer and any CD player) plus a DVD which actually is the same audio show in a Hi-res format (playable in a DVD player?) with the only video an ad for the Archive series. I think many people we're expecting some old archival video footage, but I guess we'll have to wait for Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 Boxset.

The RIAA suggested I remove the links to the Neil Young sound samples I posted the other day....sorry for any inconvenience, buy the CD or PM me.

Stars- Sad Robots

I've never been a big fan of EP's, usually when an established band issues an EP it is for these reasons: a) It's a time filler, to give their fans something to buy to tide them over between their last and the next full-length release. b) Perhaps a tour outside of North America (Australia, Japan, Singapore...) and again some new product is always good to offer overseas. c) Not enough good ideas for a full length, maybe even throw in an updated old song performed live.

This may sound harsh, but I think it's true on all accounts as semi-fresh product is better than no product. Montreal's Stars released the excellent, In Our Bedroom After The War only a year and a half ago, but the band has toured the country back and forth already on that album and they have even been to Winnipeg twice in a six month period. EP's are good for young unestablished bands because they may not have enough material (or money) yet for a full length and it gives them something to sell at their shows in bars and clubs, but with a band like Stars that have released 2 other EP's earlier in their career (A Lot Of Little Lies..., The Comeback), it seems like a stop-gap of same old same old. The most interesting song is a live version of the song, Going, Going, Gone that last appeared on their 2001 EP, A Lot Of Little Lies For The Sake Of One Big Truth. When EP's were in the vinyl format, I always thought it was kind of a waste of money, you get the same packaging, but with way less songs, and for not much less money. It seemed almost like a bloated 12" single or nowadays, CD single, with a couple of b-sides thrown in. Regardless, the EP has 5 all-new songs (plus the live Going...) and it's worth a listen. If you want to buy the EP, it is available as a digital download at Sadrobots.ca or a physical disc at one of their upcoming shows or have a listen here first @ TDIT.

STARS- Sad Robots
1. Maintenance Hall, 4am
2. A Thread Cut With A Carving Knife
3. Undertow
4. Going, Going, Gone (live)
5. 14 Forever
6. Sad Robot