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Archive for the ‘Canadian Music’ Category

Rivka Galchen–“Real Estate” (The Walrus, July/August 2009) [Summer Fiction Issue, Genre: Haunting]

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Gordon Lightfoot, Moxy Fruvous, Political Humor, Rivka Galchen, Short Story, Supernatural, The Walrus on June 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrusjuly SOUNDTRACK: MOXY FRÜVOUS–The “b” album (1996).

bAfter the somberness of Wood, Moxy Früvous no doubt had to get some nonsense out of their system.  And this collection of “b” sides is full of nonsense.  It is funny and silly and smart and sassy and I think it winds up being many people’s favorite discs, despite being only about 20 minutes long.

It’s a bit silly and possibly dated (allmusic chides the Rush Limbaugh song (“The Greatest Man in America”) for being dated, although scarily here we are 12 years later and he’s back.  And the song is still spot on.

So we have ten songs, and they’re all great.  “I Love My Boss” is an a capella ditty about well, loving your boss.  I mentioned “Johnny Saucep’n” as the reason I got into MF in the first place. Man what a great song, a near-acapella beauty with an unreasonable list of foodstuffs (try this as fast as you can:

Basil endive parmesan shrimp live
Lobster hamster worchester muenster
Caviar radiccio snow pea scampi
Roquefort meat squirt blue beef red alert
Pork hocs side flank cantaloupe/sheep shanks Provolone flatbread goat’s head soup
Gruyere cheese angelhair please
And a vichyssoise and a cabbage and a crawfish claw.

How anyone can keep it straight, sing it fast and make it sound so good is beyond me. “Ash Hash” is a humorous look at smoking a bit too much hash. “Gord’s Gold” was the one song I didn’t like on this disc, until I got the Gordon Lightfoot album and realized that this is a kind of twisted tribute to GL.

“Big Fish ” is a fantastic song (and more or less the only “real” song on the disc, although the childlike voices singing the chorus are a bit silly); a pointed song about growing up conservative. “Jenny Washington” is a silly song about outrageous talk shows. “The Kids Song” has a lot of fun with rhymes and the idea that kids can help with our problems (since they are the future):

Is there something you like? (squirt-gunning my dog!)
Is there something you hate? (when my turtle ate my gerbil)
Is it fun to take a bath (no…sometimes…yes)
Should Quebec separate?

This is Moxy’s silliest side. Not for all, but certainly for me.

[READ: June 24, 2009] “Real Estate”

The third story in The Walrus’ Summer Fiction Issue is listed as the haunting genre (as opposed to a horror story) and that makes a lot of sense.  The story is not scary; it is about a woman who lives with ghosts.

She moves into an apartment that is owned by a relative but is going to be sold.  It is largely empty and she is staying there to keep an eye on it and show it when it needs showing.

She soon realizes that there is someone else in the building.  She hears him walking around but never sees him.  She also has the bizarre sensation of thinking she has food in the fridge but when she looks it is invariably something else.  This seems to happen most often with string cheese. (more…)

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Lee Henderson–“The Nerve” (The Walrus, July/August 2009) [Summer Fiction Issue, Genre: Romance]

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Lee Henderson, Moxy Fruvous, Political Humor, Religion, Romance, Short Story, The Beatles on June 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrusjuly SOUNDTRACK: MOXY FRÜVOUS-Wood (1995).

wood

Moxy Früvous is a band that can totally be judged by their covers.  Their first album had a cartoon animal dog thingy, and the disc was whimsical and fun.  Wood, their second disc shows the quartet in an autumnal scene covered in sweaters.  And the content is autumnal and snug.  There’s very little whimsy on the disc. It’s as if they fully matured in two short years.

I would say that this is my least favorite of the MF discs.  However, it also contains my all-time favorite MF song: “Fly” so I can’t dismiss it entirely.

In fact, the first 5 or so songs are all really enjoyable.  I find myself singing “horseshoes have got to be tossed” (from “Horsehoes”) all the time for some reason.  And then we get “Fly.”  It starts out simply enough with an acoustic guitar, but as it builds and the harmonies come in, “we’ll take a last flight you and I….Hold on tight” it’s amazing every time.

“Present Tense Tureen” is similar to the Bargainville style of wit, although it is banjo infused folk rather than pop.  And “Poor Mary Lane” has a Beatlesque stomp going on.

From there the album sort of drifts into pretty, fairly undistinguished folk songs. “Nuits in Rêve” is a 6 minute folk ballad in French.  It’s very pretty, although I don’t know what it’s about.  Finally, the last song “Sad Today” wakes the disc up somewhat, as it feels likes something of a drunken shanty.  There’s also a bonus track called “Organ Grinder” (I suppose) that is the funnest, craziest thing on the disc and feels like pure insanity compared to the rest.  It’s a big shit-stompin’ song.

So as I say, the disc is quite different from the first.  It even feels a little claustrophobic in the production which is something I don’t really notice.  I’m not sure why the band left out their fun songs, maybe so they wouldn’t be pegged a novelty act, but they are sorely missed.

(It’s also likely why they release b shortly afterward).

[READ: June 24, 2009] “The Nerve”

This is the second short story in The Walrus‘  Short Story issue.  This one is labeled as Romance genre, and yet it also transcends the genre and is more  about a man falling in love than any of the other romance tropes. (more…)

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Stephen Marche–“The Crow Procedure” (The Walrus, July/August 2009) [Summer Fiction Issue, Genre: Science Fiction]

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Funny (ha ha), Kids Corner, Moxy Fruvous, Stephen Marche, The Walrus, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on June 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

walrusjulySOUNDTRACK: MOXY FRÜVOUS-Bargainville (1993).

moxyI first heard Moxy Früvous on an NPR weekend morning show. They performed “Johnny Saucep’n” (a tongue twisting a capella marvel) live and it blew my mind.  And, lest I forget, these 4 guys do AMAZING a capella. Amazing. Their harmonies are simply magnificent. I immediately went out and got whatever their latest album was (Live Noise, I expect). And I worked my way back from there.

Bargainville is the band’s first disc. It is youthful and silly and is a good mix of their folky sound and their silly songs. Comparisons to Barenaked Ladies abound as they are both Canadian and “funny”. The Früvous funny is more witty than silly, although silliness definitively crops up.

I think of Früvous as one of my favorite bands because, without question, they have written some of my favorite songs. And yet, not every song is a favorite.  But even the ones that don’t blow you away are solid and good.

I don’t have anything bad to say about this disc. In fact, it’s a great disc to put on with friends, and pick out the occasional great couplet. But I’m not certain that the disc will blow you away.

There are some outstanding tracks on here. “River Valley” is a beautiful acoustic track about saving the river alley and its drinking water. “Stuck in the 90s” is catchy as all get out” “Fell in Love” is a great song full of sweeping vocal moments. “The Lazy Boy” is another one of those great a capella moments that amazes. Its also a very silly song with references to Charlie’s Angels (the blonde one, the third one).  In fact this whole section of the disc is fantastic. “My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors” is an amazing track about, well, books and authors. What’s not to like. See how many authors you recognize! It’s also amazing how catchy one can be with literary rhymes (Who’s pounding the ouzo? Mario Puzo).

“The Drinking Song” is one of their more serious songs and it is terrific. Substance, sadness, superb  And, amazingly moving. “King of Spain” is silliness beyond belief. And yet, seeing this song live is a treat and a half. Plus how many songs get to rhyme “zamboni?” The disc ends with “Gulf War Song” an a capella song that is quite serious and very passionate.  A fantastic ending to this disc.

Future discs would be a bit more serious, but this is a great start.

Oh and if anyone has a copy of the Indie Tape they’d like to copy for me, I’d love to get “Green Eggs N’ Ham,” which I hear on the radio from time to time but have never seen anywhere.  Thanks Kids Corner for playing this track on WXPN in Philadelphia!

[READ: June 23, 2009] “The Crow Procedure”

This issue of The Walrus is the Summer Fiction Issue.  It seems to be dedicated to “genres” specifically.  Each story is devoted to a genre (and there’s even a genre fiction contest this issue).  This first one is science fiction.

The twist seems to be that although the stories are in genres, they move beyond what we normally consider genre fiction. (more…)

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Periodical: Rolling Stone

Posted in Books about music, Canadian Music, Comedians, Concept Albums, Consumerism, Essays, Film & TV, Music, Political Humor, Religion, Rolling Stone, Technology, War, WMDs on June 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

rsI began my Rolling Stone subscription a few years ago when I bought something at Best Buy. The subscription was a bonus gift of some sort. The choices were pretty lousy and I didn’t even want Rolling Stone, but I figured what the heck.
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the magazine.

I suppose no one has to be told what Rolling Stone is like. Or so I thought, because here was me, being surprised by this most mainstream of magazines.  I mean, I’ve seen the covers for years, and I knew they liked sex, drugs and rock and roll, but there’s more under the covers.

I have quickly learned my favorite sections and the ones I don’t even bother looking at.

Skim the letters. Maybe there’s a worthwhile addition.

The first main section is the “news” of the last two weeks…usually a concert or a new album or some such. This one happens to focus on American Idol, so, I skipped right past that nonsense.

The Hot List is 5 things that impress them since last issue. I usually like 1 of the 5.

I never read the Smoking Section, but Breaking is usually about an indie band that I heard about a few months earlier.  RS finally catches up and I can read a bit more about them. The In the Studio section is worth browsing to see who’s due for a new disc.

The Random Notes I feel is meant to be a big deal, with “insider” photos and blah blah. I skim it but little more than that.

And then the issue proper starts. (more…)

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2009 Edmonton Folk Festival Lineup!

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Edmonton Folk Festival on June 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

efolkThe 30th Edmonton Folk Festival!
Dates for 2009: Aug 6-9
Note: Festival 4-day passes sold out June 4!

The Edmonton Folk Festival’s final (more or less) lineup has been announced.

epl

But before I get to that I have to give major kudos to the Festival’s own website for cleverly and sagely linking to the Edmonton Library’s catalog so you can check out all of the performers’ CDs.  Bravo!  And I’ll link to it too:

Festival Performers in our [Edmonton Public Library] CD Collection (Blues, Folk, Jazz)

And look!  An extra concert has been added on
Wednesday August 5 (not part of 4-day pass)
Forever Folk Fest Concert – Special Fundraiser for the Festival Endowment Fund
Featuring Sarah McLachlan and special guest Meaghan Smith and a mystery guest to be announced.

Program: 7:30 – 11:00PM
Tickets $70 adult, $35 youth. If available August 1, these tickets will be $90 adult and $45 youth.
Full ticket info here

As for the Festival itself:

The main stage schedule is available but the other stages are not finalized.   some of the now-confirmed main stage artists are pretty impressive.  Each of these links goes directly to the Folk Festival’s write up of the band.

Arrested Development
Neko Case
Chumbawamba Acoustic
Steve Earle
Kathleen Edwards
Patty Griffin
Hot Tuna
Iron & Wine
Ashley MacIsaac
Oysterband
Spirit of the West
The Wailers
Loudon Wainwright III


Here’s the main stage lineup: (more…)

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Sherwood Anderson–“The Egg” [from The Triumph of the Egg] (1920)

Posted in Canadian Music, Constantines, Marriage Trouble, Oddities, Sherwood Anderson, Short Story on June 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

eggSOUNDTRACK: CONSTANTINES-Kensington Heights (2008).

kensingtonThe Constantines hail from Guelph, Ontario.  And I’m mostly pointing that out because I wanted to write the word Guelph.  While I know there are funny sounding or fun to say towns in America, I’m quite fond of many of the Canadian ones: Guelph, Moose Jaw, Regina.

Anyhow, the Constantines play a kind of classic rock with a punk edge that puts them just outside of the mainstream. Their first three albums are fast and loud and quite sparse.  And the first track off this album, “Hard Feelings” sounds a lot like those first three discs.  But the Constantines have expanded their sound somewhat on this album.  They’ve added keyboards, and where they used to have stark guitars and bass, they have filled in the sound more.  They basically sound a bit more mainstream in places.  In fact, their mellower pieces seem almost commercially viable.  And the second half of the disc has a number of mellower tracks.

These mellow tracks remind me a lot of the Replacements’ mid-period songs.  Not their ballads, but not their heavier speedy songs either.  Their singer, Bryan Webb, sounds a lot like Paul Westerberg in fact (although not the later balladeer Westerberg).

I don’t know if this was an intentional attempt at commercial success, or if the band is just maturing somewhat.  The record is still better than a lot of hard rock stuff out there–somehow Canadian indie bands keep it real even when they’re close to hitting it big–but if you want to experience full Constantines, go for their earlier discs.

[READ: June 2, 2009] “The Egg”

I read Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (or most of it, anyhow) a few years ago for a creative writing class.  Anderson’s stories are “small” in that nothing overly dramatic happens; there is no sensationalism.  They cover ordinary people in small town America.  This is not to say that they are dull, because his writing is wonderful and he immediately sucks you int the characters’ lives.  But you’re more liked to be moved, rather than blown away by his stories.

I only read this story because in McSweeney’s #4 Rick Moody does a “cover” of it and I wanted to see how close Moody’s story was to the original.  Interestingly enough, the stories are almost identical. Moody turns the eggs from chicken into ostrich, but the major plot points remain the same.  It’s as if Moody was making a movie version of it: every thing’s bigger, better, louder, funnier. (more…)

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That’s Edmonton For You! A free concert featuring leading members of edmonton’s indie rock scene

Posted in Canadian Music, Edmonton Folk Festival on May 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been getting a lot of hits from people looking for the Edmonton Folk Festival.  Well, on a moderately unrelated note, I’m passing along this information about an indie rock show in Edmonton.   It’s Saturday June 14th at Louise McKinney Riverfront Park.

This is the press release summary:

This free concert is conceived, produced and directed by Trevor Anderson from the Wet Secrets and includes members of Shout Out Out Out Out, Cadence Weapon, Faunts, Whitsundays, Whitey Houston and many other local acts to celebrate sustainable communities and Edmonton’s music scene.

For More info click:www.thatsedmontonforyou.com

And below the break is the entire press release. (more…)

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A.M. Homes–This Book Will Save Your Life (2006)

Posted in A.M. Homes, Books about writers, Canadian Music, Constellation Records, Consumerism, Donuts, Drinking, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Lullabye Arkestra, Marriage Trouble, Neurotics, Sun Ra, The White Stripes, Unreliable narrator on April 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

homesSOUNDTRACK: LULLABYE ARKESTRA-Ampgrave [CST044] (2006).

ampgraveI’m not sure what’s up with the spelling of Arkestra (Sun Ra tribute, perhaps?), but “Lullabye” is certainly a misnomer.  “Ampgrave” on the other hand is a pretty good summary of the music on this record.

The band is basically a drum and bass duo.  And yet, they are so much more.  The bass runs the show, with the bass lines being loud and furious.  There are also several guests who provide horns, organ, violin and my favorite addition: “screaming.”  This complete package makes for a loud, bruising, soulful unholy mess.  And it’s really fun.

The disc won’t appeal to everyone. The opening track “Unite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” is where the “screaming” really comes to the fore, and will certainly scare off the weak-hearted.  Which is a shame, as track 2 mellows out with some good soulful tunes (albeit utterly distorted, let’s not forget). There’s some other weird and wonderful tracks.  “Y’Make Me Shake” is a great rocking track with excellent horns to provide nice moments of melody.

The disc ends with a great one-two punch of “Bulldozer of Love” and the wonderfully titled “Ass Worship” two noisy, chaotic tracks that find a killer melody under all that distortion.

I hate to use the White Stripes as a frame of reference because it’s kind of lazy, but they are a two-piece playing soulful, distorted rock.  But the White Stripes are practically bubblegum pop when it compares to the racket these guys make.  It’s a lot of fun, if you like your fun noisy.

[READ: March 31, 2009] This Book Will Save Your Life

While it didn’t save my life, I enjoyed this book very very much.

This book follows the life of Richard Novak.  As the book starts, Richard seems like a type A workaholic who is too consumed with his work and routine to really enjoy anything.  When he gets an inexplicable yet frightening pain, he calls 911 and is taken to the hospital.   And this rather mundane opening leads to a hugely complicated back-story and a hugely complicated fore-story (?) in which all aspects of Richard’s life meet in a house in Malibu.

For, you see, Richard was something of an asshole.  Richard’s ex-wife, is another Type A personality who is as absorbed in her work as he is in his.  When he is offered a job in California, requiring him to leave New York, his wife said, go if you want to.  And he did, leaving his wife and his son Ben (seven at the time) with minimal contact and, eventually, little participation in his son’s life. (more…)

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José Da Fonesca & Pedro Carolino–English as She is Spoke: The New Guide of the Conversation, in Portuguese and English, in Two Parts (1855) [THE COLLINS LIBRARY No. 1 (2002)]

Posted in 19th Century, Canadian Music, Dip-in Books, Foreign Books, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Islands, Jewel, José Da Fonesca, McSweeney's, Paul Collins, Pedro Carolino, The Collins Library, The Unicorns, The Who on March 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

spokespokehcSOUNDTRACK: ISLANDS-Arm’s Way (2008).

islandsI enjoyed Islands’ first album (and, in a weirder way, their earlier band The Unicorns).  This album seems to have made a lot of 2008 Top Ten or at least Top Fifty lists. What’s so strange about the whole affair is that I absolutely love the first 8 songs on this disc, and based on those alone, I would put it on my top ten as well.

But after that….

Well, let’s put it this way, the eighth song “In the Rushes” is a wonderfully weird 7 minute song that ends with a direct quote/pseudo-parody of the Who’s “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”  The “tribute” comes in all of a sudden after five or so minutes, and ends with the lyrical change from The Who’s “You Are Forgiven” to their own “You Are Forgotten.”  But musically it’s spot on.  And I’ll tell you, that just feels like the end to me.  “A Quick One” ends The Who Sell Out, and so it should end this too.

And those last four songs, which actually totally about half an hour (!), I just can’t really enjoy for some reason.  Perhaps if they left them as a separate EP…?

But back to the rest of the disc.  The opening salvo of songs is just so fantastic. “The Arm” is catchy and weird with cool breaks and a bitchin’ chorus.  “Pieces of You,” not anything to do with Jewel, is another great catchy song.  The next three tracks are great little rockers with some thrashy parts and more off-kilter aspects.  “Kids Don’t Know Shit” starts mellow but has a cool string-filled chorus.  And then of course, you get to “In the Rushes.”  So these 8 tracks come in at 37 minutes, and I swear I’m just done with the disc.

Those next four songs are good (In fact, listening to samples of them right now, I do like the songs, and “To a Bond” is an especially good song, too). I guess I just feel like the album is done by then.  And when you think an album is done and there’s still 30 minutes to go, well, it’s just daunting.  Too bad, really, because it is a good disc.

[READ: March 17, 2009] English as She is Spoke

I bought the hardcover edition of this book many many years ago as soon as I heard of it…anything with a rave by Mark Twain must be worthwhile, right?  When I was looking for it again recently I couldn’t find it anywhere.  So, I saw that McSweeney’s were having another sale and I picked up the paperback edition.  The text is exactly the same; however, the introduction is slightly different and for that reason alone I’m glad I have the new copy too (I did find the hardcover a few days after I received the paperback, of course).

The paperback edition contains an update to the introduction.  The hardcover was rather popular and one of its readers–a UCLA linguist–wanted to absolve Fonesca of some of the blame for the book.  It appears that Fonesca had written a very good phrase book which Carolino basically used for his own purposes in creating this hilarious enterprise.  Rather than just plagiarizing Fonesca, Carolino gave him full credit, thereby giving him a lifetime of undeserved infamy.  So, thanks Paul Collins for setting the record straight.

As  to the book itself…. (more…)

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Edmonton Folk Festival 2009 (Part II)

Posted in Aimee Mann, Broken Social Scene, Canadian Music, Cat Power, Dar Williams, Dervish, Edmonton Folk Festival, Funky Web Sites, Jian Ghomeshi, Joan Osborne, Martha Wainwright, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Ron Sexsmith, The Sadies on March 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I don’t have any news to add about the Festival yet; however, I just learned that I could add a map to my blog post, so, here’s a map to the Festival.

I was also looking at the lineup for last year’s Festival, and although there’s only a few artists signed up for this year so far, last year’s lineup is pretty impressive.   There were 70 artists altogether, including (band links are to the Festival’s site):

Broken Social Scene
Cat Power
Dervish
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Jian Ghomeshi
Aimee Mann
Joan Osborne
The Sadies
Ron Sexsmith
Martha Wainwright
Dar Williams

Pretty cool.  These are some of my favorite artists.

And here’s the cool interactive map!

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