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Post by Dr. Drum on Jul 1, 2007 6:52:44 GMT -5
Don't know what made me so absent-minded that I forgot Tegan and Sara, considering that I'm still playing it six or eight times a week, but luckily with the low volume of traffic on this board, there's no problem fixing it up.
Happy Canada Day guys. Mid-term Cancon report – all the stuff I'd rather hear from my front yard later on today than Nickelback (local Canada Day concert headliners). Great year so far and with new Stars and Weakerthans discs on the way, it can only get better...
Ordinarily I don't count live albums on these things but that Neil Young is killer and just had to be recognized....
Still itching to get my hands on United Steelworkers of Montreal, tunes. Listened to a bunch of samples and they're definitely up my alley....
Finally, new New Pornos is top shelf (Bejar's "Myriad Harbour", for example, is one of my favourite tunes of the year) but I'm trying not to listen to it too much until I have a proper copy. It'll definitely move up.
1. Rush – Snakes and Arrows
2. Apostle of Hustle – National Anthem of Nowhere
3. Tegan and Sara – The Con
4. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
5. A Northern Chorus – The Millions Too Many
6. Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall
7. Feist – The Reminder
8. Miracle Fortress – Five Roses
9. Do Make Say Think – You, You're a History in Rust
10. Montag – Going Places
11. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
12. Young Galaxy
13. Holly Cole - s/t
14. The Blankket – Be Your Own Boss
15. Great Lake Swimmers – Ongiara
High fives:
New Pornographers – Challengers
Stars – Do You Trust Your Friends?
The Secret Sessions Rheostatics Tribute
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Ashtray Rock
The Superfantastics – Pop-Up Book
The Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse
Jason Collett – Prodigals
Julie Doiron – Woke Myself Up
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Post by tuneschick on Jul 8, 2007 14:47:27 GMT -5
Hey Dr Drum, happy (much belated) Canada Day... for the first time since I was about 12, I was out of the country for the occasion, which means I was able to miss out on the typically awful Canada Day concerts and 'classic Canadian rock' weekends on any given radio station.  Nice list, even though there are still quite a few things on there I have yet to hear, including the Holly Cole, which is surprising for me considering I'm usually right on top of her stuff. Haven't actually heard the Great Lake Swimmers or Arcade Fire in their entirety either. I did finally get a listen of that live Neil Young disc on the plane - stellar. Definitely have to pick that up when budget allows. On the other end of the spectrum, I finally heard that Chromeo too and just absolutely despised it. As for USoM, I hope you get a chance to pick up some of their stuff soon. I'm glad you're liking what you've heard, because of anyone around here I figured you'd be the most likely to dig 'em. Their other disc is also on my 'must buy' list. What is that new Jason Collett - something yet to be released, I assume? I've been listening to him pretty obsessively lately... just love him. Are you liking that Plaskett disc better now? There were a few songs on it I didn't like right off the bat, but that changed a lot after the Plaskett/Elkas show I saw in early May, where he made me see even those songs completely differently (i.e. I now actually quite like 'Snowed In', even though the lyrics are pretty terrible, mostly because of the chunky guitar sound that he really played up when he performed it live.) I haven't listened to that Julie Doiron nearly enough either... and I'm still hit and miss on Feist, but haven't been in the mood to give it another proper listen to make up my mind. |
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Post by Dr. Drum on Jul 9, 2007 7:51:31 GMT -5
Hey, tunes, hope you guys had a great trip. Good news to report on the UsoM front – I now have both their discs although thanks to a delightfully fucked up weekend (nothing too melodramatic – major league car trouble – but it meant that most of what we’d planned went out the window) I didn’t get to listen to either of them until I popped Kerosene and Coal in late last evening. Enjoyed it every bit as much as expected. Really looking forward to getting into both discs over the next little while.
That Jason Collett disc is an internet only outtakes release (available at zunior and on the Arts and Crafts site). Nothing life-changing or anything, but I’m glad they found a way to get it out there cause he does make a few nice moves on it.
I could see people going either way on Chromeo. I find about half of it utterly brilliant but they definitely do fall into a polished rote funk thing when they get lazy.
I don’t really mind "Snowed In" that much and there is some good stuff on Ashtray Rock (Nothing More to Say, Penny for Your Thoughts, Drunk Teenagers, etc.) but to me it’s still B/B-/C+ work overall. I can easily imagine the live setting enhancing this material but in terms of making records, you just know the guy is capable of more.
As for Live at Massey Hall, stellar indeed. I guess David Briggs, his long time producer, really pushed him to release it back when it was originally recorded but for whatever reason, he wouldn’t. Hard to imagine what he was thinking. I’m not someone who is usually that much on live albums but this one is definitely an "A".
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Post by phil on Aug 2, 2007 8:10:48 GMT -5
3 posts in the last month ... !
Looks like the ROC went AWOL ...
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Post by tuneschick on Aug 12, 2007 8:46:16 GMT -5
Yikes, I completely forgot to respond to this - sorry Dr D! Does the 'better late than never' rule apply here?  Haven't talked to you in awhile, hope your summer is going well. I was just bemoaning the fact that a year ago today I was in Halifax, having cinnamon rolls down at the market, going on a ridiculous shopping spree and checking out the King Konqueror show. I miss your city. Sorry to hear about the car troubles, BTW - I'm sure they're long taken care of now, but hope it wasn't tooooo much of a headache. I'm so glad you're enjoying the USoM stuff! Like I said, the instant I heard it I immediately knew I had to mention it to you. I still don't have Kerosene and Coal (still sticking to my strict budget, which is basically "don't spend a single unnecessary cent"), but hoping it might make its way into my birthday loot later this month. The other disc is still getting a regular workout from me - I've become especially addicted to 'Trigger', which I play at least a couple of times a day, even if I don't listen to the whole disc. Thanks for the info on the Jason Collett - I'll have to check out the A&C site and see if it's still available (not sure if maybe it was a limited time only or something.) Been listening to him lots and lots. It's weird on the Plaskett disc - logically I agree with you that he's capable of so much more (some of those lyrics are cringeworthy, and made me skip several songs when I first got the disc), but it's still one of my most-played discs of the year. Like you said, the live setting really enhanced these songs for me (namely the ones I barely, if ever, listened to at first), but songs like Drunk Teenagers, Penny for Your Thoughts, Fashionable People and Nothing More to Say stand well enough on their own, even without hearing them live. Which I would really love to do again soon, incidentally. In other news, I'm going to see Sloan in two weeks! Realized that they're playing up in Sudbury the same day that Steve and I are heading to his parents' place about an hour south of there for the weekend. Sooo.... we're going to take the day and go up for the show and head to his parents' place the next day. Soooo excited, since I haven't seen them since '98 (when I was just 21 and still in college, yikes!) Funniest part, though, is that they're playing this small summer festival up there - and the other headliners are Trooper, David Wilcox and Helix! Ah, Canadian music at its finest. I'm sure the mullets will abound. I love my hometown.  OK, that was absurdly long - that's what happens when I don't respond for ages, I just have that much more to say! |
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Post by samplestiltskin on Aug 12, 2007 11:41:10 GMT -5
yay! i have no idea how this one jason collett song, hangover days, got on my computer (roommates...) but i love it and would like to get an album. it makes me want to get naked and dance around in sunshine and grass like i'm four. have fun seeing sloan. all my sloan albums are so beat up and old they're in bad shape, i am sad and too poor to actually buy them.  |
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Post by tuneschick on Aug 12, 2007 12:20:43 GMT -5
Samps samps samps! How have you been? I just realized last week or so (again) that I never sent you that duet compilation... mostly because I realized that I wasn't a fan of a lot of the duet stuff I actually have, so I kept putting it off instead of putting together a sub-par mix. And damnit, Hangover Days was one of my favourites that I actually had for it! So I'm happy to still do it if you still want it, but do you want some Canadian stuff too? Like some more Jason Collett and Sloan you don't have and other favourites of mine? I'm thinking it'll probably take me til September (and I'd wait and send 'em to your new place anyway - congrats on the upcoming move!) but let me know and I'll try and get my shit together a little better than I did before. There's a reason I didn't take part in those mix exchanges for the most part... sorry.  |
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Post by samplestiltskin on Aug 12, 2007 12:35:15 GMT -5
haha, don't worry, didn't get ded's duet mix out the door until last month and it wasn't that great either as far as i recall. (when i can't make it good, i make it super cheesy to make up for it.) if you still want to send me something i'd love it, but let's just bend the rules a little and you can send me whatever you feel like. jason collett would be great! let me see what i have for sloan. shit disappears when you're not watching, it's frightening. i swear i had Smeared but i can't find it anywhere. where does it all go.  sloan i still have: Pretty Together Twice Removed Between The Bridges 4 Nights at the Palais Royale Navy Blues sad, i used to have way more seems like. haven't heard the new one. never even heard of Action Pact, how is that? oh boy oh boy! yeah though, no hurry at all, i can definitely wait a few months to get settled into the new place (and no doubt lose a lot more stuff). i'll be so close to the canada board i can taste it. what a tease.. |
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Post by tuneschick on Aug 13, 2007 7:57:10 GMT -5
Bending the rules works for me. I'll see if I can't still put together a decent duet mix, but I'll worry more about putting together some other stuff for you. Let me know if there's anything else besides the Sloan and Collett that you're looking for in particular - otherwise, I'll just pick whatever I want. So when do you actually move? I know I read it on on the threads but I can't remember for the life of me when it was.... Oh and honestly, I've barely listened to Action Pact. Sad but true. Didn't really grab me when I bought it, so I put it aside and haven't really gone back to it. I'll be doing that over the next couple of weeks though. |
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Post by samplestiltskin on Aug 13, 2007 12:55:24 GMT -5
cool... pick whatever you want! i love surprises. thank you. leaving at the end of the month to be there sept 1. |
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Post by Dr. Drum on Aug 14, 2007 12:55:45 GMT -5
Yikes, I completely forgot to respond to this - sorry Dr D! Does the 'better late than never' rule apply here? Haven't talked to you in awhile, hope your summer is going well. I was just bemoaning the fact that a year ago today I was in Halifax, having cinnamon rolls down at the market, going on a ridiculous shopping spree and checking out the King Konqueror show. I miss your city. Sorry to hear about the car troubles, BTW - I'm sure they're long taken care of now, but hope it wasn't tooooo much of a headache. I'm so glad you're enjoying the USoM stuff! Like I said, the instant I heard it I immediately knew I had to mention it to you. I still don't have Kerosene and Coal (still sticking to my strict budget, which is basically "don't spend a single unnecessary cent"), but hoping it might make its way into my birthday loot later this month. The other disc is still getting a regular workout from me - I've become especially addicted to 'Trigger', which I play at least a couple of times a day, even if I don't listen to the whole disc. Thanks for the info on the Jason Collett - I'll have to check out the A&C site and see if it's still available (not sure if maybe it was a limited time only or something.) Been listening to him lots and lots. It's weird on the Plaskett disc - logically I agree with you that he's capable of so much more (some of those lyrics are cringeworthy, and made me skip several songs when I first got the disc), but it's still one of my most-played discs of the year. Like you said, the live setting really enhanced these songs for me (namely the ones I barely, if ever, listened to at first), but songs like Drunk Teenagers, Penny for Your Thoughts, Fashionable People and Nothing More to Say stand well enough on their own, even without hearing them live. Which I would really love to do again soon, incidentally. In other news, I'm going to see Sloan in two weeks! Realized that they're playing up in Sudbury the same day that Steve and I are heading to his parents' place about an hour south of there for the weekend. Sooo.... we're going to take the day and go up for the show and head to his parents' place the next day. Soooo excited, since I haven't seen them since '98 (when I was just 21 and still in college, yikes!) Funniest part, though, is that they're playing this small summer festival up there - and the other headliners are Trooper, David Wilcox and Helix! Ah, Canadian music at its finest. I'm sure the mullets will abound. I love my hometown. OK, that was absurdly long - that's what happens when I don't respond for ages, I just have that much more to say! Tunes – been on vacation for the last couple weeks. Just got back from The Rock Monday night. Playing catch-up at work today, so no chance to pop in before (and not much time now, either). Had a great time, though we really didn’t do much more than 'see the folks' (each of our families, both ends of the island) and reconnect with friends you only see once every two or three years. Only real hitch was getting "to" and "from" the island. A bomb threat a day or so before we left Nova Scotia completely shredded the ferry "schedule" and the whole system was in chaos by the time we showed up. Arrived in Newfoundland at about 1:30 in the morning – every hotel room in Port-aux-Basques being occupied, of course – and ended up driving on through the Codroy Valley. Not something I’d generally recommend after dark (lots of narrow sections, hills and moose) though I seem to end up doing it often enough. Got to my parent’s place at about 3:20 AM. High winds in the Strait a few days before we left pulled the same trick for the return voyage and we didn’t do much better on the way home. Forgot to pack Kerosene and Coal but listened to the first USoM disc a lot on the road. Great songs for driving. BTW, no more car troubles – new car. Missed the chance to see Sloan here, while we were away, which kind of sucked. Hope you have (had?) fun! Halifax misses you, too, tunes. You guys have to come back soon. *** New Weakerthans - I'm sure Riley, at least, has heard it. What do you guys think?? |
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Post by tuneschick on Aug 16, 2007 10:17:30 GMT -5
Hey Dr Drum, welcome back! Sounds like the travel was an absolute nightmare (was the bomb scare on the actual ferry?), but I'm glad your time on The Rock was enjoyable. Still need to make my way there one of these days.
Oh, and good news re: the new car!
Speaking of USoM - I see they're confirmed for the Halifax Pop Explosion (playing the Friday night). Apparently their live show is a ton of fun, so I hope you get the chance to see 'em.
And I haven't heard the new Weakerthans, but fingers crossed that it lives up to what we expect from them...
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Post by Dr. Drum on Aug 19, 2007 8:54:48 GMT -5
Some yahoo made a bomb threat on one of the ferries. That was on Thursday and they still hadn't made up the lost time by Sunday, when we crossed. The next week there was a tropical storm on the Avalon and a windstorm in Cape Breton and the Gulf, which torpedoed it for us on the return trip. My brother and his wife were over last week and they still hadn't got it back on track.
The new Weakerthans is quality throughout, but for all that somehow manages to come off as a lesser record than either Left and Leaving or Reconstruction Site. I'd give it a B+.
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Post by Meursault on Aug 20, 2007 8:28:56 GMT -5
Hey Cancon,
Just wanted to say hi. I"m living in Dartmouth now. Leo and Paul, we should meet up sometime, it's been far to long.
Hope all is well with everyone.
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Post by phil on Aug 20, 2007 9:09:04 GMT -5
 Neither does Leo or Paul ... |
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Haven't talked to you in awhile, hope your summer is going well. I was just bemoaning the fact that a year ago today I was in Halifax, having cinnamon rolls down at the market, going on a ridiculous shopping spree and checking out the King Konqueror show. I miss your city.
