Today's Tune: Erin Passmore - "Downtown"

"Time to find a new interest in a town with nothing to do" sings Erin Passmore at the outset at the eponymous first single from her debut Downtown EP.  Recognizably about Passmore's hometown, Regina, this telling lyric is enough a justification of her continued pursuit of music as anything I've ever heard in a song. Besides, the song is as catchy as anything Passmore has released with her band, and must-see-live party-in-band-form Rah Rah. There's some more justification right there.

The Downtown EP comes out February 28 on Hidden Pony Records. You can stream the entire thing, with flavours of soul, doo-wop, bossa nova and folk at Erin Passmore's site, and you can download "Downtown" for free in exchange for an e-mail address (I suggest your own) below.

Today's Tune: Patrick Watson - "Into Giants"

When Patrick Watson sings the refrain "Started as lovers / Don't know where it's gonna end" on "Into Giants", off the upcoming album Adventures In Your Own Backyard (out on April 17th in Canada on Secret City Records, on Domino elsewhere), it feels painfully bittersweet. The plaintive repetition evokes the best kind of passionate relationship, whether it be a romantic one between two people or that between a musical artist and their most ardent fans. As can now be expected in Watson's songs, the unexpected rears it's head. In this, it's in the form of a fanfare-like trumpet that turns this adorable but otherwise ordinary pop gem into something altogether more anthemic and celebratory. Stream the song and download it for free at Patrick Watson's official site.

Green Eggs and Ham: Faster, Harder

This morning started, as perhaps all should, with a drum-and-bass flurry courtesy of Björk. From there, I plugged the upcoming house concert with The Low Anthem, explored how many downers I could play before feeling depressed, rocked some local colour with Powder Blue, danced, drank wine and rocked my body. Lots of stuff happened. Not all of it was memorable. Here's the playlist:

Björk - "Crystalline"
Doug Hoyer - "Oh, the Wind Will Blow"
Trailer Trash Tracys - "Dies In 55"
DJ Shadow - "Give Me Back The Nights" (economics version)
Rheostatics - "Who is that Man, and Why is he Laughing?"
The Low Anthem - "To Ohio"
Broken Records - "I Used To Dream"
Drawn Ship - "Silent Auction"
Nordic Nomadic - "Worldwide Skyline"
Powder Blue - "I Can Go On Forever"
Shigeto - "Huron River Drive"
Blondes - "Wine"
Shadow Dancer - "What Is Natural"
The Darcys - "Peg"
Steely Dan - "Peg"
Twin Sister - "Kimmi In A Rice Field"
Weed - "With Drug"
The Deele - "Body Talk"   *this week's Slice Of Cheese
Royal Baths - "Faster, Harder"
Shimmering Stars - "When I See You Again"
Paper Beat Scissors - "Rest Your Bones"
Patrick Watson - "Into Giants"

Today's Tune: Paper Beat Scissors - "Rest Your Bones"

I have a man-crush on Tim Crabtree. Originally from England, the one-man heartmelter known as Paper Beat Scissors now calls Halifax home. I'm happy, because we Canucks can now pretend to claim him as one of our own (we like to do that here). He's a legal citizen. It's cool.

It's been a couple of years since the Paper Beat Scissors Flicker EP came out, and Crabtree - road warrior that he is - has been touring Canada relentlessly behind it ever since. It must have caught the attention of Michael Feuerstack (Snailhouse, Bell Orchestre) because his label, Forward Music,  is releasing the debut self-titled album (which he co-produced) "around 01 March" on CD and limited edition LP.

Take a listen to the album version of "Rest Your Bones", a favourite of mine. Live, PBS loops himself to create the glorious vocal harmonies. One can be a bit more expansive with recordings, and the song has been augmented with restrained horns and ethereal (I might even go as far as to say "Bon Iver-esque") backing vocals. Also below, the Here On Out video for "Rest Your Bones", made by Phil Creamer last year.

 

On the DL: The Darcys - AJA

If you're a critically acclaimed prog-folk band from Toronto, how do you follow up your excellent debut album (on Arts & Crafts, no less) that - in addition to selling physically - you gave away for free digitally?

Apparently, you strap on the guitars and record every song from the 1977 Steely Dan album AJA and give it away for free digitally. Bad business plan? Maybe not. As it says on The Darcys' website after the AJA download link is clicked,  "It is very important to us that this album is accessible and can be enjoyed easily. We are eager to have the world hear what we have spent a great deal of time creating. We would rather have you as a fan tomorrow than have a little of your money today." Absolutely amazing.

It's a fascinating tribute. Upon first listen,  AJA proves itself a worthy adaptation of a seminal work. It'll end up being a collector's item, too, as this second of 3 planned albums from The Darcys is also out today on limited edition coloured vinyl. Get downloading.

The Darcys - AJA by Arts & Crafts

Green Eggs and Ham: Edge of Darkness

Everything old is new again. This week featured new tunes from the likes of Bear In Heaven, Teledrome and Rae Spoon mixed in with oldies/goodies from The Diodes, Eno & Cale and Cracker. That's right, no theme. But sometimes you've just gotta play 2 hours of solid music and hope for the best. Here's the playlist:


Eno & Cale - "Spinning Away"
Ferriswheel - "Feed Your Lion"
Young & Sexy - "The Fog"
jj - "Ice"
Miracle Fortress - "Tropic of Canada"
The Diodes - "Edge of Darkness"
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - "Bottled Up In Cork"
The Deadly Snakes - "High Prices Going Down"
Each Other - "Odd Body of Water"
Black Dice - "Pigs"
D-Sisive - "The Unkown" (ft. Birdapres & Cadence Weapon)
Himanshu - "Computers"
Miike Snow - "Devil's Work"
Manitoulin - "The Grotto"
Rihanna - "We Found Love" (Star Slinger refix)
Bear In Heaven - "The Reflection of You"
Sans AIDS - "These Eyes"
Teledrome - "Dial Tone"
Laura Branigan - "Self Control"   *this week's Slice Of Cheese
Austra - "Lose It" (Paper Bag Sessions)
Eight And A Half - "Scissors"
Rae Spoon - "I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets"
Cracker - "Sweet Potato"
Yuck - "Stutter"
EMA - "Milkman"

Video Diary: Sled Island 2011 Part 1

It's bone-chillingly cold in Saskatoon right now, so in an effort to warm you and keep your circulation going I've decided to share footage from Sled Island 2011 with you. Funny thing about going to a crazy jam-packed festival and bringing a video camera: a person might get a little carried away with the beers, might get a bit too endorphin-ey. So it looks like I suffered from an inability to hold the camera still, opting instead to rapidly zoom every 10 seconds. It's like watching a Shaw Brothers movie without any of the awesome fight scenes. You can also check out my Sled aftermath essay from back in the summer here. Huge thanks to CFCR for making this possible in the first place. Check back for future instalments.