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Archive for January, 2014

I heard it on the radio

Posted in music, radio, tagged , , , , , on January 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

dirty narwhal
I heard it on the radio…a few sounds from the Zone @ 91-3 today.

Vancouver’s Head of the Herd came to Victoria today for a sold-out show at Lucky Bar.  I am home with a new baby so I am off the warpath for awhile…but luckily Head of the Herd came to me and performed their song “By This Time Tomorrow” on the show.

Mike Devlin over at the Times Colonist had a great interview with the band. Have a read.

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Friday Night is a busy one in Victoria.  Local beauty Vince Vaccaro also had a show.  VV’s new record is called Koa and is a collection of ukulele songs. 

Vince performed the song “Here in My Place” (and I really ought to post that live cut… but while sound checking I asked him to riff a bear story into a song.

What?  Mike Devlin ALSO interviewed VV.  Have a read right here.

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Finally….listening to Dylan and Jason on The Morning Zone, they were talking about Steve Martin coming to Victoria and performing at The Royal Theatre, May 12th. 

Jason is obsessed with the man. But how obsessed?  Dylan goes back to 2009…

Go with yourself.

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I’m a sucker for this… You Blew It!

Posted in music, tagged , on January 16, 2014| 1 Comment »

you blew it
My minor obsession today…. Orlando’s You Blew It!  The band is heavily hyped as modern emo revival.  That all sounds peachy to me.

Pitchfork gave their new record, Keep Doing What You’re Doing a glowing review.   Pitchfork’s Steven Hyden loved the first cut, “Match & Tinder.”

Now, I’ve played “Match & Tinder” many, many times, because it has an addictively chunky riff and pleasurably hyperactive drumming and therefore is an excellent example of sensitive-dude melodic punk rock. But I never notice the aforementioned vocab casseroles when I’m listening. Because “Match & Tinder” (and the entirety of Keep Doing What You’re Doing) really boils down to the last line, which is kind of brilliant: “I’m having trouble trying to find the right way to say I feel less than confident.”

Cool.

Here is another song, “Award of the Year Award.”

Reminds me of every band I listened to in 2002.

I had to buy the LP from Top Shelf Records… I just wish I was hipper than I am… the “coke bottle clear” is all sold out.  Had to settle for translucent yellow.

Go with yourself.

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Spinning 45s :: “Crimson and Clover”

Posted in music, tagged on January 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

crimson
Since the birth of our second child… Coral and I have been in the house a lot more (for her, its even more dramatic…I go to work).

All this home time has increased the amount I watch TV but also the amount of music I’ve been listening to.  It’s been great dusting off some old records and exploring new ones.  January is also the #januaryrecordaday thing on Instagram which has given me one more excuse to engage with my music.

Last night, the goal was to post a picture of a record you have purchased form a used bin.  I chose Tommy James and The Shondells‘ 1968 hit, “Crimson and Clover.”

I love this song times infinity.

I found myself sitting on the couch spacing out and drifting off to this song.  Now it was on 45… so it would always end… that would force me to stir, get off the couch and drop the needle on the start, one more time.

Go with yourself.

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Return of the Wednesday Cover Song Freakout! A couple from Hannah Georgas

Posted in music, tagged , , on January 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

bye bye love
The always perfect Hannah Georgas shares her cover of The Everly Brother’s 1957 hit “Bye Bye Love.”

Phil Everly was Don Everly’s younger brother and one-half of The Everly Brothers.  He passed away last week.  Hannah was inspired by The Everly Brothers and recorded a cover song as a tribute.  She posted this statement on her Facebook:

“Very sad news to receive – the passing of Phil Everly over the weekend. The Everly Brothers inspired me in many ways. From their gorgeous harmonies to the sadness and sweetness of their lyrics. This past summer I recorded a cover of a song they made famous, ‘Bye Bye Love’. I love the juxtaposition of the lyrics vs sonic elements of this track. On first listen you feel the poppy and happy energy they bring to the song. As you dig deeper and listen to the lyrics, it’s then you realize how heartbreaking it actually is. I wanted to share my version of ‘Bye Bye Love’ in honour of Phil Everly’s passing. Sending my love to all those close to Phil Everly.”

And here is an older cover… from her iTunes Session ep… Rihanna’s “Stay.”

Go with yourself.

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[local] Tower of Dudes

Posted in Capital Rock City, music, tagged on January 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

tower of dudes
Victoria’s Tower of Dudes are a Gypsy punk band.   Principles (and married couple) Johnny and Tarah started performing together when living in the Czech Republic.  They brought themselves back to Victoria and rounded out the lineup.  Now they have a full length LP coming out on March 1st called Make Your Own Culture.  Let’s put up the title track.

See The Tower of Dudes rock that washboard at Lucky Bar, Friday March 14th.

Go with yourself.

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Have you heard Foster The People – Coming of Age?

Posted in music, tagged on January 14, 2014| 1 Comment »

Foster
Let us take the new Foster The People song “Coming of Age” for a spin.

The record, Supermodel, comes out on March 18th.  First single in… sounds like Foster the People.  That will will either be a turn on or turn off for you.

Lots of hype from Mark Foster about global influences and how he is really into “rock.”  The creative process for Supermodel had the band set up on Morocco for a bit!  Foster saying, “We didn’t have any rules. We just created as much as we could in seven days (…) And in the spirit of wanderlust and discovery we ended up stumbling on the musical identity of what this record was going to feel like.”

I don’t hear the Morocco too much in this song.  Sounds like a So-Cal indie pop song to me.

Go with yourself.

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New single from Bombay Bicycle Club

Posted in music, tagged on January 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Luna
London’s Bombay Bicycle Club will release their forth album on February 3rd, So Long, See You Tomorrow.  Their Canadian single is “Luna.”  A very pretty indie sounding modern rock song.

If you’re Coachella bound, look for them on Saturday or on tour in Canada & the US with Royal Canoe.

Go with yourself.

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Mixtape >> Alternative to what?

Posted in music, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2014| 2 Comments »

aurach
First day back to the blogging grind after a few weeks away.  On December 29th my son Jackson Hale was born.  It has been a wonderful adventure so far, tomorrow it is back to the Radio factory.

The past few weeks have been filled with family.  And music.  I’ve been using my time to dust off old records, listen to new records, and enjoy the pleasure of listening for the sake of listening.  It’s funny how listening to music for work can take away so much from the joy of a good song.

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Listen to THIS! >> Alternative to What?

I put together a little mix of a few of the songs that I’ve been enjoying lately.

The day my son was born, Cursive’s “Gentleman Caller” was blaring through my thoughts.  The part where they sing “the worst is over…”  During a brief chance to rush home form the hospital while my wife rested…I grabbed my album The Ugly Organ and popped it into the compact disc player.  Its sat in the Honda since.  Such a perfect record.

My buddy Razer came over to meet my son the other day.  When Mom and Babe drifted off to sleep, we pulled out a couple beers and got talking music.  Razer was talking Victoria performer Northcote and his tour with a guy named Dave Hause.

While listening to Dave Hause of RDIO, a song form Dave Hause came on that brought Razer’s attention back to the computer, he recognized it…. it was a cover of The Promise Ring’s “Skips a Beat (Over You).”  Then we got into 90 alternative bands like The Dismemberment Plan and then Sunny Day Real Estate.  There is a documentary about the Foo Fighters that tells the story of the band and Dave Grohl recruiting the Seattle band’s bass player and drummer.

The mix ends with a song from Volcano Choir.  I’ve been looking at the album on the shelves at the record store…but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.  My friend Tyson Elder was yapping about it on twitter and sent me a copy to check out.  Pretty solid.  I liked the song “Acetate.”  Such a pretty album…but then what would you expect from Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon?

I hope there is something in the mix you’ll enjoy.  Go with yourself.

Listen to THIS! >> Alternative to What?

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The Blog’s 2013 in review

Posted in the blog on January 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. I think I need to blog about Imagine Dragons, babies and Of Monsters and Men far more if I hope to truly claim my spot as a blog superstar.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 81,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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