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woodwards

I was looking through my mother’s Grade 11 year book. In 1974, she went to Alpha in Burnaby. Lots of groovy 70s-ness throughout. I really liked this ad for Woodward’s.

Trolls? Ogres? Hipsters? Woodward’s get’s it for you. Fun fact, when I was a kid, my Mom would work evenings at a Woodward’s in New Westminster. Neat.

A few songs that drifted by my ear that I thought…”huh, that could be a wedding song….”

New one from Family of the Year.

This one is from Meiko.

And traveling even further back in time… this song is from Katie Herzig.

I downloaded all these cuts to use on my wedding playlists. Maybe there is something here you’ll like.

Go with yourself.

jack eating

Here is a picture of our youngest. Coral was telling me that he loves sitting by the window to eat his snack! I love this picture.

My family moves over to Vancouver at the end of the month and I can’t wait. My work is shifted a little later in the day so I’ll get to be a stay-at-home Dad for the first half of the day. My wife is taking a few months off before trying to hustle a job so we’re pretty excited for the summer.

The hardest part of this move is missing out on the little things everyday. My weekends in Victoria fly by and as anyone with kids will tell you, “they grow up so fast!” I remember with Madelyn I’d roll my eyes when the veteran parents would say that. But you know what, it is true. If you’re having a kid, or one day you might…that is a true piece of lore from the parents before you. Anyway, trying to live my life and each day like your instagram feed, but at the same time, kinda wishing days to go by so we hit the end of the month and get this summer fired up all together.

OK music… bah bah bah dear diary…

One of our favourite British 90s grungy throwbacks here at CFOX, Wolf Alice, have a new record on June 22nd called My Love is Cool (Dirty Hit Records). We know and love Wolf Alice from their radio song “Moaning Lisa Smile,” (and their amazing set at The Biltmore back in…March?) now we have another listen from the album, “You’re a Germ.” When I was a snot-nosed skid growing up in Coquitlam, people called me Germy. Neat.

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Back on the Borns train. “Seeing Stars” is getting some active play on my new playlist. He’s got the line thing through the “O” on his name, I don’t know how to make that with my Canadian keyboard.

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and doesn’t this Crystal Fighters song sound like a jingle for a TV commercial? Catchy as fuck. I know, I’m blogging a 2-year-old song, but whatever…feeling it with this sunny hot weather in Vancouver.

Go with yourself.

hazy
Woke up today and fired up this Hazy Indie Morning playlist while making my coffee and eating a bagel on my deck.

So many gems, here is one I enjoyed. Chris Cohen‘s “Optimist High” from his 2012 record Overgrown Path. Just hits me as a west coast summer song.

Kurt Vile’s “Walkin on a Pretty Day” also popped up.

And Dan Auerbach has a new band, The Arcs, and their song “Stay IN My Corner” also screams hazy summer.

Go with yourself.

Beachhouse

Heatwave blasting British Columbia right now. It is sunny and hot in Vancouver and on the Island. Another glorious weekend back in Victoria. No DJ gigs meant maximum time out there getting after it with Coral and the kids. Sunday we hit a late brunch on the patio at the Beach House in Cordova Bay. I was able to work on that farmer’s tan. Good times.

We also managed to hit a little parade in Oak Bay, a fair, a foodtruck festival (which was actually a little disappointing when our favourite foodtruck was the one that was closed) and some scenic drives before Silicon Valley and Game of Thrones on Sunday. Just a textbook weekend.

Monday, an email from David Monks’ people. The Tokyo Police Club lead singer has a solo record out on June 16th called All Signs Point to Yes (Dine Alone).

Listening to “The Rules,” I can hear the style of TPC’s Forcefield. Dave says the songs are very honest, maybe too honest?

“It could be too honest for some people but I’m in a really good spot and wrote a bunch of sweet songs. I appreciate the connection that comes from sharing something that somebody might not have seen, that’s not visible to the naked eye. People do relate to it, and I find that super rewarding; that drives me in a lot of ways. I’m trying to understand what people really want to get out of music.”

Monks is on a little tour, check it if you live in one of these fine cities.

06/15 Washington, DC @ Black Cat Backstage
06/16 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
06/25 Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
06/26 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah Lounge
06/27 Ottwawa, ON @ House of TARG
07/08 Cambridge, MA @ TT The Bear’s Place
07/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy

Tokyo Police Club is in Vancouver, September 18th at The Imperial.

Go with yourself.

unnamed (1)
The Brooklyn 5-piece Fort Lean are getting all the right hype from all the right places. The group will be releasing their debut album in the fall, Quiet Day (October 2nd, Ohh La La Records)

Fort Lean will be touring out west with Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde. They too have a new record in the pipe, On Blonde (June 16, Dine Alone).

7/14 San Francisco CA @ Rickshaw Stop
7/17 San Diego CA @ Soda Bar
7/18 Phoenix AZ @ Valley Bar
7/21 San Antonio TX @ 502 Bar
7/22 Houston TX @ Bronze Peacock
7/23 Austin TX @ Stubbs Jr.
7/24 Dallas TX @ Dada

Go with yourself.

unnamed

Indie rockers The Griswolds have a new music video and a North American tour. The Sydney group won’t be in Vancouver,but they will be in Portland on July 8th, and The Crocodile in Seattle on the 9th. Ugh…I’ll be in the Pacific North-west touring around with the kids at that time, but likely not in the same cities on the same night. Drat! Toronto friends can check them out June 23rd at The Garrison.

New single is “If You Wanna Stay” from the 2014 record Be Impressive.

Bullett Mag says, “The clip takes the four piece, who’re quickly amassing a fanbase around the world after exploding out of their native Sydney, on a cross country trip of beautiful Australian scenery, all set to their ecstatic, danceable indie pop.”

Go with yourself.

20150224_houndmouth-rtr_91

This is a pretty song. A group from Indiana…. Houndmouth. The song is “Sedona.”

Record is Little Neon Limelight.

Go with yourself.

X ambassadors

Trolling the radio charts today and saw that top of the pile in LA is this group X Ambassadors.

The brothers from Ithaca, NY rose to the mainstream conciseness with their song “Jungle” which was used during a Beat By Dre World Cup commercial. The song sold over half-a-million copies.

Their new single “Renegades” screamed to the top of the alternative rock pops in just 5 weeks. Something that is exceptionally rare to do.

Wow, we better hit play on this song, the side-1, track-1 from their album VHS.

Go with yourself.

FIDLAR

June already!?! Holy moly…they say it is going to be a hot and dry one in the Pacific Northwest this year…but today it is grey and raining in Vancouver. It is a nice respite, we had the driest May I think in the history of the city. They are already talking water restrictions, and that is a talk they don’t have often in this part of the world this early in the summer.

New music, let’s go!

LA punk rockers FIDLAR will release their second album, Too, on September 4th (Mom + Pop Records).

The FIDLAR music video pays tribute to all those great music videos of our youth… 90s and early 00s jammers.

“In the late 90s and early 2000s, music videos were such a huge deal,” adds Zac Carper (vocals and guitar). “We decided that instead of making one overly slick music video, we would nod to 15 of our favorite music videos that we grew up with. Everyone in the band threw in their ideas.”

Here is a list of the videos that you’ll see redone by FIDLAR:

Sugar Ray – Fly
Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized
Missy Elliott – The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
Devo – Jocko Homo
Weezer – Undone — The Sweater Song
Eminem – The Real Slim Shady
The Beastie Boys – (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)
Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity
The Hives – Walk Idiot Walk
Oasis – Wonderwall
Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Korn – Freak On A Leash
Britney Spears – …Baby One More Time
George Michael – Faith
Green Day – Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)

I had a chance to see FIDLAR years ago opening for The Hives in Victoria. An amazing night and huge set. I became a fan. I bought a couple eps after including this 7-inch.

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Last weekend, we hit the hat store (I needed, NEEDED, a new Mariners hat) and we saw these adorable kids NBA hats. They had all the major teams (but no Golden State? c’mon!). Then I spotted this beauty Vancouver Grizzlies hat and the choice was clear. $33 later and I think the little duder look alright.

Jacks Hat

Go with yourself.

single-mothers

Checking out the new music video from London, Ontario band Single Mothers.

The music video below comes from the record Negative Qualities.

Press for the video says; The video for Patricide / Feel Shame follows a particularly devious cult leader as he guides his flock through their final sacrament. Furthermore, it explores the idea of feeling lost or directionless, and how the need for belonging and validation can lead to potentially dangerous groupthink. I have always been fascinated by cults; specifically how cult leaders can create a power dynamic so one-sided they can lead people to their own deaths, willingly. Conceptually, the video explores the abuse of trust and power that are emblematic of different leaders associated with various institutions. In Patricide / Feel Shame, Patricide represents the cult leader’s outsider views – which he presents to his flock – while Feel Shame represents his inner thoughts, serving as the mantra that powers his ruthlessness.

The Canadian punkers are touring some pretty big festivals in the US and UK this summer like Pitchfork Music Festival, Pukkelpop, Reading Festival and Leeds Festival.

Go with yourself.