Tagged: canadiancontent

I'm sure going solo is a harrowing experience for band members. Stepping away from your comfort zone to do something very different from what your audience is used to/expects from you must be a difficult decision. That's why Graham Wright's new solo record is kind of a pleasant surprise: it isn't all about willfully subverting expectation. It feels more like having some extra songs and not knowing what to do with them. The keyboardist and vocalist with the acclaimed fuzz-pop combo Tokyo Police Club doesn't make a point of casting off his full-time band's youthful exuberence or the [...]

Bad news, gang. Our long-time friends in The Burning Hell have had a major stroke of bad luck while preparing to finish up a months-long tour of Europe. The folks at Exclaim are reporting that the group's entire earnings for the tour were stolen during the night in Poland. Quoth the band's Nick Ferrio: When we got up in the morning to drive to Berlin for the last show, we found the driver side window smashed out and the van had been rooted through," band member Nick [...]

While it might not make or break the sales of a record, it never hurts when an artist has a really good back-story for a new album release. We've seen it time and time again, even recently, whether it's Bon Iver's "heartbroken, ill mid-westerner ensconces himself in a cabin to write miserable break-up songs" or Kanye West's search for redemption leading him to write a total freak-out rap masterpiece. Well, Winnipeg indie rockers The Details have a pretty good story behind their new full-length Lost Art too. The funny thing is they really don't need it. [...]

Buckle up for some surprising news, readers: I've been getting older these last few years. Shocking though it may seem, it's true. To make matters worse my aging has been totally cliched. I go out to shows less and less often, "classic" soul and pop music has become my usual go-to instead of punk rock, my girlfriend and I stay in and read more often than we go out drinking, and sometimes I even go to bed before midnight. My teenage self is so ashamed. Junior Battles, it seems, can relate. The plucky Torontonians found a [...]

Listening to Northcote's latest album is kind of like listening to the first solo record Sarah Harmer put out some 12 years ago. There's something about back-porch acoustic guitar song craft that just feeds the soul. It's comforting, it puts a smile on your face. Is it groundbreaking? No. Quite the opposite, I suppose: it's built on a very solid footing. Matt Goud has been around the block a few times. His recent acoustic guitar-slinging folk project has previously produced a flawless EP, Borrowed Chords and Tired Eyes , that perfectly sets the stage for this full [...]

Yes, it is Canada Day and here is my Canadian content. Fine. ~~~ NEW stuff from The Deep Dark Woods' upcoming album The Place I Left Behind : (album due August 2nd on Six Shooter Records) "Westside Street" (see more info on the new album and tour dates via Exclaim.ca ) ~~ Herohill vs. Gordon Lightfoot: Turning Back The Pages Of My [...]

• Cam Penner - Alberta Bound (Gordon Lightfoot Cover)
• The Deep Dark Woods - Westside Street

Canadian culture is an odd thing. In a lot of respects it is as much a mirror of the pervasive American entertainment spectrum we're inundated by through no fault of our own. But while Canada struggles to create mainstream, popular art in the film and television realms truly Canadian music is a lot easier to come by. You know it when you hear it, whether it's the punk-tinged story songs of John K. Samson or the choral allegories of Bruce Peninsula or, yes, even the overtures to modern rock radio of The Tragically Hip. That's a big [...]

Melancholic songwriting about love gone wrong is a dime a dozen. Quality is in short supply when everyone and their kid sister is uploading a sappy ballad onto YouTube. That's why Spring Breakup is worth a million damn dollars. Earlier this year the duo quietly (practically silently) put out their sophomore album. You'll recall their debut got me pretty excited . Mathais Kom is one of the most brilliant songwriters in Canada, his wit and dour world view complement each other perfectly. Kim Barlow is a delightful foil, all precious and precocious and every bit as subtly [...]

This independently-released album might be the single most astounding, fully-realized release of 2010. And yes, that includes Kanye West's record. Expectations are undoubtedly low for a mostly-local band when they put their first record out by themselves. Logistically speaking it's tough for them to get ears on their music. That's obviously changing with the internet but I'm willing to bet if there's a thousand bands with songs on Bandcamp there's a million. It's a lot to wade through. That's why I'm thankful for sites like Herohill , the east coast-centered blog site that is constantly shedding a [...]

Dug up from the archives recently, these 2 tracks have been smashing dancefloors all across the country, and its no surprise considering the raw sounds contained inside. Aphrodite feat. Beverly Knight - Sometimes (Annex Bootleg) / Cartridge - Dark Shadows (Annex RIP) Featured on the Canadian Content Podcast website CCDNB, this FREE release is available [...]

Long before I learned about the long and storied history of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, I only knew "Sweeney Todd" as the glam rock band (from Vancouver, by the way) whose hit Roxy Roller is a staple of classic rock stations across Canada. From their self-titled debut album, the song went to #1 on the Canadian charts in 1976 and won a Juno for Single of the Year. Around that same time though, Sweeney Todd's lead singer Nick Gilder and guitarist Bruce McCulloch both left the band to pursue solo careers. In fact, [...]

I briefly talked about the eTown radio show in a February post when I posted the Barenaked Ladies and The Ditty Bops teaming up to cover Johnny Mercer's I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande (merged with the theme to Welcome Back Kotter, no less). What I neglected to mention was that these cover collaborations are more the rule than the exception in eTown, where they generally play host to two musical guests who play separate sets then are brought together for a big cover finale alongside the house band, The eTones. This [...]

The pledge drive was a huge success. Thank you, to all of our supporters that called in or sent an email, all of our sponsors for backing us and sorting you out with some giveaways, and of course to CIUT for the past 5 years of access to their 15,000 WATTS of broadcasting power. Make sure [...]

I've occasionally alluded to and raved about CBC Radio 2's Concerts on Demand archives and I'm about to again. I keep on close eye on the site because they are constantly recording great concerts across Canada and post at least a few every week. Just in the past couple days they've posted Metric Live at Massey Hall in Toronto (recorded in October) and a recent gig with Gordon Lightfoot and The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie singing songs and telling stories. Here are some other highlights from the archives: [...]

Comic Book Rock Stars : Yet another ongoing and infrequently updated feature, in which we cover crossover comic book artists/musicians. Back in September, I was wondering aloud about the under-researched realm of comic book artist/musicians. This came about when I went to see the final Harvey Danger shows in Seattle and the opening act for one of the shows was Can You Imagine? which featured cartoonist Peter Bagge (to be covered in a later installment). My research dug up a surprising number of crossovers and a planned single blog post spiraled out of control [...]

• Kupek - Nautical Disaster

Happy Pi Day! Today we celebrate all things pi and, because it's tastier, pie. Apple pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, pizza pie, shepherd's pie, chicken pot pie, and so on and pie forth. In celebration, I'm going to share a little slice of Canadiana with you, a slice of Alligator Pie. Alligator pie, alligator pie, If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die. Give away the green grass, give away the sky, But don't give away my alligator pie. Alligator stew, alligator stew, If [...]

So it's been a while since I last blogged and there are a couple reasons for that. First and foremost was, of course, the Olympics came to town and I've been indulging in non-stop celebrations and festivities over the past few weeks, blogging the last thing on my mind. Of course, the e-mail backlog built up and the RSS feeds got clogged. When I did actually check-in I read this article about music blogs being deleted and was hardly in a rush to get back. Meanwhile, I got another DMCA notice for my [...]

2010 is set to be a banner year for Hawksley Workman with his 11th and 12th albums on the way. In fact, Meat hits stores today while singles from its immediate follow-up Milk will be gradually released digitally over the next 5 months. Hawksley first captured my attention at the 2006 Edmonton Folk Festival. I had heard his name here and there previously, but the first time I actually heard him was his Friday night performance around midnight. In fact, from the hillside I was so far away I could barely make [...]

A recent tweet from Cover Me 's Ray tipped me off about the Australian website Moshcam.com , whose goal is to bring live music to the masses through quality video recordings for free. They've got hundreds of FULL concerts and there are definitely some gems in there. A selection for your consideration with, of course, a covers breakdown: 2007/12/17 Amanda Palmer -lots o' covers here. Amanda takes on Jason Webley, Regina Spektor, Radiohead, Rihanna, and Leonard Cohen. 2008/02/21 [...]

It's the end of the year, the end of the decade. So far, I've resisted the temptation to add to the plethora of decade-end lists, which isn't to say that it won't happen... but for now, four versions of The Greenhornes' There is an End , followed by a grab bag of random links to recent things of note. " Spring brings the rain, With winter comes pain, Every season has an end. " The Greenhornes featuring Holly Golightly - There is [...]