Where You Been?

Billboard reports that on May 16th Rhino will be releasing expanded versions of Dinosaur Jr.'s first two major label albums "Green Mind" and "Where You Been?", making me a very happy boy because those were the albums that introduced me to the band in the first place.(I did sell my CD copies of those two albums in the mid to late 90's, 'cause I thought they were inconsistent albums, albeit with some killer songs like "The Wagon"![watch the music video, via YouTube] I think I'd like to give 'em a second chance.) The same day, Rhino will also release a limited CD release, "Live at CBGB: The First Acoustic Show," which features a 1993 J Mascis solo acoustic performance.

MTV News speaks with BSS' Drew and Brendan about solo records and soundtracks and the logistics of touring as a huge collective. MTV News also reports that the band has shot a video with director Micah Meisner for "7/4 (Shoreline)" and that music videos for "Fire-Eyed Boy," "Swimmers," "Hotel" and "Windsurfing Nation" are also in the works. So could we all assume that a DVD might follow? [via a soundtrack for everyone]

There are short articles on Neko Case and Cuff The Duke in issue #3 of Filter Mini UK of which you can download a .PDF of.

Aversion has a Q&A with Jolie Holland.

Stars are the 'Artist Of The Day' tomorrow on ManiaTV. In the meantime, check out the Archived 'Featured Artist of The Day' with The New Pornographers here(at the site, scroll through the left frame.) [via Live Net Music]

Here's a torrent(registration required) of a live recording of The New Pornographers at Ramada Entertainment Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba on February 20, 2006. [via Largehearted Boy]

Sigur Ros return to Massey Hall in Toronto for a show on May 13th. [via Pollstar]

Your Cover's Blown

concert review: Belle and Sebastian and The New Pornographers @ The Docks(Toronto, Ontario), February 25, 2006

Having seen Belle and Sebastian three times live before(Kool Haus - May 8 2002, Indio CA @ Coachella - May 2004, San Diego @ Spreckles Theatre - May 2004), part of me regrets skipping B&S' last show in Toronto at Massey Hall in November 2004. I just had to go this time, even if it meant having to bear the notoriously crappy Toronto music venue, The Docks. Really, nothing's changed sinced the first(and only) time I was there when I saw Interpol back in October 2004. Rather than this whole post become an extended rant on The Docks, let's just say sightlines were bad, it was crowded, and efforts to get any decent spot were mostly futile. of course, it didn't really help that my friend and I got there just when The New Pornographers were starting their set.

To state the obvious, if Neko and Dan were there, The New Pornographers set would have been better. But only slightly. Let's give Carl Newman and the rest of the gang some credit. While Kathryn Calder's voice lacked the twanginess of Neko's, Kathyrn still had the range to pull off Neko's vocal parts admirably; that is when she wanted to. At times, Kathryn sort of held back on her vocals but her singing came off best when she really projected like on "Mass Romantic" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno". I'm hoping in the future, that Kathryn might come out from behind the keyboard and take centre stage to sing some songs. Oh, and Kathryn cut off her hair. She still looks mighty cute, but I miss the way she looked before. I have to admit that if the NP's setlist[courtesy of suckingalemon] wasn't as superb as it was, I'd probably be bored of them; there was a lack of any stage banter for the most part, and they're pretty laid back on stage. So while I didn't really miss Neko's vocals too much, you can always depend on Neko to tell a good story or two.

I think the law of averages expresses that a good fifty per cent of the time, there'll always be someone taller than you standing in front of you at a concert. For the record, this time around it was more like seventy-five per cent of the time. All I could really do was suck it up, accept it and try to enjoy the music. While Belle and Sebastian now have a good back catalogue to pull songs from, it is inevitable that they'd not perform alot of everyone's favourite songs; for me, that meant they didn't perform any of my favourites from their album "The Boy With The Arab Strap". That aside there was still alot in the setlist to enjoy. The setlist stuck mostly with upbeat tunes, avoiding most of what Stuart at one point would refer to as their 'bedroom' songs. They did open their set with the quiet indiepop of old favourite "Stars and Track Of Field", then changed tempos with the sixties jangle of "Another Sunny Day", the bounce of "A Woman's Realm" and the funky "Sukie In The Graveyard". Other than the majestic beauty of "Fox In The Snow" midway through the set and the quiet first half of "Judy and The Dream of Horses" at the end of the set, Belle and Sebastian were doing their best version of rocking out.

I think the performance lacked spontaneity for the most part, and efforts towards stage banter sorta tanked. Those facts alone made this show my least favourite of theirs I've seen. One shining moment of spontaneity was when Stuart brought up a girl named Andrea onstage to sing "Act of Apostle II". The story goes that the same girl was at their Massey Hall show in 2004 and sang with them onstage. Soonafter she moved to Glasgow, befriended the band, and coincidentally is now living back in Toronto. Stuart knew that she was in the audience and brought her up onstage for a pretty rendition of "Act of Apostle II". I could forgive Andrea for being somewhat off-key at times since apparently Andrea and B&S had never tried this before. At the very least it was endearing.

At the end of their encore(which included "Me And The Major" and "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying"), it had been almost two hours into the show. Even before the encore, there were already people walking out. Unfortunately, I think I felt like I had enough too, although I stayed until it was over. Blah, blah, blah, yes The Docks suck but I can't blame that entirely for my overall dissatisfaction with the show. The songs were awesome but the performance was a bit underwhelming. A little more spontaneity and I think I would have enjoyed B&S' set more. Oh well that's what we get for being the first date on their US/Canada tour.

Obviously I didn't(well couldn't) take any photos but suckingalemon and chromewaves did.

Update: I've been reading some positive reviews of the show and I've rethought some of my original comments. I didn't mean to give the impression that B&S put on a bad show. On the contrary, I thought it was a good show, just not the best one I've seen. For the record, I was bobbing my head for many of their uptempo tunes. I'm glad that those of you up front enjoyed the show, some immensely. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was up front too. What I was hoping for was that B&S would transcend the limitations of The Docks so that even us not up front would still feel like we'd had an awesome time. I've been to shows at large venues where I was not front row(eg. B&S @ Kool Haus, Wilco @ Massey Hall, U2 at Exhibition Place, Pixies @ Arrow Hall) and still enjoyed the show immensely. I was hoping for the same with B&S this time, but it just didn't happen. It's probably unfair for me to think that B&S could transcend the limitations of The Docks. The venue is a toughy. suckingalemon in the comments, mentioned I may have not heard some of the stage banter and that's very possible. What I perceived as a lack of spontaneity on B&S' part may have been possibly due to me missing some or much of their stage banter. Also, from being way back, I also couldn't sense the energy and enthusiasm that the band was likely exuding. For those in the front rows, I'll take your word that it was a great show. I merely had a good time. Next time I'll be lining up early.

High Art, Local News

I urge everyone to pick up the final issue(#20) of Comes With A Smile when your local bookstore or indie record store has it in stock. If you can't wait, you can head over to the mag's website and purchase it through PayPal; I ordered mine using PayPal on February 16th and got it in the mail yesterday! The final issue features The New Pornographers on the cover and for more Can-con, check out the accompanying CD which includes The New Pornographers' "High Art, Local News"(bonus track from Japanese CD) and The Constantines' "Shine A Light"(unreleased live version).

Are we getting excited for Belle and Sebastian and The New Pornographers at The Docks this Saturday? There's more press for B&S over at JAM! Showbiz and The Montreal Mirror.

The New Pornographers' Carl Newman maintains that he's a West-Coaster at heart, even though he currently resides in New York City with his girlfriend.[via Hour.ca]

The Age speaks with Charles Spearin of Broken Social Scene about the band's efforts to not be 'rock stars'.

Hour.ca speaks with Emily Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric. Also, watch some live videos of Metric who were recently on Muchmusic's MuchOnDemand when they performed "Monster Hospital" and "Dead Disco".

NPR spoke to Jenny Lewis about her debut album "Rabbit Fur Coat". Listen to the interview. Also, Jenny will be a guest on Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson on March 6th. [via The Late Night TV Page]

Billboard reports on the new Golden Smog album "Another Fine Day" which'll be released on July 18th through Lost Highway.

And don't hold your breath for Stephen Malkmus tour dates around these parts, as Billboard points out that according to Mr. Malkmus' website, he's in the midst of looking for a new drummer.

I see now that the official website for The Fall is now online. And they even have a section called 'New To The Fall?' for all the newbies. I'm pretty much a newbie myself even though I have a bunch of their albums but I really am only familiar with some of their old classics. Still, I'm itching to see them live. Let's hope they don't cancel this time like they did in 2003.

The Blues Are Still Blue

I have no original content to offer today except a bunch of links which some of you've probably already seen, and hopefully others you haven't. Hopefully, next week I'll have something interesting to write about regarding some music acts which have been rocking my world. I've been perusing the band links at the Canadian Music Week site and am leaning towards going to shows for mostly unknown artists - yes there are a bunch that have piqued my interest but I shall leave that for another post. Or maybe I'll leave you all in the dark. We shall see.

Belle and Sebastian will be on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on March 1st. [via The Late Night TV Page] Also, Time Europe spotlights Belle and Sebastian's transformation from its fey, twee beginnings to its more upbeat current self. NOW speaks about B&S' glammier self, this time around vis-a-vis their new album "The Life Pursuit". NOW also gives some press attention to former B&S member Isobel Campbell who'll be playing as part of CMW on March 4th at Revival. Finally, Eye Weekly interviewed by phone guitarist Bob Kildea of B&S.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are going on tour and will be in Toronto for a show at Kool Haus on April 10th. [Via Brooklyn Vegan] View all their tour dates at Ground Control Touring.

Explore the videos and mp3's that Schedule Two has to offer. Get you Can-con fill, with mp3's from a 2002 Julie Doiron concert and live videos from John K. Samson and Christine Fellows. [via You Ain't No Picasso]

Billboard reports that the next Twilight Singers' album "Powder Burns" will be released May 16th via One Little Indian.

a neu ing over at Stille Post has kindly posted The New York Times article on Toronto's music scene. Haven't read it yet, but from a comment or two at Stille Post it appears the article is heavy on the Arts & Crafts/BSS slant. Hmmm, someone's gonna have a fit.

Rolling Stone gives Neko Case's new album "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood", 3 out of 5 stars, calling it "...vastly weirder than her precursors".

I think Chromewaves already mentioned the following tour date info but I'd like to point out that tickets for both go on sale TODAY(I'm leaning towards the Centro-matic show since Chromewaves' been so adoring of them and after having heard some of their songs, I definitely dig 'em too; although I'll probably want to go to the Josh Rouse show too if the price is right):

Centro-matic @ Horseshoe Tavern on April 5th

Josh Rouse @ The Mod Club Theatre on April 11th

Hootenanny

Carolyn Mark has a honkin' bunch of tour dates coming up over the next couple of months. There's some west coast dates in early March, followed by New Mexico/Texas/Arizona dates mid-March(including a stint at SXSW), and then some Ontario dates starting at the end of March. Check Carolyn's official website for tour date details, but for your convenience, below are her Ontario tour dates which she's dubbed "Hootenanny Revue 2006!"[photo courtesy of Mint Records]:

march 30 kingston, ON The Elixir
march 31 wakefield, ON t.b.a.
april 1 montreal, QC Main Hall
april 2 quebec city, QC t.b.a.
april 5 hamilton, ON Casbah
april 7 toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
april 8 clearview, ON Avening Hall
april 9 maberly, ON Maberly Hall
april 15 kitchener, ON Starlight Room

John Vanderslice has some tour dates in these parts including April 20th in Guelph at The Bookshelf eBar and April 21st at El Mocambo. Openers for both dates is Wooden Wand. Check out John's website for more tourdates. [thanks to Neiles Life for the heads up]

Yer Mam!'s most recent Mix Tape includes a download of a rare Broken Social Scene tune, "Jimmy & The Photocall (Accelerator Radio Session)".

Stereogum has a download of BSS' cover of children's song "Puff The Magic Dragon" which is included on the upcoming Paper Bag Records compilation, "See You On The Moon", a collection of children's songs, although not all covers.

E-zine KyndMusic interviewed Justin Peroff and Andrew Whiteman of Broken Social Scene when the band was in New York City recently for a three-night stint at Webster Hall. [via Live Music Blog]

Metromix speaks briefly with Matt Pond of Matt Pond PA, who in the face of lineup changes, and more recently, stolen gear and van problems, still remains positive about the band.

Henry Daily Herald examines The Flaming Lips upcoming album, "At War With The Mystics". And FYI, contactmusic.com says the album has leaked.

The Wedding Present performed a live session on KEXP yesterday February 21st at 3 pm PST and performed "Suck", "Crushed", "Go Out And Get 'Em Boy!, and "Always The Quiet One". Listen to the session through the 14-day archive.

Mazarin performed a live acoustic session for BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe yesterday February 21st and performed "At 12 to 6" and "Another One Goes By". Listen here(session begins about 1 hour and 40 minutes into the program; link is only good for a week).

Billboard speaks with Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs about their collaboration on "Under the Covers Vol. 1," a 15-track set of '60s remakes which'll be released on April 18 through Shout! Factory.

Things Are Shaping Up

Still sick, but feeling better today.

More concert announcements:

via Horseshoe Tavern:

The Barmitzvah Brothers, The Grates, Five Blank Pages, & The Expatriates have a show on March 11th.

From Fiction will have a CD Release party on March 23rd, with openers Terrance Belazo & The Infinate Kills.

The Old Soul will have a CD re-release party for their debut CD which is being re-released through Universal. Shindig takes place March 25th, with openers TBA. Update: Openers are The Bicycles and Detective Kalita. Thanks to Matt in the comments for the info.

Halifax's In Flight Safety have a show on April 29th. Tickets $8.

via Emerge:

The Editors, who'd I mention recently would be playing The Phoenix on March 24th, will be playing with Stellastarr*. Tickets onsale this Saturday at 10 am.

Having made their Toronto debut at their sold out show at Horseshoe Tavern last month, Hard-Fi return to Toronto for a show at the larger Phoenix Concert Theatre on April 5th. Tickets onsale this Saturday at 10 am.

Gentleman Reg will be opening for Ben Lee when he comes to Toronto for a show at El Mocambo on March 18th.

BadmintonStamps offers some commentary on the new Concretes album "In Colour"(due out April 14th in the US) and also has the entire album streaming through his radio.blog at his site.

The New York Times[Bugmenot] spends a night out with several members of The Concretes. [via manic mess]

chartattack speaks with Stereolab's Tim Gane in advance of their North American tour which begins next month.

Mocking Music reviews the Stars gig at this year's Winterlude in Ottawa. Yes, I would agree that only Canadians would be so bold to stand outside, on probably the coldest day of the year, and watch any band perform. Mocking Music also has some mp3's of some live KEXP Stars' performances.

MSNBC/Newsweek is streaming several songs from Neko Case's upcoming album "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood".

Touch Me I'm Sick

Ugh. I've been sick all weekend with alot of chest congestion and had to call in sick to work today. I tried going skiing on Saturday with a friend but couldn't make it past an hour and a half. Methinks I shouldn't have gone in the first place, but I'm stubborn that way sometimes. At least have a week to rest up until Belle and Sebastian and The New Pornographers at The Docks this coming Saturday.

Here's a bunch of concert announcements of bands I've heard of(but have heard little of their music):

Arab Strap w/ A Whisper In The Noise will be at Lee's Palace on April 4th [via Ground Control Touring]

Wilderness @ El Mocambo on April 15th [via Rotate This]

Action Action, Morningwood, The Sounds @ The Opera House on April 16th [via Pollstar]

Minus The Bear @ Lee's Palace April 23rd [via Pollstar]

Comet Gain are no longer playing The Gossip show at X-Space in Toronto on March 29th according to a post at Stille Post. Dammit.

It's a long-shot prediction(but entirely in the realm of possibility), but Mates of State's(who are currently on the road with Maria Taylor) website has a TBA tourdate scheduled for April 8th(the day after they play Detroit, and the day before they head to Cleveland) and I'm predicting a Toronto date just because I've been pining for a Toronto date ever since May 2005.

Listen(scroll down to January 29, 2006) to Jason Collett's archived live session he performed for MPR: The Current on January 29, 2006 when he performed wonderful versions of "Feral Republic", "Over Days", and "We All Lose One Another", with his backing band, Paso Mino. Jason gave props to his backing band and also spoke about his suburban upbringing.

There's an archived video of a performance by Stars on RTE Television(from Ireland). Anyone get the video to work? [via Arts & Crafts Broken Telephone Stars forum]

The new official The Fall website is expected to launch this week.

Poster Of A Girl

Watch the new music video for Metric's "Poster Of A Girl" which debuted on The Wedge yesterday. [via wedge-esque]

You can also watch it here(via YouTube), courtesy of videos.antville.org.

Filter had an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Metric's music video for "Poster Of A Girl".

Personally I found the video to be surreal, vouyeuristic, and visually pleasing...but then when you have Emily in lingerie(as modest as it was in the video) how can you go wrong? Be still my indie-rock heart. Beats the Broken Social Scene videos which are just a little too out there for my mood sometimes.

Make Me Somewhere I Can Call A Home

Finally there is news of a new Zero 7 album. According to the band's website, the new album entitled "The Garden" is due for release on May 15th and will feature past Zero 7 vocalist Sia Furler as well as Swede José Gonzalez and Zero 7’s very own Henry Binns on his singing debut. The first single will be the Jose-sung 'Futures' which'll be available in Limited Edition 12" and 7" formats as well as a digital download. The B-sides will be 'Seeing Things' on the 12" and the Sia-sung 'Dreaming' on the 7". [info via Zero 7 message board]

In the meantime, Coolfer points to a download of an mp3 of Tina Dico's(who sung on Zero 7's last album) new song "Nobody's Man". Her new album "In The Red" was just released through New York City indie label Defend Music. Tina is scheduled for a show in Toronto at The Drake Hotel on March 4th as part of Canadian Music Week. [photo from http://../]

EconoCulture interviews Owen Pallett AKA Final Fantasy about his new concept album "He Poos Clouds" which he states is a "...little less pop and more mega-musical." Alternately, Owen expresses that "it sounds more like Miss Saigon than the Magnetic Fields." [via The Catbirdseat]

Brooklynvegan has tour dates for The Editors[including at the Phoenix in Toronto on March 24th] and Nine Black Alps/Giant Drag[including El Mocambo in Toronto on April 4th]. For some reason, I want to see The Editors even though I haven't heard a note of their music. Maybe I just like 'The' bands.

The Diableros have been getting some online press lately in advance of their CD re-release show at the Horseshoe Tavern this Saturday February 18th, for their CD "You Can't Break the Strings in Our Olympic Hearts" which will be released through Baudelaire Label. Chartattack interviews Matt Rubba and Pete Carmichael about them playing Canadian Music Week. Chartattack also speaks to Pete who mentions the drama they've encountered on the road. Stuart Berman of Eye Weekly speaks with Pete about the band.

NOW speaks with New Brunwicker-at-heart girl, Julie Doiron, who mentions that her new album, a band-oriented effort this time around, will be released this September. Julie performed at The Drake Hotel yesterday. Anyone go? Reviews, photos?

Hamilton, Ontario's View Magazine profiles The Constantines in advance of their show in Hamilton at The Underground tonight. Jon-Rae and The River are also in the lineup.

Pitchfork reviews the Feist/Jason Collett show at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC on February6, 2006.

I think the debut solo effort "Rabbit Fur Coat" from Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins is really excellent. The vocals are really lovely as are the melodies and the acoustics of the songs is pristine like a classic Sun Studio recording. Some might be turned off by the country-ish sound but I like it alot a lot. I'll be going to Jenny's show when she comes to Toronto for a show at The Opera House on March 16th. In the meantime, here's a torrent(registration required) of Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins at Academy 3 in Manchester, UK on February 11, 2006. I suspect the Toronto setlist will be similar, although I hope that for the Toronto show, Jenny does perform "Handle Me With Care".

Digging Thru The Vaults

Unfortunately, I didn't end up going to the Final Fantasy, Gentleman Reg, The Two Koreas show down at Lee's Palace; I'm trying to work off a nagging cough and I just wasn't in the mood to try to get a ticket at the door. What's left to do but to blog? So, over the last couple of days I've been doing a little house cleaning, going through junk and clothes, throwing things out, recycling others and it's interesting(and also gratifying) for what I've come across. Finally, I found my Coachella 2004 t-shirt and my PJ Harvey "Uh Huh Her" t-shirt, although my search for my Neko Case and Belle and Sebastian t-shirts continues. Came across some old Eye Weekly and NOW newspapers from several years back I'd saved featuring pretty cover shots of Jeff Tweedy, The New Pornographers, Sarah Harmer, The Sadies and others. [Actually, am I the only one that actually saves Exclaim! issues? I think I have almost every issue for the last 3 or 4 years, maybe longer, and I keep them in bankers boxes, neatly labeled. Well, I'm not so anal to actually have them ordered - I'm not that weird.] It's interesting to look back on some of those Eye Weekly and NOW issues. It's funny to see old concert ads for shows I might have not blinked twice at 5 years ago but would be salivating over now if the same lineup played today. For example, The New Deal, Ivana Santilli, and Feist played the Reverb as part of Canadian Music Week in 2000. Holy shit. While Neko Case is scheduled to peform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 9th, I discovered reading an old newspaper article I came across, that Ms. Case performed on the now defunct Canadian late night talk show Open Mike with Mike Bullard in May 2000. (Anyone have video of that?) I still have a heap of things to go through, throw out, recyle and what have you, but what started out as work is now starting to be fun. Next stop after this: weeding out my mountain of a CD collection.

Art Brut's show at Horseshoe Tavern on April 1st and Love Is All's show at Lee's Palace on March 21st both go on sale tomorrow.

Seu Jorge will be performing at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on June 30th. [via The Windish Agency]

Just Keep Bloggin' points towards some hot Feist remixes.

BrooklynVegan was impressed this time around with Feist's recent show at Webster Hall and he has some photos from the show, which included Jason Collett as opener. As BrooklyVegan writes, Jason and Leslie sang BSS song "Major Label Debut" as the last song of Feist's encore and he says that closetOCFan has the audio[ie. mp3].

The New York Times reviews the same Feist/Jason Collett show that BrooklynVegan went to .

Yer Mam! attended Broken Social Scene's recent show on February 14th at Manchester Academy 2 in the UK. He was impressed if only for this following quote of his:

"I wanted more mini indie-rock symphonies. I wanted more of guitarist Andrew Whiteman's cool-as-fuck theatrics. I wanted more of Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning's affable banter. More of everything. Seriously, I'll level with you here, last night was just one of those gigs. Up there with Spiritualized at Glastonbury in '98, Radiohead at Glasto in '97 and Arcade Fire in Manchester last year as one of those concerts that just reaffirms your faith in the glorious power of music. The crowd were a bit static and wanky but BSS were just perfect."

Hey Hey, Glad Girls Only Want To Get You High

In January 2005, Pimps of Gore started posting his personal top 100 favourite Guided By Voices songs, with a little blurb and the mp3 for each song. He got as far as posting his songlist from 1 to 50 and has only recently completed the list with songs 51 to 100. For your convenience I've linked to the individual posts below. The first 50 songs are no longer available for download, but the second 50[ie. 51-100] are, so get to it!

>>1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-80, 81-100

Eskay Everyday[via The Underrated Blog via a comment at But She's On Fire] spoke with Broken Social Scene's John Crossingham and Justin Peroff for an upcoming article which will be featured in the next issue of Underrated. While we wait for the full article, Eskay Everyday posed this question to the guys: "If you could add 5 more members to the band, who would it be...?" One of the guys' answers: "Sean Penn." The scary thought is that I think they're serious.

I'm excited for the Guillemots show at the Horseshoe Tavern on March 15th, having previously expressed my new love for them. out the other(via BadmintonStamps) is equally thrilled about Guillemots, and points out that the band have today, Valentine's Day, offered 4 free tracks available for download(registration required). The songs are only available until the end of the month and more info on the tracks can be read here.

The Cribs will be openers for the Death Cab For Cutie/Franz Ferdinand show at The Docks in Toronto on April 17th. [via Pollstar]

The Concretes have a new website! It doesn't seem to be working as of the time of this posting but when the site's back up check out their new music video for their new song "Chosen One". For an alternate link you can view the music video here(via MilkandCookies).

Mocking Music have one of their better themed mp3 posts up right now, this one focusing on songs with the word 'heart' in it.

Here's a torrent(registration required) of a live show of Feist recently on January 28, 2006 at High-Noon Saloon in Madison, WI. [via Largehearted Boy]

To whet our appetites, and for those of us unwilling to spoil the excitement of the official CD release by downloading an album leak, Rock Star Journalist has an mp3 of a live performance of Neko Case performing with Calexico one of her new songs "Maybe Sparrow", the studio version which will be included on her new CD "Fox Compressor Brings The Flood". The recording is from a show at the Filmore in San Francisco on July 16, 2004.

Especially For You

Ben Lee posted on his website a video of him and Dutch Danish artist Tina Dico performing a fun live cover of Kylie Minogue/Jason Donovan's "Especially For You". I haven't actually heard the original version, but I'd assume it was one of those mainstream Australian/UK pop hits. Cheesy as Ben and Tina's version might have started out to be, it actually turned out to be really heartfelt and beautiful, especially when the crowd joined in. [via Kofi's Hat]

Leaving the 'mushy' stuff for tomorrow, today Kofi's Hat has some Anti-Valentine's Day songs available for download.

I've been listening to Helen Spitzer's thoughtful Valentine's Day mix, entitled Valentine's Complication: Part Two. Listen here. Also, thanks to Helen for introducing me to Sylvie Smith & John O'Regan(who perform under the name Habitat). Their song "Next Year" is the last song in Helen's mix(and can be heard over at Habitat's New Music Canada site) and like The Postal Service's "Nothing Better" is one of the most emotional electro-pop songs I've ever heard.

San Diego's Pinback are coming to Toronto for a 19+ show at Lee's Palace on May 4th. Tickets $15.00. [via rootmeansquare]

Just because I'm still on a Matt Pond PA high from the weekend, here's some more Matt Pond PA links. Matt Pond expressed to Hour.ca, that he "...doesn't mind being under the radar. That means that we can do whatever we want, and nobody is holding us accountable."

amanda! has alot of lovely photos from Matt Pond PA's show at The Mod Club in Toronto this past Saturday.

Bradleys Almanac went to Matt Pond PA's show(the show right after the Bowery Ballroom show in NYC where their gear was stolen) in Boston at the Paradise last week and has mp3's of the set available for download!

The Boston Globe reviews Matt Pond PA's Boston show.

B(oot)log has mp3's of Apostle of Hustle's recent solo set from February 2, 2006 at The Social in Toronto. The set includes cover of Metric's "Hustle Rose" and The Walkmen's "The Rat".

Thanks to BrooklynVegan(via Largehearted Boy) for pointing me towards a download of a "Portishead Remixed" album. And while on topic of Portishead, they have a MySpace site concerning their upcoming third album - which, if it does not finally get released this year, I will give up on them.

Mr. Evan Dando had solo shows in Toronto(at Horseshoe Tavern) and Hamilton(at The Underground) over the weekend and according to a soundtrack for everyone and the Stille Post Hamilton board, he didn't appreciate audiences talking during his sets.

In the dumps about Valentine's Day? You(we) are not alone.

Several Arrows Later

concert review: Matt Pond PA w/ dios(malos), Wayne Petti @ The Mod Club(Toronto, Ontario), February 11, 2006

I'd been pondering all week about going to see Matt Pond PA at The Mod Club. After hearing the news of their gear being stolen recently in New York City after their show at the Bowery Ballroom, I thought maybe they'd cancel but surprisingly hadn't heard any news of any cancellatons. Actually, I probably wouldn't have gone had my ski plans not fallen through, so I dashed down to go see Matt Pond PA. Yesterday was the fourth time I've seen them and by far my favourite so far. I'd seen them previously opening for Ted Leo at The Mod Club in December 2004[review], then a headlining show at The Casbah in Hamilton in June 2005[review], and opening for Liz Phair at the Phoenix in October 2005[review].

I made it down to The Mod Club just as dios(malos) were finishing up their last song. I'd already missed Wayne Petti's set, and had I known he'd be performing(originally, I believe it was suppose to be Willy Mason), I might have made it a point to show up earlier. The nice guys of dios(malos) have been lending their gear to Matt Pond PA since their gear was stolen in NYC. Matt Pond PA performed an hour-long set of teetering delicate/urgent chamber pop which were near-note-perfect renditions of their album versions. Normally, I'd find such perfection in a live setting a little redundant - why not just stay home and listen to the CD? However, what kept the set interesting for me was a set that leaned towards their up-tempo numbers, focusing squarely on Dana Feder's sharp cello arrangements, the sparkingly guitar melodies of Matt Pond and Brian Pearl, the chipper drum rhythms of Dan Crowell and the humming bass of Steve Jewett. They played alot of great songs including older ones like "Canadian Song", "The Hollows", and my personal favourite "Measure 3". Moving on to their previous album "Emblems", they performed "Closer(Look Out)", "New Hampshire", and "Last Song". Matt Pond PA performed standouts from their new album "Several Arrows Later" including the title track, "Halloween", "So Much Trouble", "The Trees And The Wild", "From Debris", "Brooklyn Stars" and "The Moviegoer".

While the crowd was in a quiet mood at the beginning of the set, the crowd gradually warmed up. Other than the prerequisite mentions of the politeness of the crowd, and the recent theft of their gear(which drew boos from the crowd), and a minimal amount of cajoling with his bandmates, Matt didn't speak much between songs except to say "here's another song". I did find the sound sort-of muddy from my vantage point near the front of the stage. I was also disappointed that other than Matt and I think Dan, the other members didn't have mics which leads me to say that while I think Dana was absolutely electrifying on cello, the only thing I miss from previous celloist Eve Miller was her pretty vocals. I could see Dana singing on several songs; too bad she didn't have a mic so that I could hear her.

I think it was on "Brooklyn Stars" that Matt Pond PA put down his guitar and picked up the mic to sing, sort of like karaoke as he put it. Later on drummer Dan came out from behind the drumkit to shake the tambourine on the the minimalist-pop of "Last Song". Matt Pond thanked the good people at Gibson guitars for lending(giving?) him a guitar to use for the rest of the tour; yeah, it was an interesting colour(teal/seafoam/some sort of blue) but at least one girl in the audience thought it was 'sexy'.;- ) Lovely set all around. Can I also mention that Dana is quite the cutie. No encore unfortunately, but blame The Mod Club and their damn 10:30 pm curfew. I hope next time Matt Pond PA comes back they'll play "Grave's Disease". [photos from the show]

You May Be A Lover But You Ain't No Dancer

So I missed The Grammy's in its entirety for the first time in many years. I usually at least catch parts of it but for some reason this year it just slipped my mind. From what I've read about the show, it doesn't seem like I missed much anyway. If you're so inclined read Rock Snob's thoughts on The Grammy's. pop(all love) sort-of blogged the show. a soundtrack for everyone has his own thoughts on the show plus YouTube links to several of the performances. Stereogum decided not to live-blog during The Grammy's but instead asks readers to leave comments while the show's going on, the end result being at least 122 comments; the cult of Stereogum is strong. ;-)

Via a comment at Stereogum, watch Paul McCartney rocking out at The Grammy's, performing "Helter Skelter".

UK's White Rose Movement will be at El Mocambo on March 25th. [via Pollstar]

Westword speaks with Stars' Amy Millan about 'The O.C.' , Canadian politics, and her favourite joke.

Kofi's Hat has a couple of new songs for download by Grandaddy off their new album "Just Like the Fambly Cat" which will be released on May 9th in North America(May 8th in the UK).

Some more Feist links for ya'. Cloak and Dagger[at site, see left sidebar] has live video of Feist performing "Gatekeeper" in Ann Arbor at the Blind Pig on January 24, 2006. Brand Knew over at Arts & Crafts Broken Telephone Feist Forum has a Feist Rare Mix for download.

With Valentines Day coming up, The Coast examines music's most powerful theme, the love song.

View Magazine, on the other hand, shows the brighter side of being quirkyalone.

A List Of Sound

Sorry to hear that Matt Pond PA's gear was stolen from their parked van after their recent show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC. A list of the stolen gear can be viewed over at the band's website, and man is it an expensive loss, though Matt seems to be in good spirits about the whole situation. I wonder what that'll mean for their upcoming Mod Club show in Toronto this Saturday. I'm still pondering going to that show. [via Brooklyn Vegan; photo from http://../]

Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins spoke today with BBC Radio 2's Mark Radcliffe and also performed several songs live, including "Rise Up With Fists"(about 19 minutes into the program). Listen here(link only good for a week.) [via Live Net Music]

Jens Lekman has made three of his past tour-only EP's available for download. Thank you Jens!

Download the new Clinic single("Tusk" b/w "Jigsaw Man") over at the band's website. You can also download the artwork for the single.

Aversion speaks with Emma Anderson of Sing Sing.

Well Stille Post has confirmed it for me - UK indie-poppers Comet Gain are indeed going to be opening(along with Toronto's No Dynamics) for The Gossip at X-space in Toronto on March 29th.

Ben Lee has a show at El Mocambo on March 18th. Man, he's played Toronto about 3 or 4 times in the last couple of years. The rest of the dates for Ben's US/Canada tour can be read here. [via Emerge]

dEUS will be at Lee's Palace on March 26th. Tickets $15 in advance at the usual placess. [via Eye Weekly]

Ray Davies will be at Massey Hall on March 30th. [via Pollstar]

Billboard reports on Neko Case's upcoming spring tour but also points out that Ms. Case will be performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 9th! [link via chromewaves]

I picked up the limited edition of Belle and Sebastian's new album "The Life Pursuit" yesterday at Rotate This. It's a wonderful package and it's finally great to hear the album. Yes, I didn't listen to any album leaks. It's growing on me and I'm liking their more upbeat sound this time around. I do advise anyone interested in the limited edition of the album to not dawdle, 'cause a guy working at Rotate This mentioned to me that Canada only got two thousand copies of it. You have been warned.

Alright

concert review: Supergrass w/ Pilotdrift @ The Guvernment(Toronto, Ontario), February 6, 2006

It was a welcome surprise yesterday evening for me and my friend to find out that the Supergrass show, which was advertised to be at Kool Haus originally, had been moved next door to the more intimate The Guvernment. (I always thought that Kool Haus was a strange venue choice for Supergrass; I didn't think they were that popular. Perhaps it got moved because Kool Haus didn't sell out? Hmmm.) Whatever the reason, it was good news. It was my first time being in The Guvernment. Back in the day, I believe this used to be the dance club RPM which I'd gone to during university but hadn't been back to since. For what it's worth, The Guvernment as a live music venue was surprisingly decent. The stage was a good height, and the sightlines were fairly decent from most places in the club. The beer, like at Kool Haus, is still damn expensive. And in cans, no less.

Starting promptly at 8 pm, an hour after doors had opened, were Texarkana TX, five-member outfit Pilotdrift. Given their name, and seeing their instrument setup on stage before they came on, I would have suspected their music to have a degree of atmospherics. The best(although somewhat lazy) description of their music I can come up with is Coldplay-meets-'Kid A'[think "The National Anthem"]-era-Radiohead. There was an epic-ness to Pilotdrift's music, often tinkering with quiet intros then gradually building onto itself layers of shuffling drum rhythms, delicate guitar arrangements and an arsenal of synth and keyboard sounds. The vocals of lead singer Kelly Carr were somewhat curious, often seeming off-key but it was hard to tell if he meant to sing like that. There was an element of Coldplay-esque atmospherics, but Pilotdrift were far less pop-song oriented. Not to say that melodies were non-existent, but they were more bubbling under than in your face. The band members were quite versatile musically, often switching instruments from song to song or within songs. At one point in the set, the bassist took some time to say a few words and mention that the band were from Texas. Funny enough, the next song they played was the only song of the set to have a discernible country influence. Nice segway. Their last song ended on a somewhat tribal beat as all band members gravitated towards a variety of percussive instruments laying around the stage, then tapping beats in unison before stopping on a final beat. I was fairly impressed overall, as were most of the audience as I could ascertain from their reaction as the set went on. I'll definitiely keep an ear out for them.

With Supergrass now a good ten years in the making since their 1995 debut "I Should Coco", it's funny seeing them now at this stage of their career. I have all of their albums except the new one "Road To Rouen", but honestly I'm more familiar with their singles than their albums. The fact, is that they're a damn good band. Gaz and Mick initiated the set with a couple of acoustic takes, including a fantastic rendition of "Caught By The Fuzz". Soon after, Gaz's brother Coombes on keyboards and drummer Danny came on to the stage. Presenting their smartly-written and efficient pop craftmanship, it was great to hear the guys plough through song after song of three or four minute pop gems. Gaz was a joy to watch sing but even moreso enjoyable was it to watch bass guitarist Mick play bass and sing dynamite backup vocals, especially on the buzzing "Richard III" which is quite possibly my favourite song of theirs. The swaying "Moving" and the glammy "Pumping On Your Stereo" were included in the set to the delight of many fans. If I recall, they also performed the rollicking "Grace" as well the funky "Kiss of Life".

Yes, there were alot of songs I didn't recognize, possibly from their newest album. Anyone have a setlist? I don't have much else to say. The guys had fantastic light effects throughout the set, but the strobe light was particularly awesome. There was an encore after a bout of fervent audience applause, and 'no' they didn't play "Alright". That disappointment aside, I still enjoyed Supergrass immensely. I knew the band was enjoying the show as well, what with Mick slyly sticking his lit cigarette in his bass guitar neck while he played and Baz' sweat reducing his pouffed punky hairstyle to a stringy, wet, mess. [photos from the show]
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In other news, there are 'signs of life' at Neko Case's website. Stay tuned.

Thanks to Are You Familiar? for pointing out that The Diableros have a new website!

And via Stille Post, the Canadian Music Week schedule is now up.

Baby, You're Wearin' That Loved On Look

concert review: The Sadies with guests @ Lee's Palace(Toronto, Ontario), February 3, 2006

At one point during The Sadies show at Lee's Palace on Friday Night, an audience member cheekily asked for the band to play something he recognized. I'll fess up that I'm not that familiar with their musical(I only have their album "Tremendous Efforts"), but I've seen them a couple of times live, as well as a couple of times as Neko Case's backing band to get a sense of the band's capabilities. While I thought my unfamiliarity of their songs might hinder my enjoyment of the show, such unfamiliarity turned out to be inconsequential. If The Sadies accomplished anything that night, they proved that they are the most versatile rock n'roll band in Toronto. Yes, you read correctly. Rock n' roll. They wore their country influences on their sleeve(right down to Travis Good's Gram Parsons-styled suit) but with the multitude of guests in tow that night, they displayed a rock n' roll energy which was truly undeniable.

The first part of the show was basically The Sadies show which I've seen in the past and hence familiar with. With guest appearances from The Good Brothers(Travis and Dallas' Dad and uncle) and the brothers' mother, The Sadies performed a down home country set that displayed their mother's lovely vocals. It was all fine and dandy although I think I'd have been disappointed if the whole show like this. Of course, The Sadies upped the tempo a bit with their own twangy surfy instrumentals. Fans swelled with glee when The Band's Garth Hudson took the stage. Kelly Hogan added a little country-boogie flavour to the set when she lended her vocals.

It's really with the second part of the show that things started to pick up steam. Heavy Trash's Jon Spencer proved that he has one of the most commanding voices in rock n' roll music, setting the stage for what was to come with his now-distinguishable Blues Explosion-esque vocals. The other Jon that night, The Mekons' Jon Langford, performed a string of cow-punk tunes that rocked out as much, if not more than unstoppable Jon Spencer. A couple of Deadly Snakes infused their own dirty rock n'roll vocals into the set. Things settled a little into some alt-country-pop territory with sets featuring the Blue Rodeo guys(Greg, Jim and Bazil) and Bob Egan(on slide guitar), then The Jayhawks' Gary Louris. Greg Keelor returned to the stage with Rick White to perform a set with The Sadies as their alter-ego, the cosmic, space-rock of The Unintended. Saving the best for last possibly, Neko Case came out towards the end to lend her vocals. Most touching point of the night was to hear the brothers Good's dad say how proud he was of his boys. Funniest moment goes to Jon Langford, well for basically everything he said, and for the dirty things he did with his guitar at the end of his last song with The Sadies. ;-) Musical highlight of the night(and for that matter, every Sadies show I've been to) was when The Sadies and the gang ran through their now familiar and totally raucous cover of "Loved On Look", complete with the "shoop, shoop...shoop, shoop."

If I had one disappointment, it was that there was just not enough Neko in the set, although luckily during the encore The Sadies came up with another great song(anyone know the name of that?) that featured Neko which totally made the night and made the encore all the more worthwhile. In all, this show(1st set, intermission, 2nd set, encore) ran close to four hours. In some cases, this might be overkill, but in The Sadies case this was a special night filled with special friends and gracious fans. I can't wait for the live album. [photos from the show]
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chromewaves has a thorough review and photos from the Friday show.

suckingalemon has a review and photos from The Sadies' Saturday(February 4th) show.

Westway To The World

If you'd mentioned the name Don Letts a month ago, I would have had no idea who you were talking about. A saw a posting on Stille Post a little while ago saying that Mr. Letts was making an appearance at Harbourfront as part of the Kuumba festival, where he'd be screening his BBC documentary on Gil Scott-Heron called "The Revolition Will Not Be Televised". I've heard Gil Scott-Heron's name thrown around as an influence on politically conscious hip hop music but honestly I've have heard very little of his music. I had a chance to read yesterday morning Eye Weekly's feature article on Don Letts and I was intrigued to discover his involvement in a burgeoning UK punk rock scene in the late 70's. I don't want to necessarily regurgitate the Eye Weekly article but I'd like to point out a few key points. As a person of Jamaican ethnicity he was born in Brixton and his love for reggae music inspired a punk rock scene bred out of D.I.Y. ethics and a spirit of individuality. Don DJed at the infamous Roxy club, spinning reggae music that turned on the punks to the music. He was friends with John Lydon, managed The Slits and was The Clash's official documentarian, having made all of their promo videos(the first which was "London Calling"[video] which Mr. Letts mentioned yesterday evening) as well as the Grammy Award-winning Clash documentary "Westway to the World" . And as Eye Weekly expressed succinctly, "Letts influenced punk and punk influenced him." By the way, Don was also part of Big Audio Dynamite.

Yesterday evening at Harbourfront's Brigantine Room, a screening of his Gil Scott-Heron documentary "The Revolition Will Not Be Televised" was screened, followed by on-stage interview with Edge 102.1 FM DJ Alan Cross, then finally a question and answer period with the audience. The Gil Scott Heron documentary was quite insightful even though I arrived late and missed approximately the first half hour of it. The interview with Alan Cross was interesting because aside from covering Mr. Lett's thoughts on 'punk' and D.I.Y. ethics which the Eye Weekly article touched on, it was interesting to discover that late 70's punk rock did not just appropriate reggae influences. Before punk rock, as Mr. Lett's pointed out, the punk kids(at least in his area of the UK), were listening to reggae, specifically music from the Trojan Records label. Whereas, the influence of black music on caucasian artists(such as The Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin) is nothing new, Mr Letts pointed out that the difference with punk acts like The Clash, Public Image Limited, The Slits was that these artists took black music(specifically reggae) on its own merits incorpating real musical elements(like reggae basslines) and sometimes lyrical content(see The Clash) into their own music.

By far the most 'entertaining' part of the evening was the question and answer period with the audience. I was kind of disappointed that he'd removed his mic because it was hard to hear him sometimes. He answered some general questions, like his thoughts on his upcoming documentary on The Jam's album "All Mod Cons". He got into a heated debate with a gentlemen in the audience when Mr. Letts made a comment about the sorry state of reggae music in Jamaica at the moment which led to socio-political comments about Jamaicans killing each other. While Mr. Letts was pretty much on the side that for whatever's happened in the past or whatever's happening in the present, and whatever the establishment's done or is doing, individuals must take responsiblity for their own actions. The gentleman on the other side of this arguement, from what I understood, said that the socio-political climate in Jamaica really contributes to the state of affairs of it's people. Another gentleman in the audience also asked a somewhat confusing question, from which I understood, that doesn't Mr. Letts as a documentarian have the responsibility to recognize the socio-political structures that influence the socio-political climate?; or in other words, doesn't Mr. Lett's thoughts on individualism go against the greater effect that government can have on the affairs of its people. Sorry in advance if I've phrased these thoughts incorrectly, but this was how I understood it.

The funniest part of the evening was a guest appearance by Bernard Rhodes who was quite the character. With his thick British accent he spoke about managing The Clash, discovering The Specials, and having a hand in the birth of Def Jam(which he said he's never been acknowledged for). When Don Letts said something about first introducing Bernhard to reggae back in the late 70's, Bernhard jumped in and quickly corrected that he'd been listening to reggae before that. I'm quite convinced that everything he said was accurate, but it was quite funny to listen to him speak about his influential role in punk rock. Can't blame him though for being so forthcoming, but yes, the evening was a great history lesson.

If you aren't doing anything Saturday, a FREE Don Letts film festival will be taking place at Harbourfront's Studio Theatre as follows:

2:00 pm - "Dancehall Queen"
4:00 pm - "Sun Ra: Brother From Another Planet"
6:00 pm - "Punk Attitude"
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Johnathan Rice and Whispertown 2000 will be opening for Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins at The Opera House on March 16th. [via Ground Control Touring]

Billboard reports that Death Cab For Cutie and Franz Ferdinand will be hitting the road together for a mega co-headlining tour which'll bring 'em both back to Toronto for a show at The Docks on April 17th.

There might be something screwy going on with the data for the Hillside Festival over at Pollstar. Pollstar has listings for a number of great Canadian acts lined up for the festival, but it's also showing the festival taking place over two consecutive weekends(ie July 21st to 23rd and July 28th to 30th). The Hillside Festival website indicates that this year's festival will take place from July 28th to 30th, so with that in mind I'd take the July 21st to 23rd Hillside Festival info over at Pollstar with a grain of salt. Actually, I'd take most of the info over at Pollstar with a grain of salt.

Today is Bob Marley day in Toronto. Peace.

I'm home sick from work today but I will make it to The Sadies show tonight at Lee's Palace, no matter what.

The Life Pursuit

As Pitchfork mentions, Belle and Sebastian's new album "The Life Pursuit" will also be released in a limited edition CD/DVD package with the DVD containing six performances recorded live on BBC Scotland. In the meantime, you can view those performances here(courtesy of BBC - Music Scotland - The Music Show).

The Onion A.V. Club interviews Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian. [via Waved Rumor]

And if you haven't seen it before(well I have, but I have no idea what VHS tape I've recorded this), here is Belle and Sebastian and their US television debut on Late Night With Conan O'Brien from several years back when they performed "I'm Waking Up To Us" . Ummm, I love the strings.

Eye Weekly speaks to The Sadies who give a glimpse into their 'extended family' who'll be making joining The Sadies for their two live shows at Lee's Palace on Friday and Saturday night.

Eye Weekly speaks with legendary UK punk pioneer Don Letts who will be making at an appearance at Harbourfront tonight for a discussion and where he'll be screening his new Gil Scott-Heron BBC documentary, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".

Some more just announced tour dates for Neko Case at her booking company, Billions, although the only Canadian date so far is April 4th in Montreal at Club Soda.

Chromewaves and Tear That Hangs Inside My Soul Forever favourite, Dirty On Purpose are finally making their way over the border for a show in Toronto at Lee's Palace on March 6th. [via Inland Empire Touring]

The sold out Clap Your Hands Say Yeah(w/ openers The Brunettes) show which was originally to be at Lee's Palace has now been moved to The Opera House, surprise, surprise. Not sure if Rotate This or Soundscapes have a new batch of tickets yet, but you can always go the Ticketmaster route. I still expect this to sell out fast once again, so don't dawdle. Mind you, I haven't heard one note of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's music so at the moment ignorance is bliss. Although I fully expect to totally regret this if people after the show say this was the show of the year.

Gaze at the Coachella lineup over at chartattack . Canada represents this year with appearances be Wolf Parade, Metric and The Dears. As much as some people are complaining about this year's lineup, I have to disagree and say that it's pretty decent. Even if you're not a fan of the headliners there's still a tonne of other bands to see. And speaking as a past-Coachella goer(in 2004), it was all about being in California for me. I swear you'll have a blast, although I must mention that the parking situation(ie. getting out of the venue after the show) totally sucks.

Melt Your Heart

Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins and The Elected took part in Myspace Secret Shows on Sunday January 29th at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. Here is the poster for the show. Pandafishthing has made some live video of the show available to us all via YouTube. Check out video of Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins performing several songs including:

"Happy"

"Cold Jordan"

"You Are What You Love"

"The Big Guns"

"Melt Your Heart"

If you missed it yesterday evening, then watch Broken Social Scene(including Feist AND Emily Haines!) performing "Shorelines" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. It was a great performance with Feist rocking out in particular!

Via The Super Furry Animals' Yahoo Internet list, The Sunday Mail confirms that the Furries' Rhys has signed on to play Mike of The Alarm in a new film. The backstory is that due to the reluctance of radio to play The Alarm's records, having written them off as "pop has-beens", Mike in 2004 released a single called "45RPM" under the name of fictious band called The Poppy Fields. For its music video(which by the way, I haven't yet seen), Mike recruited some 18 year-old young-uns and lo' and behold the song became a hit. Yes, this so totally should be made into a movie.

Yep Roc reports that the The Minus 5 are having a contest where the winner gets a song written about him/her. Anyone up for a song about him/herself? The fact is that I don't think I have the guts to enter this contest for fear that the song turns out to stink and then or course being known as the subject of a song that turned out to stink. If you're so inclined, then check out the details of the contest.

Also on a Yep Roc-related note, check out some new alt-country-ish goodness from The Minus 5 with their new song "Twilight Distillery" which is the first single from their new album"The Gun Album". Launch the song here.

chartattack reports that Stereolab will be releasing a 12 track collection through Too Pure on March 7th. Entitled "Fab Four Suture", this release collects six previously released songs that came out on three limited-edition seven-inch singles last September and six new songs that will be released as three vinyl singles on the same day as the album comes out. Also look for the 10-inch vinyl version as well as for the digital downloads. chartattack notes that a band called The Espers will be opening for Stereolab when they hit Toronto(March 14th @ Phoenix) and Montreal(March 15th @ La Tulipe).

I'd mentioned the Yeti zine previously and now chartattack has also given it some press. I got mine in the mail recently and it's a wonderful item. It includes a CD which contains alot of unreleased indie tracks that I know you'll all want. There's alot of great articles/interviews in the zine(which by the way, has a nice layout and attractive design). The zine was several years late in being published so it's interesting to see how popular some of the artists on the CD compilation have become in the several years that have passed since they were first confirmed to be on the CD. So far I've read a great interview with Neko Case circa "Blacklisted".

And to segway, Pitchfork reports on Neko Case's plans to start a podcast. Oh, and to update/revamp her website. Y'know the site that hasn't been updated since October 2004. Neko, I love you but hire yourself a web guy/gal.

Gonna have to make room on the harddrive for this(I'm teetering on about 1 GB left on my harddrive) but it's rare that I come across a Galaxie 500 bootleg. Here's a torrent(registration required) of Galaxie 500 at CBGB's in New York City on October 19, 1990.

Favourite blog quote of the moment comes from the oh so quiet show in regards to her disappointment of Grandaddy(but in general, bands) breaking up:

"At least solo artists can't break up. BUT THEY CAN DIE! ...I'm going to try not to think about that."