Episode 52 Friday, Oct. 13 at 1:00 PM on Mixcloud
Dermot Kennedy – Better Days
Jeremy Dutcher – Pomawsuwinuwok Wonakiyawolotuwok
Jungle – Back On 74
Gord Downie, Bob Rock – The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk
Post Malone – Chemical
Debbie Friday – So hard to tell
Sufjan Stevens – So You Are Tired
Olivia Rodrigo – Bad Idea Right?
A. Savage – Elvis in the Army
Here are this week’s notes!!
Jeremy Dutcher – Pomawsuwinuwok Wonakiyawolotuwok
Beautiful music. I am including here a release note from October 3 regarding the release of a single from his upcoming second album. The album was released on October 6 and is available on Bandcamp.
Today, Jeremy Dutcher – the classically trained Two-Spirit song carrier, composer, activist, and member of Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation) in Eastern Canada – shares the final single before his sophomore album is released into the world this Friday. “Pomawsuwinuwok Wonakiyawolotuwok” translates to ‘people are rising’ and is a “resistance song for all voices.” Jeremy shares the inspiration behind the piece: “Inspired by a traditional Wolastoq melody that is expanded on, this song was supposed to be on my first record, but I could never find a way to make the chorus right. I wanted to write a song that flowed between Wolastoqey language and English, in hopes of calling as many to the table as possible to witness the rising.”
our struggle isn’t
in the fields [as it once was]
it’s in the streets
the people are rising
and from Exclaim!
A press release calls Motewolonuwok an “experimental pop” album, featuring the first time that Dutcher has written and sung in English. It also finds him singing in the endangered language of Wolastoqey and interpreting traditional songs from his people, just as he did on his debut. The album features strings arranged by Owen Pallett.
Gord Downie, Bob Rock – The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk
Some days I can’t do it
Genius
Sometimes I just can’t do it
The only way around is through it
Some days I can’t do it
Some days I just can’t do it
The only way around is through it
The songs were recorded in 2006, but since the album only came out last year – released May 5, 2022, this qualifies for our show.
Again, a little bit from Exclaim!
The sessions for Lustre Parfait followed the two Hip albums produced by Rock, 2006’s World Container and 2009’s We Are the Same. According to a press release, Downie asked Rock if the producer had any music he could write lyrics for, and Rock created these raucous arrangements for the vocalist to accompany.
Rock said in a statement, “First and foremost Gord was my friend, and having the opportunity to work with him on these songs was one of the biggest highlights of my professional life. I am grateful that I got to witness his genius in such close proximity.”
Debbie Friday – So hard to tell
What a great song. I had to include something from this year’s Polaris Prize winner. That means two of my selections are winners of the prize (Jeremy Dutcher is the other one).
So Hard to Tell is different from her other music. As Pitchfork writes
“So Hard to Tell,” the lead single from Debby Friday’s forthcoming debut, Good Luck, opens with a sly smokescreen. At first, it adopts the hardened, sinister pose of the Toronto artist’s usual steely electronics, unleashing a mangled industrial synth and defensive warning: “They want to hurt you!” But it soon explodes into softness, like feathers erupting from a pillow.
For the contrast, try out GOOD LUCK on Bandcamp or Spotify
Olivia Rodrigo – Bad Idea Right?
Just a fun song I thought would go well with all the rest
From Pichfork (I think they got this right!)
Were the person performing “Bad Idea Right?” even slightly less committed to the bit, it likely wouldn’t have worked. But Rodrigo, a capital-P Performer, barrels into the song with profound commitment to playing the role of sloppy main character. Chattering over the song’s strutting bassline, Rodrigo narrates her decision to link up with an ex-boyfriend like she’s relaying the information in real time: “I’m out right now and I’m all fucked up/And you’re callin’ my phone and you’re all alone/And I’m sensing some undertone!”
This is a great video
Along with Vampire, this is her third Number One Single on Billboard Hot 100
Colleen likes Vampire so i will add it here. Pretty amazing vocals
and thanks BOB for this extra!
Olivia Rodrigo Stans Savage GOP State Senator for Attacking Her iPhone Ad
Olivia Rodrigo’s fans opened up a can of whoop-ass on a Republican Pennsylvania state senator who dared to criticize their idol’s behavior in an iPhone ad.
“Just saw the new @Apple iPhone commercial,” John DiSanto wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “Young girl, filming with phone, dressed suggestively, keying a car, trashing a room and so on. Pathetic promoting this is how a young women [sic] should act.”
Last month, Apple released a video shot on an iPhone 15 Pro featuring Rodrigo performing her song “get him back!” The commercial does show the 20-year-old keying a parked vehicle, as well as her sitting in a car with the windows and windshield smashed, and throwing a lamp across a bedroom.
The backlash to DiSanto’s disapproval was swift and ruthless.
“This is really pathetic,” one Rodrigo stan replied, while another called him “such a loser.” A third said DiSanto should “cry into your juice box about it you big baby.”
One said they “wanna key his car,” while several called him some variation of a “creep” for describing Rodrigo’s outfit—a crop top and a skirt—as suggestive. A typical comment accused DiSanto of being a “pathetic creep,” advising him to “stop commenting on how younger people, especially women, should dress and act.”
Others just wanted DiSanto to “shut up.” One person, apparently upset, wrote simply: “You are a fart.”
Dermot Kennedy – “ Better Days” single from 2021
Dermot Kennedy is an Irish singer and songwriter. Unknown to these old fellas, Kennedy has scored success these last few years with the songs “Outnumbered” and “Power Over Me” among others. He has millions of listens on Spotify and has appeared at major venues and festivals all over North America. I snapped a picture of him last night playing in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre. On describing “Better Days”, Kennedy explained “This is a song about patience. It’s about believing in something brighter, and never losing sight of better days, no matter how hard things might get. In a time where so many people feel worried and exhausted, I would love for this song to remind even one person that things will improve.”
Jungle – “Back On 74 “ from Volcano
Jungle is a British duo in 2013 by producers Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. During the past week I have heard “Back on 1974” at least three times in the car and had to crank the radio each time. But remember, driver safety first.Jungle have released four studio albums and this track is from their latest. The video for “Back on 1974” is very intriguing.
excerpt
Acclaimed production duo JUNGLE have returned with a new single, ‘Back On 74’, which arrives alongside a music video which is the first of its kind to be made. A product of the pair’s collaboration with WeTransfer, it’s an interactive experience which is slightly different for every viewer.
Only available for 14 days exclusively via WeTransfer, the video sees dancers performing in a virtual art gallery, where each piece of art can be downloaded by viewers in real time. Each artwork download is then replaced by a random selection of 10,000 other unique pieces (created by JUNGLE’s J Lloyd), meaning no two views of the video are the same.
Post Malone – Chemical from “Austin”
Post Malone, is an extremely popular, American rapper and singer. This is the old fellas’ first opportunity to hear Mr. Malone and it was a pleasant surprise. It wasn’t what we expected. Chemical is a catchy three minutes of fizzy synth pop. The NME checks in:
Sufjan Stevens – “So You Are Tired” from Javelin
Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter. He has released ten solo studio albums and been nominated for Grammy and Academy Awards. Twenty or so years ago he started his own label with the best name ever, Asthmatic Kitty. His latest album, Javelin comes on the heels of a tough year for Stevens. He had been hospitalized the previous month and diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome. Also, his partner Evans Richardson, died in April. “So You Are Tired” seems to sum up his tough year. Pitchfork calls it an “elegant break-up song that sounds like a lullaby.”
A. Savage – “Elvis in the Army” from Several Songs About Fire
Andrew Savage, or A. Savage, is best known as a member of the Parquet Courts. This track is taken from his second solo album. First is a glimpse of the Parquet Courts playing their very Velvet Underground fave, Stoned and Starving.
This is possibly the only song in history that references the Canadian candy Swedish Fish!
Savage is also a painter and visual artist, and has created all Parquet Courts’ album covers. He received a Grammy Awards nomination for Best album art of his band’s 2016 album Human Performance.
The song presented here, is less about Elvis and more about what it means to be an American.
Whole-Hearted 
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