Tag: Exclaim!

Episode 62

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Music for Episode 62!

Feist – Borrow Trouble

Neko Case – Oh, Shadowless

Lana Del Rey – Doing Time

Gustaf – Starting and Staring

Weezer – Africa, The Teal Album

Geese – Killing Mt Borrowed Time

Andrea Ramolo, Kalascima – Bella Ci Dormi

Beverley Copeland – Harbour Song (Song For Elizabeth)

Juliana Hatfield – Can’t Get It Out of My Head

Show 62 from Mixcloud

Feist – Borrow Trouble

Feist – Borrow Trouble (Official Music Video)

Feist is back with another new song from her forthcoming album, Multitudes. The latest single, “Borrow Trouble,” comes with a music video co-directed by Mary Rozzi, Colby Richardson, Heather Goodchild, and Leslie Feist. Watch the visual above.

Multitudes is out April 14. In addition to “Borrow Trouble,” the new album includes the songs “Hiding Out in the Open,” “In Lightning,” and “Love Who We Are Meant To.”

From Pitchfork

Lana Del Rey – Doing Time

and here come the cover songs!! And Lana Del Rey is a remake of the 50 Foot woman!! (1958)

From Wikipedia

On May 7, 2019, American singer Lana Del Rey teased a cover of the song and said it was “coming soon”.[4] Del Rey’s cover was officially released on May 17, 2019, coinciding with the premiere of a documentary about Sublime at the Tribeca Film Festival.[5] It was released as the fourth single from Del Rey’s sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell!. On August 29, 2019, she released a music video for the cover, she increased in height from 170 centimeters to 17 meters, which referenced the film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958). When asked about covering the song, Del Rey credited the transitioning of and shifts in genres to Sublime, saying the group “made a genre and sound totally their own”, adding that because of the indelible “SoCal vibe” the group created, “not a day goes by that [she does not] listen to at least one Sublime song.”[6

also from Wikipedia – “Doin’ Time” is a song by American band Sublime, appearing as the closing track on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover makes him feel like he is in prison.

Sublime broke up in 1996 when band member Bradley Nowell died from a heroive overdose.
Here is the 1996 Sublime song

Weezer – Africa, The Teal Album

This is the stuff of musical legend, and it is within our 2017 timeline!



Its been a while, man, lifes so rad. A while, that is, since we were awarded with a gold record! Thanks to everyone – Mary the @weezerafrica
twitter girl, our fans, terrestrial and satellite stations, streaming services, and Crush management – for supporting this crazy single!

Weezer, also known as the Teal Album or just Teal, is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band Weezer. It was released digitally on January 24, 2019, through Crush Music and Atlantic Records, with a retail release on March 8. The album is composed of cover songs, mostly from the 1980s, making it the band’s first covers album. It was announced and released on the same day as a surprise precursor to Weezer’s thirteenth studio album, which was released on March 1, 2019. The album received mixed reviews, with some praising the self-aware frivolity of the project, while others criticized the arrangements.

Weezer – Africa (starring Weird Al Yankovic)

On the morning of December 7, 2017, I was sitting at the Noisey desk, finishing up a hearty blogger’s breakfast (two bags of nacho cheese Doritos and one can of Red Bull) when I noticed my friend Luke O’Neil was tweeting about Weezer slightly more than usual.

“Please RT if you want to help make Ohio teen @weezerafrica’s simple, wholesome dream come true of seeing rock band @Weezer cover Africa by Toto,” he tweeted. Luke is an occasional Noisey writer, and is very adept at wandering into the dark rooms of the internet and causing trouble in them. So my interest was piqued. “OK, I’ll bite,” I thought, and gave Luke’s tweet the one true currency left in our capitalist hell world: my Click.

Upon opening his thread I realized Luke was trying to signal boost @weezerafrica, an underfollowed Twitter account whose sole purpose was to convince the band Weezer to cover Toto’s 1982 hit single “Africa.” The sentiment straddled that sweet middle ground between ironic detachment and genuine enthusiasm. It was so stupid. So irreverent. So utterly lacking in any useful information. I knew it belonged on Noisey. My intuition kicked in. On sheer instinct, my fingers started an email to Luke and threw his directive entirely into the subject line: interview the weezer/toto person for me plz.

Vice

and you have to see the original Toto version

Andrea Ramolo, Kalascima – Bella Ci Dormi

A live interpretation of a southern Italian serenata (love serenade) as part of the new international collaboration with Canada’s alternative folk songwriter Andrea Ramolo and southern Italian world music band Kalàscima.
“Five Minutes With” Toronto Musician Andrea Ramolo

January 21, 2020 Joel Levy Folk-Country, Music, Rock-Indie

Andrea Ramolo is a multiple Canadian Folk Music Award nominee and has been recording and touring her music since 2008. Born in Toronto to Italian immigrants, Andrea began her artistic life as a dancer and actress. In 2003 she picked up the guitar producing two albums “Thank You For The Ride’ and “The Shadows and the Cracks.” The latter earned her a nomination at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for Emerging Artist of the Year.

This is a great track and you can find it on Bandcamp here

Here is the trailer from a movie she made based on this collaboration

“The Canada Council granted me an amazing opportunity to make an ancestral folk record with a world music folk band, Kalàscima, in southern Italy,” she explained. “We’re making a documentary of the recording process and of the history of the ‘healing dance’ and the music of the south.” 
The film will premiere in June in Toronto with a six-song EP released at the same time. 
“I really hope to bring the band over for the premiere,” she said. “They did Folk Alliance in Montreal, which is where I met them. They were playing the ancient instruments like the Zampogna, which are Italian bagpipes. This is an ancient music they play from a time when the musicians were the healers, and they were paid like doctors.” 

Just Folk

Juliana Hatfield – Can’t Get It Out of My Head

Juliana Hatfield – Can’t Get It Out of My Head (Official Video)

excerpts from an interview – not a very good one at that. But Bob did fill me in a little about her. Three cover albums since 2018, the last one ELO recorded during COVID – pretty impressive.

After cutting two solid covers albums, Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John in 2018, and Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police a year later, the singer is now issuing an even more passionate third set, Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO, revolving around the earworm work of that band’s brilliant symphonic-rock mastermind Jeff Lynne

but how she made the album is interesting – another product of COVID

when I was making this album, I didn’t have access to a studio, so I did it all in my bedroom. Or at least all of my parts, and then the bass and drums were recorded in a rehearsal space while I was there rehearsing the parts.

from the Illinois Entertainer – August 31, 2023 interview by Brassneck

but who is she? Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls,[2] and The Lemonheads.  Thanks Wikipedia!

Neko Case –  “Oh, Shadowless” – Wild Creatures

Until about ten years ago, I thought Neko Case was a Canadian. However, Case was born in Virginia and moved to Canada in the nineties, to attend the Emily Carr Institute of Art in Vancouver. She became involved in the music scene played drums in several local bands, like Cub and Maow.  Here’s a young Neko Case in Maow’s  video “Ms. Lefevre”.   

Maow – Ms. Lefevre (featuring Neko Case)

  Also, she performed on Cub’s classic “Pillow Queen”

Of course, she came to prominence as one of the vocalists with West Coast “super group”The New Pornographers but by the late 1990’s she returned to the states.  She has seven solo albums out and in 2022 released a compilation Wild Creatures

https://www.popmatters.com/neko-case-wild-creatures-review  

The album comes with one unreleased wonderful song “Oh Shadowless”

Gustaf – “Starting and Staring” – Package Pt 2

This young NYC band came together in 2018.  Like most things, Gustaf shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  They finally starting releasing new material in 2021.  The Burning Wood blog was my inspiration for choosing these guys.  This is a great read.

https://burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com/search?q=gustaf. 

Scroll to the bottom for “Starting and Staring”

Geese – “Killing My Borrowed Time” – 4D EP

Geese are an American rock band based in Brooklyn, New York.  According to Wikipedia, “ The band formed in 2016 while the members were attending Brooklyn Friends School and Little Red School House in New York City. During high school, the band practiced and recorded material in the basement of Bassin’s home in Fort Greene. As a few of the members had received acceptance letters to attend schools such as Oberlin College and the Berklee College of Music, the band had intended to break up once they graduated high school in 2020. Towards mid-2020, however, the band’s self-produced demos attracted attention from several record labels, including 4AD, Fat Possum, and Sub Pop. Ultimately, the band signed with Partisan Records.”

Once again The Burning Wood blog comes to the rescue for inspiration and elucidation.  https://burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com/2024/01/these-are-geese.html. 

Let’s cha-cha to  “Killing My Borrowed Time”

Beverley Copeland – “Harbour Song (Song For Elizabeth)” –  The One’s Ahead

Beverly Glenn-Copeland  is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter. I going to let Canada’s evergreen publication fill you in on this artist’s incredibly interesting life.  https://thewalrus.ca/beverly-glenn-copelands-late-bloom/ 

In fifty years, his released recordings have been sporadic but 2023’s The One’s Ahead has landed on many people’s year end best of lists.  At 80 years of age , he is finally receiving wider spread recognition.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland – “Harbour (Song For Elizabeth)”

Episode 59 The New Year’s Edition!

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This Week!! Featuring

Brendan Hendry – Lonely

Bar Italia – Jelsy

Tobi – Flatline

Carly Rae Jepsen – Psychedelic Switch

Olivia Rodrigo – All American Bitch

Janelle Monáe – Only Have Eyes 42

​​Paramore –  ‘This Is Why’

Lankum – Newcastle

Nemahsis – I Wanna be Your Right Hand

Notes

Brendan Hendry – Lonely

all my notes this week are directly taken from different best-of lists supplied by Bob.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/dec/27/best-songs-this-year-small-artists

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-2023-1234879538/

https://www.cbc.ca/music/top-100-canadian-songs-of-2023-1.7043304

They make for interesting reading as each list has a different set of criteria for establishing what they consider the best. I am starting with one of the choices from the Guardian – The best songs of 2023 … you may not have heard

I like this list as it features a Canadian I have never heard of before. The description is interesting and the video is worth watching. A great start to my list!

The Guardian

In Canadian singer-songwriter Brendan Hendry’s self-directed video for Lonely – made with “$2, a box of wigs, some friends, and a 90s music video dream!” – he starts by placing a battered cassette in an equally battered boombox. What follows is a frayed-around-the-edges post-bar house party featuring flying wigs, snogging and the briefest flash of a bottom encased in leather chaps. The throwback visuals are anchored by a song that fits perfectly with our ongoing obsession with bratty, emo-coded power pop, from Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts album to Kelly Clarkson’s viral chat show cover versions to the return of 00s UK pop-punkers Busted. Hendry also continues the video’s queering of that 90s aesthetic, pairing a lo-fi drum machine, earworm acoustic guitar and big crunchy riffs with his tale of gay dating woes – essentially men are flaky and freakout at the first suggestion of real emotions. If the early verses grapple with the choice between dispassionate sex or no sex at all – “every now and then I still miss you in my mouth” Hendry sighs at one point – then the pogoing, top-tier chorus, which ramps up the emotional catharsis as the song grows sweatier, reaffirms the idea that being alone is better than being a fool. Michael Cragg

Bar Italia – Jelsy

bar italia –  “Jelsy” from Twits

bar italia, is a London-based rock band who released not one but 2 albums in 2023.  Both Twits and Tracey Denim are rather marvellous.  If you are fan of Wet Leg and the  Velvet Underground, this is a band for you.  All three memebrs contribute deadpan vocals with lots of fuzzy guitars.  “Jelsy” is the latest single from the November release Twits.  https://www.stereogum.com/2238511/bar-italia-jelsy/music/

Exclaim! review

…

8. ‘Flatline,’ Tobi

CBC

I really like this song. Once heard, it is hard to forget. This selection is part of a CBC 3-hour feature – The top 100 Canadian songs of 2023 by Pete Morey. Haven’t listened to this yet, but you can get the whole broadcast here.

they even give you a breakdown of the show:

Joined by friends and special guests, host Pete Morey rewinds the musical highlights of 2023 and cues up what 2024 has in store. The 23 best Canadian albums of 2023 at 00:00:00 The breakout stars of 2022 at 55:50:00 Albums to look forward to in 2024 at 1:21:15 Songs turning 20 in 2024 at 1:33:54 The top 10 Canadian songs of 2023 at 1:50:13

“Flatline” is the embodiment of Tobi’s self-described style of “unapologetic soul music.” Exploring the theme of power — who has it, how one seizes it, etc. — the Toronto rapper weaves the personal and political into one bold, ambitious track. Jabbing piano notes anchor “Flatline” as Tobi effortlessly raps around the beat, covering a swath of topics including the Land Back movement and Black death, as he unabashedly points out: “How they gon’ steal the wave? We on stolen land.” Pain is inevitable, but here, Tobi encourages listeners to transform that pain into power: “Flatline” is the motivational anthem that we needed this year. 

Carly Rae Jepsen – Psychedelic Switch

Carly Rae Jepsen  is a Canadian pop star who of course had an international mega hit with “Call Me Maybe” in 2012.  Her sixth album The Loneliest Time, was released in October 2022. It’s  companion album, The Loveliest Time, followed in July 2023.  This record is a collection of B-sides and tracks left off The Loneliest Time.  The track we chose is a wonderful pseudo Daft Punkish disco number “Psychedelic Switch.”  Don’t ponder the lyrics, just dance!

from Pitchfork

5 Olivia Rodrigo, ‘Guts’ (Album)

All American Bitch

The next two selections come from the Rolling Stone list – The 100 Best Albums of 2023

This is a great list that I want to return to for our next show. We have played lots of these artists over the year so we must be doing something right. I had to add Olivia Rodrigo, I just really like the sense of humour in her music. AND, this album is mentioned in the piece by the Guardian above.

On Guts, Olivia Rodrigo captures the insurmountable challenges of coming to fame while coming of age, with its romantic betrayals, vampiric exes, and fair-weather friends. Throughout the album’s heart-tugging ballads and sneering pop-punk cuts, the 20-year-old maintains a cutting lyrical precision — while unafraid to poke fun at her own shortcomings and social faux pas — that has cemented her as one of her generation’s best pop songwriters. As if to push herself out of the predictable path of “torch singer” and reject the well-mannered vision of femininity she skewers on “all-american bitch,” she delivers the full emotional breadth of teenager girldom through manic screaming, sarcastic sing-speak, and rage-fueled grit. —M.H.K.

Janelle Monáe – Only Have Eyes 42 –   The Age of Pleasure

Janelle Monáe Robinson  is of course is an immensely successful  singer, songwriter,  and actor. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy .  In April 2022, she came out publicly as non-binary.  The song “Only Have Eyes 42” is about being in a polyamorous relationship and being open about it.  According to Songtell, the lyrics appear to be an account of a consensual and satisfying threesome.

More here

The song samples Derrick Harriot’s 1967 rock steady reggae classic , The Loser  

and Dick Powell’s 1934 version of I only have Eyes For You 

…

​​6. Paramore, ‘This Is Why’

Right after Olivia Rodrigo, a song that caught my attention. Don’t know anything about the band, but that’s pretty normal for me. But, read below – this band has been around for twenty years.

Hayley Williams, Taylor York, and Zac Farro made their return on This Is Why as masters of existentialism, and their deep familiarity with impending doom and self-destruction made from some rich emotional mining. Set against expertly executed post-punk and New Wave, they explore their fascination with the complexities of the human condition. Williams wonders about what it means to be a good person who isn’t able to save everyone, including herself. As the first album in the band’s 20-year career that was made with the same lineup as their last one, it was the first new Paramore LP that didn’t require them to rebuild themselves from ruins. What better way to begin building on that newfound foundation than by using the external world as a lens for self-examination? —L.P.

Lankum – Newcastle – False Lankun

Lankum  are an Irish folk music group from Dublin, consisting of Ian Lynch, Daragh Lynch, Cormac MacDiarmada and Radie Peat.  They have released the albums Cold Old Fire in 2014 and Between the Earth and Sky in 2017. In 2018, they were named Best Folk Group at the RTÉ Folk Music Awards.  The band were nominated for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year in 2017 for their album Between the Earth and Sky, and won the prize in 2019 for their album The Livelong Day.  The band’s fourth studio album, False Lankum (2023), was released to widespread critical acclaim and  was nominated for the Mercury Prize and placed highly on several end-of-year lists. The selected track “Newcastle” is an absolutely haunting centuries old ballad.

Lankum – “Newcastle”

The Guardian gave a 5 star review to a recent performance. 

I Wanna be Your Right Hand,’ Nemahsis

This is another selection of the CBC list. A new artist, she seems to be putting out lots of music including the EP track (Eleven Archers) that we played at the beginning of the show.

This song makes it to #10 which is pretty impressive.

Palestinian Canadian pop artist Nemahsis expresses her love language on “I Wanna be Your Right Hand,” with her voice desperately reaching out to someone as she begs to be of service — to be useful in the name of showing her love and devotion. Over an acoustic riff that’s reminiscent of the Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979,” Nemahsis sounds equal parts steadfast and free, playing with her voice in ways she hasn’t in previous releases. While she’s already established her talent for writing heart-wrenching ballads — as displayed on her 2022 EP, Eleven Achers — “I Wanna be Your Right Hand” proves that the rising star has a much wider range that has yet to be fully explored. We can’t wait to hear where she takes her music next. (Songs You Need to Hear, March 22)

Here is a link to her interview with Tom Power

Old Fellas New Music Episode 54

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Episode 54 Old Fellas New Music

Forest Swords – Low

Noname – namesake (Pitchfork)

– BO2A3 ALWAN (COLOR PATCHES)

Big Thief – Vampire Empire (Pitchfork)

Barry Can’t Swim – Define Dancing

Alison Russell and the Resistance Revival Chorus – Take Me to Church (Exclaim!)

Sleaford Mods – UK Grim

The Resonance Between – The Passage (Frequencies)

Sparkle Division – Oh Yeah

This week’s episode on Mixcloud!!

Noname – namesake (heard on Pitchfork)

I didn’t know what this song was about (see below), but I kept on seeing Noname on my playlist so it was time to play one of her songs.

So, what is namesake about?

from Confidence

Noname has never been shy about calling out big names, and on her new track, “​​​​​​namesake,” the Chicago rapper disses titans of the music industry as hypocrites for working with the NFL. Spitting in a rapid-fire flow over a slinky instrumental from Slimwav, Noname specifically hits out at JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and Beyoncé on the Sundial cut.

On the second verse, Noname makes it clear where she stands regarding Jay and his relationship with the NFL. “I ain’t fuckin’ with the NFL or JAY-Z/ Propaganda for the military complex,” she raps. “The same gun that shot Lil Terry/ Out West, the same gun that shot Senair in the West Bank/ We all think the Superbowl’s the best thing.”

From noname

Go, Rihanna, go
Watch the fighter jet fly high
War machine gets glamorized
We play the game to pass the time
Go, Beyoncé, go
Watch the fighter jet fly high
War machine gets glamorized
We play the game to pass the time
Go, Kendrick, go
Watch the fighter jet fly high
War machine gets glamorized
We play the game to pass the time

Genius

Big Thief – Vampire Empire (heard on Pitchfork)

From Wikipedia

Big Thief is an American indie folk band based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums).[1]

Here is Big Thief on the amazing KEXP

Big Thief – Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

This is yet another band that I know nothing about, but they have made a lot of music and Pitchfork loves them.

There’s an imperial effortlessness to Big Thief’s music-making that’s hard not to find dazzling: five full-lengths, including a double album, three solo Adrianne Lenker albums, all in seven years, with no “minor” one, no asterisk in the catalog. Once you start grasping for comparison points, you wind up pretty quickly in superlatives territory: Elliott Smith. Bob Dylan. Prince.

what is imperial effortlessness??

This is what they have done since 2016:

5 albums

2 EPs

21 singles

4 music videos

Grammy nominations in 2020, 2021, 2023

Alison Russell and the Resistance Revival Chorus

The Take Me to Church single is part of Spotify’s Singles Series. The series asks artists to reimagine one of their own songs along with a song they love. Some more from Exclaim! Magazine on Montrealer Allison Russell, an artist we play on a regular basis on this show.

…in 2021 her track “Nightflyer” was on Barack Obama’s annual best-of-the-year playlist, and in 2022 she earned three Grammy nominations and won the JUNO Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, becoming the first Black artist to do so. “The timing of it, the fact that we were at a conjunction of pandemic, of major social justice, and racial reckoning. There’s a lot of things that happened for this record to be listened to in the way that it was and continues to be,” she reflects. “I’m still pondering these things in my heart.”

The Resonance Between – The Passage

There is very little written about The Resonance Between, probably because this is a collaboration, not a band.

So, here is a bit about the project from Bandcamp

The Resonance Between (TRB) is the new collaborative album by artists Alam Khan, Arjun K. Verma, and Del Sol Quartet — an ensemble of remarkably synergistic vision and virtuosity.

Despite their many aesthetic similarities, Indian classical and European classical music have rarely been combined, and generally have been done so in mere juxtapositions rather than with fluid integration. TRB presents a groundbreaking new level of fusion between these cultural genres, crafting a contemporary instrumental sound for this unique original work that is so much more than simply the sum of its parts.

Here is a good article on the collaborators for this project from Seattle Sacred Musi

Alam Khan, Arjun K. Verma, Del Sol Quartet: The Resonance Between

and a little more about this amazing project from World Music Central

The album highlights the Indian classical mastery of Khan and Verma, who teamed up with cross-cultural composer Jack Perla. The American string ensemble Del Sol Quartet, led by violist Charlton Lee, adds a unique touch with their multicultural approach to chamber music. The strings of the quartet beautifully complement the Indian instruments, resulting in cinematic soundscapes that are both emotionally expressive and thought-provoking.

Forest Swords – “Low” from Bolted

Forest Swords is the stage name for English record producer and  DJ, Matt Barnes.  He has released three studio albums, of which Bolted is his latest.  This Old Fella is stepping out of his usual wheelhouse and presenting a little UK electronica this week.

     Mojo magazine calls the album  “ a master class in sound design, Bolted creeps up slowly then engulfs you.”

The online Treble magazine is much better at describing this tune than me.

As a dedicated fan of science fiction, I’m a keen believer in the concept of the multiverse. One of the lesser alternate timelines I imagine for myself involves dropping my political science degree to study music theory and composition instead. I envision falling in love with jazz and postmodern classical music, pursuing an advanced degree or two, and finding experimental electronic music earlier that I did in this timeline. Eventually, I would have landed a gig teaching at either a mid-sized high school or decent community college, and made my own music on the side. And when my students ask me about the sort of art I both create and appreciate, I think it might exist in the same sphere of music as the work of Forest Swords.

Ramy Essam – “BO2A3 ALWAN (Color Patches)” from Metgharabiin (Outsiders)

Ramy Essam is an Egyptian musician who came to prominence during the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt in 2011.  His songs of protest in Cairo were seen by millions of people.  His music was considered incendiary by the Mubarak regime and he was forced to seek exile in Sweden where he has resided ever since. Here he is captivating an enormous audience in Tahir Square in 2011. 

His new release includes this mesmerizing selection which comes with an equally captivating video.  

Barry Can’t Swim –“ Define Dancing” from When Will We Land

Barry Can’t Swim is just one guy, Josh Mainnie, a London-based producer and musician. He makes a type of laid back tuneful house music with an emphasis on piano and interesting samples.  For example, see if the repetitive piano riff in “Define Dancing” doesn’t remind you of a sound off of Pink Floyd’s 1973 Dark Side of the Moon. 

   

Do you have a question for Barry can’t Swim?  Well here’s ten answered.

10 QUESTIONS WITH BARRY CAN’T SWIM, FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW EP ‘MORE CONTENT’

BY HEATHER CLEAL


1. Can you describe your sound in 3 words?

“Fairly jazzy stuff.”

2. How has your childhood in Edinburgh influenced the musician that you are today?

“It’s definitely a big influence, although I would say the people I grew up with shaped my music more than the city itself in all honesty. Edinburgh isn’t amazing at supporting the grassroots scenes, especially compared to somewhere like Glasgow. But I met a lot of incredibly talented musicians growing up there.”

3. If you wrote a screenplay about your life, what would it be called and who would play you?

“Probably Sonja from Eastenders or Steve Buscemi because we all share boggly eyes. It would be called the mindboggling life of Barry.”

4. You worked with many different artists to produce this EP, but who would be your dream collaborator?

“There are so many amazing people I’d love to collab with, but Jai Paul probably pips it, purely because of how elusive he is. I just wanna talk to him man.”

5. What is the greatest highlight of your career so far?

“I think the first-time seeing people singing along to your tunes when you’re playing live. That is such a mad thing to experience, man. Seeing people you’ve never met before in places you’ve never been to before singing along is still so surreal.”

Sleaford Mods – “UK Grim” from UK Grim

Sleaford Mods are a duo, from Nottingham, U.K.  They have been around for almost 20 years.  Prolific (a dozen albums) and popular in their native land, Sleaford Mods haven’t gained much traction on this side of the Atlantic possibly due to their spoken word rants of British class struggles and angst delivered in a thick Midland’s accent.  Check out their latest.  

Here is Pitchfork’s assessment of their latest offering.  

It’s the irascible British duo’s most varied album to date. Just don’t expect anything to change.

Sleaford Mods don’t make music about how terrible things are in hopes that they will get better. Over the past decade, Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson have channeled public discontent and everyday malaise in the UK, scrutinizing their country’s faults as well as their own. And though they’ve found personal growth and commercial success, the Mods’ outlook hasn’t brightened.

If this peaks your interest, Sleaford Mods have been the subject of several full length documentaries like this.  

Sparkle Division – “Oh Yeah” from Foxy

I am getting lazy here so I am going to describe Sparkle Division by lifting straight and from the All Music Guide. “Sparkle Division‘s play lounge funk and blunted instrumental hip-hop that still had a degree of poignancy to it, given that two of its guests had passed on since its creation, and another song paid tribute to the late David Bowie. The collaboration’s sequel, Foxy, fully dives into the realm of fantasy, loosely following a story line taking place in 1969, about a pair of Hollywood film interns attending a lavish party at a Beverly Hills estate owned by a pimp and drug dealer named Foxy. The music sounds much closer to an Austin Powers-like revision of the late ’60s than the era itself, retaining elements of exotica and spy soundtracks but adding ’90s-style lounge grooves and break beats.“Oh Yeah!” picks up this thread and dives head-first into late-’90s atmospheric jungle, with busy beat programming skittering beneath fluttering sax. Maybe the next Sparkle Division record will be an imaginary soundtrack to a Home Alone-style holiday caper.” — AMG  

In summation:  

Episode 53

On By paulmcguire2013In MixCloud, Old Fellas New Music, voicEd RadioLeave a comment
Here is our updated playlist – all 53 episodes!
and our show!

The Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matters 

Jayhawks – Bitter Pill

MJ Lenderman – Knockin

Wilco – Evicted

Jasmine Sandlas – Patt Lai Geya

James Clarke Institute – A Kinder You

Louwop – No soy de aqui, no soy de allá 

Trans Canada Highwaymen – Pretty Lady

OMBIIGIZI – Eagle Man/Changing Woman

The Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matters

The Last Dinner Party – Nothing Matters

I have my sentence now at last, I know just how you felt
I dig my fingers in expecting more than just the skin

‘Cause we’re a lot alike, in favour, like a motorbike
A sailor and a nightingale dancing in convertibles

Nothing Matters The last Dinner Party

A new band whose first single Nothing Matters reached  No. 8 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated Sept. 23. Another COVID band, the members came together in 2019 as three members were starting university – lead singer Abigail Morris, bassist Georgia Davies and vocalist/guitarist Lizzie Mayland.

More from Billboard

CHARTBREAKER: THE LAST DINNER PARTY IS ‘NOT F–KING AROUND’ FOLLOWING ITS DEBUT HIT

The rock group’s “Nothing Matters” came from an all-hands effort in the act’s local scene and continues to build at adult alternative radio.

Although British rock band The Last Dinner Party scored a top 10 alternative hit with their debut single, for the five women that comprise the group, they’d been preparing for this moment for years. Just before beginning university in 2020, lead singer Abigail Morris, bassist Georgia Davies and vocalist/guitarist Lizzie Mayland crossed paths and became fast friends, bonding over musical interests. (Morris and Davies attended King’s College London; Mayland at Goldsmiths.) “We would go to gigs all the time, researching and thinking about starting a band,” Morris explains. “We were very intellectual about it for a long time.”

MJ Lenderman – Knockin

A terrific song, Pitchfork is able to mention Bob Dylan, John Daly the golfer, and of course MJ Lenderman.

The John Daly reference (just another fragment in a depressing landscape) led me to this crazy video apparently at the Thailand Golf Championship.

John Daly: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (GOLF VERSION) | Golfing World

and from Pitchfork

MJ Lenderman’s new single unfolds like a private joke, or some weird take on Chekhov’s gun: Mention a cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” in the first verse, and you must sing a line from it by the end. Over some rangy open chords on distorted electric guitar, Lenderman remembers golf legend and self-proclaimed “crazy man” John Daly’s version of Bob Dylan’s hit, which Daly sometimes performed live, often while wearing a stars-and-stripes jacket. In the song, Daly singing Dylan is just another fragment in a depressing landscape, a place where you can only hear bird calls “coming from the rafters of the hardware store” and where love looks more like mutual codependency: “You’re all I need, babe/Yeah, you’ve heard that one before.”

Jasmine Sandlas – Patt Lai Geya

Great song, an incredible number of downloads for Patt Lai Geya – 1.5 million followers on Youtube, this song has been downloaded over 500,000 times! Also 2.9 million followers on Instagram

On her Instagram account, she talks about being an American-Punjabi female singer

Read more here:

Jasmine Sandlas’ recent post is a tale of every woman who speaks her mind and is called rude  

For some reason, I’ve been called RUDE a lot in my life. I realised that when you speak your mind and stand up for yourself, it’s hard for people to control you. That’s kinda rude of us I guess, especially as women. As a woman, I should always behave properly so that everyone around me is comfortable and having a good time. As a punjabi woman, I should speak softly so I don’t offend anyone. Growing up, I’ve seen most women live their life suppressed and depressed. These words are new but the feeling is an era old.

she has also done a TED Talk – good to take this in

CHOICES | Jasmine Sandlas | TEDxSIULavale

Louwop – No soy de aqui, no soy de allá 

Luis Segura, aka Louwop – Segura a veteran musician, having toured extensively with the Latin hip hop collective Los Poetas. Around the time the group disbanded Segura relocated from Toronto to Lindsay, drawn to the less hectic pace of Kawartha Lakes. 

A side project Louwop is performing with Derek James of the Strombellas

Darryl James – Meet the Musicians of Kawarthas Northumberland

Another grab from Frequencies and Big City Small World. A Toronto artist that you can learn more about here:

Identity as an immigrant growing up in Canada is not often explored in music yet it is an integral part to what makes our communities so beautiful! Residing in the Kawartha Lakes outside of Toronto has given Louwop a chance to share his story as an entrepreneur with an independent cafe serving Salvadoran coffee. In Toronto Louwop curated two events pre-Covid for his Pa’lante nights at Basement 254 which featured international Latinx artist such as Rebel Diaz (Chile/NYC), Equis (Ecuador) and local Juno nominated and winners New Tradition (Toronto) and Boogat (Montreal).

OMBIIGIZI – Eagle Man/Changing Woman

I didn’t know that Eagle Man/Changing Woman is a Buffy St. Marie song. Here from their Bandcamp page is what they wrote about their musical experience and the writer of the song. OMBIIGIZI has performed as Zoon and Status/Non-Status, respectively

“Ombiigizi started as a desire to create a stronger cultural connection that Daniel and myself had felt was missing from our lives as indie rock kids prior to forming. In many ways we both felt isolated from our communities and were using music as a part of our guide forward. Now, our time together as a band to this point has been a whole new experience of ourselves as Anishinaabe people and truly powerful and uplifting to share as collaborators. So, when it comes to the legacy of indigenous art, we could not think of any other artist to cover than Buffy. Her song Eagle Man/Changing Woman is a curiosity to us and a place of origins to the individual growth we have both come to as artists, as sober beings and as collaborators. We seek to consistently evaluate and make positive change in our relationships; with our identities, with our people and connections, and especially those closest to us. Buffy has been part of that guidance to us and oh so many others. We just heard she is retiring from live performance and wish her well and share this in honour of her positive influence and legacy.

Bandcamp OMBIIGIZI

You can hear their rndition here

Their song was on the Exclaim! best music of the week for September 8

But truly, doing anything can feel cinematic with the right soundtrack, and this week’s best new Canadian music is here to foot that bill, including new tracks from Metric and Terra Lightfoot, as well as OMBIIGIZI covering Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Eagle Man/Changing Woman.”

Exclaim!

Jayhawks – “ Bitter Pill’ from 2020 album    XOXO

The Jayhawks are a Minnesota band that has been kicking around since the late 1980’s.  They took a break in in 2004 and returned to recording and performing in 2009.  “Bitter Pill” is taken from their last full length release (the 11th) in 2020.  The trademark Jayhawk’s sound is still intact.    

Pitchfork liked the album.  

Wilco – “ Evicted” from Cousin

Like The Jayhawks, it’s hard to believe Wilco has been a band for for practically thirty years.  The present line up has been intact since 2004. Since 2202’s landmark album Yankee Foxtrot Hotel,  many critic have reviewed each subsequent album applying the law of diminishing returns. The new release Cousin however, has remedied this:  https://burnwoodtonite.blogspot.com/2023/10/wilcos-best-in-years.html

The Guardian also loved Cousins.  https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/28/wilco-cousin-review-a-band-rediscovering-their-experimental-side

Performing “Evicted” on Jimmy Kimmel,  Wilco!  

Stepping into the past, here’s Wilco looking quite younger on Austin City Limits in 1999.

James Clarke Institute – “A Kinder” You from  Under the Lampshade  2023

James Clarke Institute is for lack of better term, a power pop group from Oakville Ontario.  If you hear shades of the Beatles, Badfinger or Tom Petty, you are not mistaken.  “A Kinder You” is the first single released from the impending Moe Berg produced album, Under The Lampshade.  

Check out the website https://www.clarkinstitute.com/   and an excellent profile in The Oakville News https://oakvillenews.org/oakville-culture-and-lifestyle/james-clark-institute-performs-european-uk-tour/

Trans Canada Highway Men – “Pretty Lady”  from Up coming lp Explosive Hits Vol. 1

The Trans-Canada Highwaymen are Moe Berg (The Pursuit of Happiness), Chris Murphy (SLOAN), Craig Northey (Odds) and Steven Page (Ex-Bare Naked Ladies) . and they are going on tour to perform their hit songs and share road stories of the mixed bag of excitement, dread, inspiration, emotional torture and unconditional support that is being a band.  The guys basically formed in 2016.  https://exclaim.ca/music/article/chris_murphy_introduces_his_new_supergroup_the_trans-canada_highwaymen

Now 7 years later, they are having some fun releasing an album of 70’s AM radio hits. The album cover and title are an obvious salute to the K-Tel albums of the time. https://exclaim.ca/music/article/trans-canada_highwaymen_cover_can-rock_classics_on_new_album_explosive_hits_vol_1

The selected track here is the Lighthouse classic, “Pretty Lady” which was released when these old fellas were entering Grade 10.  It’s a great faithful version of the original.

…

Old Fellas New Music Episode 52

On By paulmcguire2013In MixCloud, Old Fellas New MusicLeave a comment

Episode 52 Friday, Oct. 13 at 1:00 PM on Mixcloud

you can find all our shows here
Episode 52 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

Screenshot of our OBS screen
here is our updated playlist on Spotify

Here are this week’s notes!!

Jeremy Dutcher – Pomawsuwinuwok Wonakiyawolotuwok

Jeremy Dutcher – Pomawsuwinuwok Wanakiyawolotuwok / ᐯᒪᐧᓱᐧᐃᓄᐧᐁᒃᐧᐊᓇᑭᔭᐧᐁᓓᑐᐧᐁᒃ (Official Music Video)

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 

Kill Beat Music

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

The Raven And The Red-Tailed Hawk

Some days I can’t do it
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

Genius


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).

DEBBY FRIDAY – SO HARD TO TELL (Official Video)

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

Debbie Friday GOOD LUCK on 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

Olivia Rodrigo – bad idea right? (Official 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

Olivia Rodrigo – vampire (Official Video)

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. 

read more here

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:

Check out Post Malone’s pop-leaning new single ‘Chemical’

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.

More here