Good God man! The best in Canada!! What outstanding hyperbole. Did I out you with my nonchalance?? Well, needless to say, I shall now acquire and listen (carefully) to these dudes...do they have it, really?

Gotta say, the one AC Newman song that Derek put on a compilation for me a couple of years ago (Drink to me babe then) is absolutely sublime (stop the hyperbole madness!).

September 30th works better for me (I may actually attend!).

Thanks for the NPornographer's track selection. I only have 2 tracks available to download from emusic until September 6th and was wondering which ones to try out. All the A.C. Newman tracks I've heard have been equal to his contributions on the group discs so I might just download his as well.

Potentially contentious though highly defensible statement to go into the weekend:

"The New Pornographers" are the best band in Canada today.

Sign me up for the 30th.

September 30th sounds promising - better than the 21st which may be complicated for me. Possible though unlikely that the baby will have come by then.....I say let's go for it! Yeah!

Re the New Pornographers, gotta say I'm not quite on the bandwagon yet. I do enjoy them, but I find the songs, while very skillful, a little glossy and too controlled, at times lacking angst and emotion. They remind me a bit of the mid-nineties BC-based group The Odds, whom I liked but tired of. In fairness to the NP's, I don't own any records, and have only downloaded about 6 or 7 tracks from their first two records...

Marc tells me he would like to host the cd club at his place friday sept 30. How does that sound???
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I downloaded the New Pornographers disc from emusic a few nights ago and I've just about given it one whole listen through on the discman. On first blush it sounds like the perfect late summer soundtrack. If you're looking for one particularly groovy track you can try "Sing Me Spanish Techno". Did any of you purchase the AC Newman disc? I downloaded a few tracks which I liked but haven't heard the whole album. Since I have the Destroyer, Neko Case and New Porns discs I should complete the set.

September 21st will in all likelihood not work for me but trying to find a date that will (and then finding one that will fit in everyone else's schedule) before October should be next to impossible.
Let's go with that date and if I can make it, so much the better.

Anyone heard the new New Pornographers disc yet? The reviews have been good and their last was one of the best pop records of the new millenium. I've only listened to one track, which was good.

Since it's been over two months since the last CD club I think we should really try and squeeze one in for September even if it does end up being a virtual edition. Should we bring along the CDs themselves to aid in the discussion. How about September 21, the last day of summer and the week following the film festival?

The Eels CD is indeed mine and am in no great hurry to get it back. Doesn't really work for me truth be told. Not a bad disc by any stretch but far from memorable. Any word from the posse at Soundscapes on just how stupendously marvelous the new Super Furry Animals disc is? It's not in stores yet but I'm sure they've been spinning it since Canada Day.

Hi there....you remember me...I used to make insiteful , intreguing , mispelled comments from time to time on this site...but Ive been in rural isolation for much of this closing summer month. I propose (since marcs silence perhaps means he is too busy for hosting a cd club ) that we hold a cd club in mid september as a memmorial for Brian....at bettys... you know we could all sit around and...... well.....describe the music on the cds, instead of listening to them...yeah , what do you think???? OK well I still think we should hold one.( Im still repairing all the damage to my house from the raucause 80's dinner.... so somewhere else...also, i seem to have a copy of the aforementioned eels cd , but im not sure whose it is. Could it be yours Derek????

Thanks for the link Kyle....quite a mainstream list for a guy with as much indie cred as DB....although I love a whole bunch of the numbers.

For those unfamiliar, I particularly recommend the Quicksilver Messenger Service tune, Pride of Man. It's pretty outstanding, as is the record from which it originates - the first Quicksilver record; a stellar mix of folk melodies/constructs and groovy psychedelic instrumentation and guitar genius (their lead player John Cipollina, was a short-lived guitar hero on the west coast scene).

i guess if we could have a blog, then david byrne figured he could have one too.

i point this out b/c i discovered that he streams a playlist every week and am currently digging his mix of groovy 60s ditties scattered with the occassional more contempo greats (ie. Flaming Lips, Spirtualized).

it's here. doubtless you all have (by all i mean brian and possibly stuart) these songs but it's great for a late sunday evening listen.

Re social life: Indeed! Though I've heard an even cheekier group say the same of a certain still young-ish urban blogger. Imagine! Safe to say, from my perspective there is (a) no social life and (b) NO SOCIAL LIFE. History tells me I am about to enter the world of the bolded, italicized caps (and we must listen to history).

Re movies eclipsed by their soundtracks, surely the last fifteen years has seen hundreds, as soundtracks have become as big sellers/draws/commodities as the movies themselves. I can think of no examples (had a couple of beers at lunch and synapses are turgid) , so let's move on.

Re Eels, thanks for the tip...they've been the on-again/off-again dark princes (equally loved and hated) of pure pop for a few years now, but I for one had lost track of them. Good to know, like Teenage Fanclub, that they are still going at it.

Kudos for re-invigging a very quiet blogspace of late though cheekier posters/readers will no doubt ask, "What social life?"

Good idea to have another meeting before October. When this will happen is a bit of a mystery, what with the film fest occupying some key September dates, but let's try to work on it. Though I did host recently, I have moved and could thus justify another. Otherwise, I nominate Marc's place, which probably sports the best sound system and is a cool place in which to hang.

I like your idea for a pick of the month, as it will perhaps give others a reason to post their thoughts about their recently cherished tunes. Me, I'm digging the latest Eels 2-disc release.
They're the band most famous for the mid-late 90s single, "Novacaine for the Soul" (not to be confused with Beck's raucous "Novacaine", a great track from "Odelay", another mid-90s great). Haven't really heard much from them in the intervening years but I came across a few free downloads and, liking what I heard, have since purchase the disc from emusic.com.

You can check out the glowing reviews and download some songs at their website.

Also, I've heard a few tracks from the latest Nortec Collective disc, Tijuana Sessions Vol.3, and it sounds pretty great. Has anybody (and here I mean Marc) purchased it or heard the whole disc?

Also, I saw 'Broken Flowers' last night, which I liked but think I enjoyed the soundtrack more than the film. Jarmusch pretty much picks great music for all his films but are there any film soundtracks that stand out as glaringly much better than the actual film.

I'm thinking 'Saturday Night Fever' may be the gold standard here but others may differ or have a better example. Lazily, I will avoid adding another until others have done so.

Hello? Where's the music chatter? Personally, I'm very busy, but I'm sure the rest of you have a moment or two to post some thoughts.

A couple of non-sequiturs - I plan to start a "BD's picks of the month" (or quarter...or year)" but have to re-invigorate my buying habits. Look for it in the fall (or not)....I will say that Xiu Xiu is very hit and miss for me....the guy's singing is mighty pretentious.

Are we going to have a CD club before my next child is born? I'd recommend it, as the BD underground phase (also known as the Warren Factor) starts again in October. It won't be as long this time, but it won't go away in any hurry. I'm already in mourning for my lost social life.

You don't remember my asking you about 'Clap Your Hands...'? It was right before you ripped off your shirt and began howling at the moon, as Broken Wings by Mister Mister began to play.
No? Still fuzzy? Ah well...

I think you've got it right that both Xiu Xiu and Fiery Furnaces have 30 second flashes of brilliance betwixt some less than stellar sections and, let's be frank, a lot of crap. My question then is why not produce a better edited album with just the brilliant bits? Why do I have to wade through what's grating to get to what's great?

[A question for the group but points to me at the outset for posing it in a 'setting up the premise for the sex in the city episode with a parallel-structured pun a la carrie bradshaw voiceover narration']

Sorry man, I guess I don't remember that particular discussion. Did it coincide with the discussion of Cuff the Duke?

As for the Xiu Xiu disc I downloaded it from e-music as I purchased their last disc "Fabulous Muscles" and it never really totally worked for me. The new disc, from the few listens I've given it, is a more rounded album although they do still have their freak-out moments which can be pretty jarring. They are nothing if not interesting and in a similar vein to Feiry Furnaces there are small moments throughout their records where they nail it even if only for 30 odd seconds.

Another album that I downloaded from e-music is the new Malkmus disc and it is certainly worth picking up. So much better than the first two and the track I originally listened to on the website "Baby C'mon" really isn't indicative of the rest of the record.

Hey, didn't I ask you this question on Friday Mr. Mercer? You've obviously been doing some googling and pitchforking over the weekend. Obviously, the 'Clap Your Hands' track on your birthday disc will no longer be the pleasant surprise I'd hoped it to be. My own fault for not bringing it to Stuart's.

I'm in. For $10 it's a good deal and I imagine they'd be quite good at the 'shoe (as most bands are). Will have to download some of their other tracks. Anyone listen to Xiu Xiu's 'La Foret'? Would be curious to hear some opinions. Think I might come to like it but it's early going...

Call me a bandwagon jumper, I've been called much worse, but are any of you interested in the next big thanng out of NYC "Clap your hands say yeah"? I realize that the show is on the Saturday of the long weekend and a few of us are slated the following Saturday to see Sufjan Stevens. It's at the Horseshoe and its only $10. I figure it may be the last time we all get together for a concert at the shoe for quite some time.

Check out the reviews from Now and Pitchfork and the band's site which has 3 downloadable tracks. Definitely hearing the Talking Heads influence.

http://www.clapyourhandssayyeah.com/shows.php

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/c/clap-your-hands-say-yeah/clap-your-hands-say-yeah.shtml

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-08-04/music_discs2.php

Jesus Stuart. I can forgive The Duran Duran, but Falco?

forgot one... I hate to admit it but Duran Duran...save a prayer... OK I know Im in for a beating on that one.....

OK OK, well these are one hit wonders (sort of) ....bands whom I have no records of some feat in itself...BUT that Im willing to take abuse about because I still like these tunes...
1) Toto ....Africa (never could figure out quite what they say about a million men on mars..??))
2) Nena ...99 Luftballoons
3) falco ...Amedeus
3.5) Paul Young....come back and stay

worst song?? mr Roboto-styx

Stu - you've committed Blogging Sin #1 - Thou shalt not suggesteth a topic for discussion and subsequently not participateth.