Wow, Stuart nailed that. Looks like Brian sounds like Spoon. Pretty good song although I'm not sure I need to see a band from the Peg on a best of the decade list.

As for the Microphone's I will have to check out that disc. I own their previous disc 2000's "It Was Hot We Stayed in the Water" (pretty good album title) and the only truly memorable track was the 11 minute "Glow" (part 1 I guess).

Keeping with the cancon bent of Brian's selections I will put forth Destroyer's 2001 disc "Streethawk: A Seduction". Since it had a very 70's (Bowie, Drake) feel to it anyway this is an album that has aged well. Might be the key to any great record, not sounding like everything else that comes down the pike during the same period. Joanna Newsom's "Ys" either confirms or blows that theory to kingdom come depending on how you feel about our harp playing friend.

From the following year, 2002, Beck's "Sea change" is an album that I might have bypassed completely if I had listened solely to the critics. Stuart set me straight on this one and I picked it up at Soundscapes on my way to New Zealand for my year long soujourn. Part of the reason for selling house and packing up for the big adventure was my imminent 40th birthday and this album lived with me for the whole time I was gone as it suited my melancholy mindset to a T.

This album and the Flaming Lip's "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", another favourite of the decade, were on constant rotation during my year off and for me they have a similar vibe. Artists baring their soul, one on a very personal scale and the Lips' almost on a planetary scale. Both great albums for contemplating your small place on this big planet.

He is startlingly handsome isn't he?

well I always knew you were narcisstic Brian but this goes too far. To insert yourself into that video by Novillero the Hypothesist... (that you just recommended below)... is something else... and if it isnt really you he sure looks like you so the critism still stands...

Hey Kyle,

Back to your post on the best of the 2000's, I salute your ambition to find 100 albums, if not the take-up from the rest of the gang (or indeed your own follow through after the first two, ha). Just to re-start the ball on this, I have put together a very prelim list (let's call it the Long List) of favourite albums, numbering about forty. Includes Jose Gonzalez, so good thought there. Doesn't include, incidentally, either Radiohead or Arcade Fire (let's get a little debate going here people). I DO hope it doesn't harm their sales when the word gets out about BD not endorsing them.

I'll throw out a couple to try to stir the creative juices:

Something by the Microphones off of their 2001 album The Glow Pt 2. This one's called The Moon.

And this one from Winnipeg's Novillero - from 2005's Aim Right for the Holes in Their Lives - a fave of mine called The Hypothesist.

Not to focus on the wrong thing, but wow - was that '70s TV show clip lame! How did anybody ever get that project green-lighted? I guess in the pre-Internet days, the prospect of having an attractive woman run around in a short dress was compelling enough.

If you're reading these posts today, Mike, and wondering if the Isis reference means that I played a long lost Saturday morning tv clip from the 1970s, unfortunately, no. I did, however, share a story about the perils of assuming that a 30-second sound clip is representative of an entire song.

Quite happy to come out of the closet where the National are concerned.

Brian, you did forget my favourite music played last night, well at least the story that accompanied it and that was Kyle's "Isis".

I like how these are listed by round...think it helps me remember each artist more better by associating them with what I was drinking/shoving into my mouth at the time; i.e. if it was beemster cheese, which i enjoyed early in the night when i was also enjoying that lovely xylophone jazz piece....so that was...Walt Dickerson!

Thanks for hosting, Bri. Kudos to Marc for the tech support. And to Stuart, for convincing Derek that he has always loved the National all along.

thanks for a great night there Brian, and for posting those cuts so quickly ..it looks good except you neglected to indicate that I had the best selections of the evening...

Tonight's Playlist:

Round One

Derek - Terry Callier - Occasional Rain (1972)

Stuart - "Dark was the Night" compilation, featuring The National, My Brightest Diamond, Bon Iver

Kyle - Woods - Songs of Shame

Brian - Walt Dickerson - a selection from "This is Walt Dickerson" and "To My Queen" (early 60's)

Round Two

Derek - Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Stuart - Ladyhawke - Delirium

Kyle - LCD Soundsystem - 45 and 33

Brian - Tapes N Tapes - The Loon

Round Three

Derek - The Handsome Furs - Face Control

Stuart - The Flowers of Hell

Kyle - Viva Voce - Rose City

Brian - White Rabbits - It's Frightening

Round Four

Derek - Pink Mountaintops - Outside Love

Kyle - Dirty Projector - Bitte Orca

Stuart - Fever Ray. Fever Ray. Fever. Ray.

Brian - Mary Halvorson Trio meets Cymbals Eats Guitars

Marc leaves.

Round Five

Derek - Elbow - Seldom Seen Kid

Stuart - Fanfarlo - Fire Escape

Kyle - Menahan Street Band - Make the Road by Walking

Brian - Sparks - This Town and Amateur Hour

Stagger stagger stagger...the night ends.

Okay, time to stop dawdling and start posting again. Following up on Derek's suggestion from a few weeks back, that we begin sharing our picks for 'Best of the 00s' (some describe this decade as the "naughts" but this to me sounds decidedly grandpa-ish). With that in mind, I'd like to put forward two nominees from earlier in the decade to discuss/share/debate.

"Rose Rouge" - St. Germain, from Tourist (2000)



If you ate at a restaurant in any urban setting on earth from 2001 to 2005, you likely heard this album playing in the background, either before or Bebel Gilberto's Tanto Tempo. That's really no reason to slag either discs, both of which are really all about establishing a more sublter, nightclub cool.

"Tourist" fuses jazz elements (mostly horns and flutes) with house beats to create a kind of dance space for adults. There are a few quieter tracks to balance out the album as well as the more groovier, bass-heavy tracks like the one above as well as well placed latin influences (see tracks 'So Flute' and 'Latin Note') that make this album a varied, satisfying listen.

In a completely different direction, I'll also nominate Jose Gonzalez Veneer (2005). This Swedish singer-songwriter (Argentinian background) appears on a few Zero 7 records, but this first solo effort stands out the most for me. There's a very warm vocal quality that recalls Nick Drake at times but it's mostly the combination of the vocals, the sweetness of the lyrics, and the very deliberate, almost overplucked guitar strumming that really resonates.



Will add a few new ones every week or so. As for my list of albums, think I should be able to get to 100 and maybe 100 songs as well. Looking forward to reading/hearing yours.

Ive been at a conference for 2 days so I was unable to respond, though i can see the comments I cant access the comments on my blackberry. So in short i was unable to come dashing to the defence of Jackson Brown ...As Mike pointed out Brian, Your enthusian was tepid at best, i sure hope I dont need you to describe my best asetts to others in the future...( well yes ,you know, I wouldnt say Stuart is uninteresting, and hes not really dull usually but etc...)
at any rate Running On Empty with the aforementioned "load out song " was an anchor record for me and still is.. I also love his first record (saturated) very much which has doctor my eyes on it as the single but it very solid throughout almost as good as runni9ng on empty. I then branched out to the raved about record at the time (this was late seventies) Pretender which frankly was very dull. I then gave up on looking furhter until a few years ago.

A few years ago I discovered Lucinda Williams back catalogue to be fantastic. I hated Car wheels on broken gravel which all the critics adored , so i never looked at her early work after that disapointment. i then saw her live opening for Neil at the ACC and then I went and found that all her other albums were very good, it was just car wheels that sucked. This eurka moment has made me go back to assess some earlier major artisits that I had given up on and jackson browne is one of them.
I have picked up all the albums you mention Brian and I agree they are great sat afternoon music. Most heartily recommended...
I will also second Something Anything by Todd Rundgrin, A long cherished record of mine too.
I gave another green world by Eno from late seventies which I like well enough and listen too semi regularly, but it is not essential listening for me..

Fair enough.   I didn't really imagine Jackson Browne would be a life changer for any of you, more curiosity on my part.   Though Mike I think he is in your wheelhouse.  Haven't heard from Stuart and he has a pretty big appetite for earnest 70's music, so I'll hold out a modicum of hope for a kindred spirit there.  

While I'm thinking of it, who among you have explored Brian Eno's 70's music? His first four or five records are, in turn, very different and uniformly outstanding (if that makes any sense).   Here's a lovely song from Before and After Science.

I've heard nothing but raves about the Leonard Cohen tour - I somehow thought Mike that you had seen him on this tour, I guess not.   I had always ignored Lenny (that damn stubbornness again) but in the past year have spent a fair bit of time listening to his first few records - which are remarkable as I'm sure you all know.  I'm esp. fond of this one (and, it's a nice impressionistic home made - I assume -  vid).

Re the Nazz, pretty sure I'd remember hearing that at Blow Up, inebriation notwithstanding, though they sure belonged there.    That's a fun song - the drummer must have been exhausted at the end of it.  As far as Todd, I'd say you want to start with the big hit record Something Anything.   Though he was prolific and pretty uneven in his solo recording, and I only know his early period stuff.      Interestingly, he is indeed born in the same year as Jackson Browne, and sported that same stringy long-haired look as JB.  Hmm.  It's almost eery.... Of course, everyone in 1971 looked like that.   I know I did.    Kyle wasn't born yet.

 

Jackson Browne seems like the sort of artist that I would have been interested in, but I've never really delved into his music.  Like James Taylor, I've always been aware of him, but never been interested enough to give him a serious listen.  I did like "The Loadout" when I first heard it, and he had a song in the mid '80s called (I think) "For America" which I liked, but I never bothered to dig any deeper.  I haven't heard any of the songs on the album that you referenced, Brian.  And your hesitant and qualified testimonial hasn't convinced me to run out and buy it yet.  I definitely agree that his excessively earnest delivery is off-putting.

I do have some Pogues records, and I still enjoy listening to them.  My daughter has recently become a fan of theirs, having discovered them through some latter day Irish folk-punk bands that she and her friends listen to (the names all escape me at the moment).  

To introduce another name into the conversation, I just watched Lenoard Cohen's "Live in London" DVD.  It's really a remarkable performance - he's doing 3 hour long shows at the age of 75!  And I really like the arrangements of his songs.  He referred to his bass player as the musical director, so I assume he had a lot to do with it.  There are lots of different voices and instruments, and they all interweave and slip in and out of the mix in a very appealing way.  And Cohen's voice, which was always rather dead sounding to me, seems to have taken on a deeper resonance and nicer tone as he's aged.  I really enjoyed the concert (on DVD - tickets for the recent live show were sold out almost immediately amidst much bitching about Ticketmaster).  

I'm not likely to get in to Jackson Browne any time soon and given my advanced state of decay you can read that as never. But given how much I'm enjoying The Nazz, a band Brian brought to my attention, I figure I should ask if there is a particular Todd Rundgren album or two that I should seek out. Rundgren was an obvious contemporary of Browne's but until Utopia came along I wasn't really aware of his previous solo work and didn't find out about the Nazz until 30 years later.

And a final question primarily directed Mr. Doyle's way did they ever play the Nazz's "Under the Ice" at the Elmo's Blow Up and if not why not. It truly rocks.

Kyle, you're showing your age buddy on Jackson. Or relative lack of it I guess. I've always found him mildly annoying - so earnest and idealistic and baby faced - until recently. And I'm still not convinced he's my thing, there's a problematic sameness to his music, other than the big singles, but the overall vibe is somehow working better for me now.

My only reference point for Jackson Browne is a mid-80s song that featured then-girlfriend (his, not mine, to clarify) Daryl Hannah in the video. Something about depending on me. I could easily look up and post the youtube video but it's not worth the keystrokes.

I also won't post a clip that a university friend emailed me recently of a toothless shane mcgowan performing 'Fairytale...' live sometime in the past few years. Not because I don't think that the song and the emotional performance are worthwhile, but because it was kind of difficult to watch someone in such a deteriorated state. We've talked a bit in the past about the poetic nature of suffering in music, particularly when it comes to some (most?) jazz greats, but watching it unfold before you in documentary or online video instantly takes the romance out of that notion.

Hoping to discuss further on June 18th...any chance of a child-sports-related reason to journey to Toronto on that date, Mike?

Greetings.  I've been struggling to find my blogging muse recently, so have decided to break out of this torpor by posting about a couple of pretty inconsequential things.     Firstly, I recently watched a doc about ex-Pogue Shane MacGowan called "If I Should Fall from Grace with God".  I was a big fan of the band in the 80's, saw them twice at the Masonic Temple (great shows, despite the forthcoming comment), and so wasn't too surprised when many years ago they booted out Shane for his alcoholism - famous for his drunkenness, and unable to stand up at the second performance we went to - but hadn't been aware of this film, which was made back in 2001, until a colleague at work mentioned it to me.    It's pretty hard watching at times, since Shane has apparently deteriorated in the ten years since he'd been in the public eye, and is still drinking straight from the bottle every day.  But it's also a pretty good telling of the story of the Pogues, and incorporates, as you might expect, a lot of their best music, some great live clips, and interviews with a few band members.    I've since gone back and listened to some of those great records, and for those among us (if there are any) who haven't heard anything other than a few numbers, I would recommend starting with the second and third records  "Rum Sodomy and the Lash", and the next one, the eponymous film title.   I was reminded upon re-listening me what a top-notch song-writer MacGowan was, and what an excellent group of musicians the Pogues were.  A Pair of Brown Eyes would have to make my list of fave songs of the 80's (were I to do one this week - ha).

My second note is on Jackson Browne.  Now here is a guy I thought I had no affinity for.  Sure I quite enjoyed Running on Empty and Doctor My Eyes as radio staples when I was in my early teens, but they never made enough of a connection with me to spend anything more than a passing listen or two with the albums.   He was a foundational element of that whole So Cal singer songwriter scene that I - in my twenties - dismissed as a soft, cocaine-addled Hollywoodization of what had been a great movement in the late sixties.   And his music in the eighties (as was typical of so many 70's giants), when I was listening more carefully, was over-produced and boring.    Can't recall what prompted me to go back and try him again, perhaps just an idle interest, or a radio spot, or the remembrance in the back of my head that he had written a few tracks on Nico's Chelsea Girl (they dated when he was 18, and she 29), but regardless, in the past few months I've bt'd a few of his early records - the self-titled debut, Too Late for the Sky, and For Everyman.    This is music that's not right in my wheelhouse, being very sincere, cleanly produced (overly so), and concerned primarily with relationships.  Also very straightforward musically - all within the standard four/five chord structure.    Having said that, I've found it to be a very rewarding listen, and improving with time, particularly Too Late for the Sky.    Very intelligent lyrically and played with passion.  And David Lindley's guitar work is extraordinary.  Overall a great middle-of-the-afternoon-on-a-weekend vibe.  Arguably just a further indication that I'm getting old, or that some of my adolescent pig-headedness  is finally wearing off.   I've definitely found myself able to enjoy this style of music in the past year - Joni Mitchell, Bill Withers, Roberta Flack, among others.    Frankly I'm still in shock.  

Any of you (I'm thinking Mike and Stuart but surprise me) loved JB before?  Or prepared to re-visit him based on my renewed enthusiasm?

wow, I had missed that....Really crappy....I agree that Wilco has not been as great since he has left. hard to say wether that is because of his missed contributions or if the band had just naturally peaked and was going to come down anyways, but I think it more likely the former. The current band sound is definately 2 dimensional now and his varied musicianship combined with his songwritting abilities as well as his ability to criticise Tweedy directly and increasingly indirectly must surely have been positive creative factors for the band. After watching that movie I doubt anyone in the current band cricticises the new Wilco material much as it is being developed. With myself being in a creative partnership and similarily with the other partner being the primary name, I know how difficult his footsteps had to be......
a sad day indeed.......

I was also reading some of the articles this morning re Jay Bennett. It is indeed very sad as he appeared to be a very passionate and committed musician who as you said Kyle contributed to several great Wilco records. His voice was also a great foil for Tweedy's. I'm not sure they've been the same since his departure.

Speaking of great albums like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Brian and I have had a few conversations lately re the fast approaching end of the noughts (or whatever this decade has been called) and were thinking that sometime in the latter half of 2009 we should get together for a retrospective CD club where we can listen to what we thought were the best of the last 10 years. Not as easy as it might have been for previous decades probably because our lives at this stage don't entirely revolve around seeing live shows and listening to and talking about nothing but music.

Don't give up on your Paste subscriptions just yet, Mike. Not sure that it's enough to entice a new subscriber but should provide some comfort if you've already shelled out some caja.

Very sad news out of Illinois yesterday about a former member of Wilco. Not sure if all of you have seen I am trying to break your heart, the documentary about the making of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but the tension between Bennett and Tweedy was even more compelling than the drama surrounding the record company contracts. Loved the first three Wilco discs, of which Bennett was a key contributor, and also downloaded and enjoyed some of his solo stuff as well. Always upsetting when somebody talented dies at a relatively young age, in what appears to be suicide. Must raise a glass to him soon. RIP.

What a coincidence! No sooner did I hit send on my previous post, when I received a message from Paste magazine with the subject "The Campaign to Save Paste"! So be forewarned - the magazine is struggling, and a subscription to their VIP club might not be the most prudent investment you've ever made...

I'm glad we've returned to music. I was feeling guilty for introducing the Family Ties theme that threatened to turn this into a retro-TV blog.

I've been listening quite happily to CBC Radio 2 during my commutes both in the morning and at night. There is more music than talk, and no commercials. It is the commericals that drive me crazy - my evening commute generally takes me across the 6 o'clock mark when radio 2 switches to a jazz show, and it usually loses my interest within a couple of songs. At that point I start flipping around the few Ottawa commercial radio stations that could conceivably play a song that I like. I end up hearing a few fragments of good songs, but I can't bear to listen to the endless commercials in between them, so I change channels restlessly. I also change when I hear a song that I don't like, or a song that I've heard too often, or a song that I'm just not in the mood for. I think that satellite radio would be perfect for me, if I weren't far too cheap to pay for it.

Another approach - which I may take - would be to get one of those gadgets that will pipe my ipod through my car stereo. Then I could load up my ipod with the newest batch of songs that I've downloaded (mine will take about 1,000 at a time), and listen to those while I'm commuting.

Speaking of downloading music, have any of you heard of or tried the Paste VIP club? For $6 each month you get an album by an up-and-coming band, a sampler of songs from various artists, 4 songs "live from the Paste studio" recorded by some of these same artists, an occasional DVD sampler (4 per year), an occasional bonus disk (about 4 per year as well) and access to their digital magazine. You can see a track list from their latest sampler to get an idea of the kind of music Paste focuses on.


Mike

least funniest on the show was skippy, the next door neighbour, who i mostly just wanted to punch in the face. but you mentioned satellite radio...

I find it a mixed bag really. I enjoyed the access to the great national public radio programming in the US, which tends to steer clear of the wholly unjustified smug self-amused tone and lame attempts at humour that infects most CBC programming. And four different types of alternative music stations meant I could skip from 90s grunge to 80s new wave to some 'must have just been profiled on pitchfork' stuff. And satellite kicks the living bejeezus out of any commercial radio station in Toronto, which could very well offer the worst radio options of any city in North America, though this is a topic for another day.

But there's something a little overwhelming about having 200+ choices. Even when I was really digging an old Joe Jackson song I hadn't remembered existed or I got to hear a new Peter Bjorn and John song that sounded interesting but actually didn't sound like any of their previous stuff but I knew it was them because I could click on an info button and it told me all the details...even then, I couldn't help but wonder if I was missing something even more interesting or fond memory-inducing on another channel. And if a song came on that didn't immediately grab me, I quickly switched to another channel. Guess my point is that satellite radio only served to decrease my already very short attention span.

Other 'But...' question: it worth the X$/month? If, god forbid, I ever had to commute into the city for work from the suburbs, I would gladly shell out the monthly fee. If I was driving from high park to summerhill everyday, though, I'd save my dosh (or invest it in red wine).

i remember that episode Kyle, fantastic... I think the father on that show was by far the funniest. I dont think he really got emnough credit, his timing and delivery were perfect....
I also completely agree with you on Patrick Sexsmith Watson....
I get satellite radio free on my next car (my current lease expires soon) so it will be interesting to see how good (or bad) it is. i will let you know...

I'm sure I'd still enjoy the episode where the Keaton parents return home to full-on homecoming party featuring a kangaroo in their livingroom. The father's line and its delivery were fantastic: "Parents expect some unpleasantry when they leave their kids at home for the weekend. A cracked dish. A stain on the carpet. There was a kangaroo in our living room....."

Also, Derek did mention Babe, which I happened to hear on satellite radio yesterday while driving a rental car. Yes, there are folks out there who shell out a monthly fee for Styx. Yowsa.

Btw...anyone listen to the new Patrick Watson disc? My father-in-law was raving about it on the weekend. I've liked his last two but kind of get the feeling that this might be one of those artists who fall into the 'if you have two of their discs you really don't need anymore' category? I'm thinking of other Cdn artists like Ron Sexsmith and Rufus Wainwright category-wise.

Styx! That reminds me - we forget to mention Babe...

It's funny how that works - I remember really enjoying "Family Ties" back in my early to mid twenties. Caroline and I used to watch it religiously on Thursday nights before I headed out to my weekly hockey game. I've since since an occasional episode, and I've been surprised at how terrible it is. Apart from Michael J. Fox's appealing caricature, there is nothing to recommend that show. And even that wears thin fast. Still, I don't think there's a point in beating oneself up over these things. It's all about time and place, and stage of life. There's no point in trying to go back, but there's also no need to be ashamed of all of those points along the way. The intriguing thing to me is to look ahead and wonder what I'm enjoying now that is going to seem completely unbearable to my future self.

My daughter is reading this book which is a new teenager fiction author and she mentioned that one of the charcters names is Loreli....well of course I had to mention that I loved this album by Styx (equinox) that has a song by that name....so I put it on for the first time in about a quarter of a century expecting to have a beautiful nostalgic moment but OMG as they say...
This is the worst song with the worst lyrics ever.... its about this girl moving in with him....My daughter mocked me mercylessly for listening to this stuff. I must say I was surprised at how bad it was, because, I mean hell ,I still like John Denver, but somehow this really not aging well at all....

no need to be so harsh bri. after all, stuart did spell baby correctly each time... give him points for that at least.

agree that the topics are thin these days so i'll ask the group to throw something out there.

in the meantime, i've been enjoying the new pitchfork redesign and some of the new song/video features. for one of the most interesting covers i've heard in awhile (wait until the guitars kick in), i direct you to the flaming lips version of madonna's borderline.

OK then, how about favourite songs that incorporate the word goof?

baby has the cdclub really come to this.....by "the metabeats 2 blogsite "(soon to be up and running)
what a sad topic baby.....by "I need new friends and fast"
baby baby what up?....by "clearly we are not drinking enough" (produced by -this can easily be fixed)
baby lets go to a patio soon...by "all my friends are totally f*%$ed"

Hey boys, back from Australia.  Loved the baby post.  Nothing like a little 3-in-the-morning-strolling-back-and-forth inspiration.    The one that immediately comes to mind for me is this early power pop classic.    Derek, nice job on the Silly Baby posts, which admittedly the term baby does inspire.   (I always did like Wave Babies - like, seriously, I did - so thanks for bringing it back to life).   Cry Baby Cry is a great song, much unheralded in the Beatles canon, so good job there.   Some other goodies:

Baby You're a Rich Man - Fab 4

Baby's in Black - ditto

Baby Britain - Elliot

Baby Driver - S & G

Summer Babe - Pavement

Baby Boomerang - T Rex

And from the "only Brian likes this music" category:  You Baby, by the Turtles, and Still in love with you Baby, by the Beau Brummels.

Finally, a pretty cool late 60's cover (you can name that song in how many beats....?) from a band called Smith, which charted highly at the time, though I wonder if most of y'all have heard this version.   Cool period variety show video, hideous dubbing only adding to the charm.

 

  

I scanned my collection looking for titles with "Baby", and oddly Bob Dylan seems to lead the pack, having contributed:
Baby Let Me Follow You Down
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
Baby I’m in the Mood for You and
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

There are far too many others to mention, but some of my favorites would be:

My Baby Don’t Tolerate by Lyle Lovett
Maybe Baby by Buddy Holly
Baby Talk by Richard Thompson
Baby You’re a Rich Man by the Beatles
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)as done by U2
For Baby by John Denver


Mike "Baby" Gaines

I find it hard to take seriously most songs with the word "baby" in it although Kyle, you have provided some nice choices. I'm going to take a different tack and select those baby songs that make me laugh or smile sheepishly. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Most of these songs have stuck in my head over the years sometimes to my chagrin. The haircuts in many of these videos are quite outstanding.

A #1 hit when I was a kid in Scotland. Blame the English not good celtic folk.

The Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love

Really listen to the lyrics on this classic.

Paul Anka - Having My Baby

OK this one has the word "babe" but I figure all variations are fair game.

Styx - Babe

Another classic from the great white north.

Honeymoon Suite - Wave Babies

And is there a more apt name for a band. They should have added white to remove any lingering doubt.

Bread - Baby, I'm a Want You

If I had to settle on a winner in this competition for the best song ever with the word baby it would have to be the Human League's Dont' You Want Me Baby. A bit of a cheat I know but without the word baby it fails completely. Throw in honey or sweetheart and it just doesn't work.

And if you want a truly silly baby song it doesn't get much better than TenPole Tudor's "Throwing My Baby Out with the Bathwater"

btw...your mention of 'Baby Ran', Mike, prompted me to download a few songs from 54.40 i haven't heard in awhile. I met a hot girl named Veronica at one of their concerts at the Ontario Place forum (rotating stage and lawn seats = mingling opportunities for teens) when i was 17...not much came of it...she lived on the other side of town, not figuratively but literally....the west end of toronto can be a far away place when you're carless and leaving in an eastern suburb...but a good memory nonetheless.

Don't know of any other legal downloading alternatives, other than perhaps puretracks.com, which is not any cheaper than itunes. Think your choice right now is an honest $10 an album or a dishonest smaller price.

Also, here are my current favee songs with Baby in the title:

Cry Baby Cry - The Beatles
You Just Haven't Earned it Yet Baby - The Smiths
Don't Leave the Light on Baby - Belle & Sebastian
Baby Love - Diana Ross & The Supremes
Everybody Loves My Baby - Fats Waller
Combat Baby - Metric
Little Fat Baby - Sparklehorse

I am quite loving emusic these days but I am findimng about 10% of the stuff i want is not on emusic as the artist is too mainstream (ie death cab).... I hear itunes has changed to a 3 tier price system with cheaper 69 cents per song for less notable acts and pricier $1.30 for big acts.... Is there any other alternative to gettign good prices on acts that are bigger then emusic? Legally i mean....

Congratulations Kyle! I'll have to give some thought to that challenge - "Baby Ran" by 54-40 comes to mind. Are we to expect a whole series of such themes in the years to come? From titles with the word "toddler" to songs about teenagers?


Mike

With my newborn son now home from the hospital, I have a whole litany of excuses for not posting, updating the blog. So, no time for big discussion-generating topics from me right now but still no excuse to let this space go stale for the next 18 years.

Two items:

One, for those fans of Morrissey/The Smiths, a recent article in Slate that explores what's compelling about the man.

Two, a request for a list of your top 5 or 10 songs with the word baby in the title. Again, not thought-provoking but topical.

For what it's worth, I think worst baby-titled song could be this:

:)

It's all related. Not every dream is noble...

Good point, Mike. It's not just that Nickelback is terrible. It's that, according to every headline in last Monday's paper, they are the best band in nation, Canada's 'Group of the Year'.

Perhaps there are bands who are even less deserving of this title but I'd be hard pressed to name one quickly. To me, they're like Yellow Tail , really over the top, syruppy, completely unpalatable, and yet inexplicably high-selling.

And btw....what's the deal with all this, 'hold onto your dreams, never give up, swear to god' schmaltz from a band with not one but two creepy songs about getting a blow job?

I think they missed, "I'm crying in the rain so you can't see my tears".

To my mind, the question isn't whether Nickelback is the worst rock band in the world. There are too many bad bands out there to even contemplate such a designation. The question is whether they have the biggest gap between their level of acclaim and success and their deserved level of acclaim and success. I think they have that sewn up for Canada (Loverboy's continued presence on classic rock notwithstanding). But the whole world? This needs more thought.


Mike

I'm pretty sure those lyrics were appropriated in their entirety from poem submitted by a 17-year old classmate for my grade 12 yearbook. It was good, but I preferred her other writings, which covered topics ranging from the sudden death of a pet rabbit, the heartbreak surrounding an unrequited crush, and her parents' divorcing when she was 9. Gotta be worse bands though Nickelback gives them a run for their money. Will think on it.

I don't quite know how the radio in my rental car yesterday came to be set to Jack-FM but before I could adjust the radio dial The Beatles "Come Together" started up and I was quite happy to listen for the duration of the song.

What followed quickly on it's heels however was an entirely different matter. From the new (old, new who can tell the difference) Nickelback album they played "If Today Was Your Last Day". Please take the time to read the lyrics, without the annoying distraction of Kroeger's voice. If you can find one cliche they've left untouched let me know and I'll forward you a prize. This year's Junos best band in Canada are quite possibly the worst band of all-time.

Any other nominees for that title?

I knew I was behind the times where the latest communication technology applies and really couldn't give a fig since it's a long time since I was 15 but this story from the Guardian almost had me weak at the knees until I realized that in the UK it is now April 1.

Don't have much to add where music applies but if you're looking for an album that's a real grower you could do a lot worse than Valery Gore's sophomore effort. A real beauty that has found it's way to getting ever increasing spins as 2009 moves along.

The Mellencamp article was interesting - I hadn't realized that they had fundamentally changed the way they track "listens", or the effect that it's had on the industry. This is clearly an opportune time for a new record company to emerge with an entirely different model. Mr. Cougar is right that artists can't take on the burden of their own marketing and business management. But he's wrong that this is the end of creative music. It's the end of the old business model. With the existing companies dropping the ball on tracking their customer's tastes effectively, the time is ripe for a new record company - let's call it MetaBeats Music (MBM). MBM would offer artists the same kinds of services they've received in the past - funding for recording and touring, marketing, promotion and royalty payments. But instead of working with conventional radio stations in major markets, MBM would work with Internet radio stations and music sellers distribute the music and track "listens". MBM would also nurture relationships with online music bloggers and reviewers to help the artists find the listeners who are inclined toward their kind of music. Because this model is much more efficient and scalable (and less corrupt) than the traditional approach, the business model would allow for a greater share of the revenues to go to the artists, which would help attract them to the label. I also disagree with John that today's problems are caused by focusing on the shareholders instead of the customers. If the business is run right, their interests are aligned (the shareholders make money when the customers continue to spend, which they will only do if MBM can consistently provide good music over time). The opportunities for greater segmentation of the listener base, more precise tracking of playlists and online purchases and the ability to offer albums and songs indefinitely (because of the virtual shelf space in online stores) will make it easier for people to find new music that they like while generating a robust ongoing revenue stream to satisfy the shareholders. Everybody wins except the old record companies, who will be forced to adopt a similar model or die off. I suggest that we all quit our jobs immediately, pool our funds and seize this opportunity!

Test

Here is an interseting article by John Mellencamp http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-mellencamp/on-my-mind-the-state-of-t_b_177836.html on the state of the music industry , has some stuff that i didnt know but makes a lot of sence....

Cash is a great example. I'm gonna need some evidence on Mr. Reed. Also, any post 1980s Cohen as well. Also, as Mike would point out, these are solo artists, not bands.

Still, at least you didn't mention these two. You must enjoy your posting priviledges.

Btw...I added this link because the 'announcement' of their joint tour was one of the wire story headlines scrolling across the bottom of the ADHD-inspired Citypulse news screen this morning as I was scarfing down a bowl of cheerios. Needless to say, there are now some tiny little circles of toasted oats lodged in parts of my nasal cavity as a result of my attempt to snort in disgust and shout, 'yougottabefugginkiddingme' simultaneously.

Nice debate. I have three to add - Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash.

Thank you.

As Mike stated it is very hard to keep a band going long term and especially keep them relevant which is where I would diverge with Mike in giving any props to Aerosmith and the guys from Oz with the schoolboy pants that mum hasn't had to iron I would imagine in almost 50 years.

Staying relevant in any art form (musical or otherwise) has to be extremely difficult and thus gives a decided advantage to the likes of Coltrane, Cobain, Schubert, Plath and Pollock.

In terms of longevity, if nothing else, where rock music applies I too lean towards those that were once members of bands that meant a lot to me in their earliest guises and have gone on, in most cases in solo ventures, to make some pretty decent music if not earth-shattering. The Smiths first record, a touchstone for me, came out in 1984 and Morrissey's latest just released a few weeks ago has some pretty great moments on it. Likewise with the Jesus and Mary Chain's first album in 1985 and then 2008 saw Bobby Gillespie (the frontman for Primal Scream and drummer for the JAMC) release a decent if rather predictable record. Given the shape-shifting tendencies of Primal Scream over the last 20 years this predictability was entirely unpredictable.

Then there's David Byrne whose Talking Heads had their first great record 30 years ago and last year teamed up with Brian Eno to put out a pretty great album that sounded nothing like the heyday of Talking Heads. I have much more respect for an artist of this ilk than say the Cure or Depeche Mode, who I loved back in the day, but who are putting out albums after 30 years that are basically mining an already depleted pit.

As for The National vs The Walkmen non-debate it's very simple. The Walkmen rock and the National are a bunch of noodly wankers with a Nick Cave wanna-be lead singer.

John Fogerty's first great albums were with CCR starting in 1968, and his latest was Revival in 2007. It's a really good album (and it's available on emusic). Van Morrison is another long term prolific writer with releases stretching from 1967 to 2009. He hasn't had a big hit in a while, but the critics consistently give him good reviews. Tom Waits hasn't had a release since 2004, but he has 30 years of consistently good material. And of course you have to give a nod to Pete Seger. He plays traditional folk songs now more than original compositions, but he's been performing and recording steadily since the late '30's. But those are all individuals. It's much harder to keep a band going over the long term. R.E.M has 25 years worth of great music (so far). And although I'm no longer a fan, I have to give credit to both AC/DC and Aerosmith, who have been making records since 1975 and 1973 respectively, and who have shown much more staying power than most of their peers by managing to avoid turning into a nostalgia act.

bob dylan and neil yonge are the only 2 artisits I can think of who have put out 5 star records 30 years apart neils...Buffalo springfield again 1967 Harvest moon 1993 ... well ok 25 years
bobs...the freewheeling 1963, modern times 2006.....43 years, yikes that surely has to be the record....( the difficulty is finding a true late career gem rather then a late carreer "not bad" album)
on a seperate note...how is possible that the likes of some of you , namely derek and brian can bitch tell the cows come home about how the lead singer for the national has a voice that seems "ohh so forced" yet you both love the walkman, who's singer surly has more of a styized sound ...
???

3 things:

one, i'd like to see mike's unrequited love post expanded into either a short story or preferably, a short film, scored to neil young's 'rust never sleeps'. the closing scene should feature a 1979 version of a young man staring wistfully after a comely babe sashaying down a winding cobblestone street in brussels while 'ride my llama' blares in the background, taking us to the closing credits. brian, if you still have that videocamera, you need to get on this project stat!

two, though i've wholly embraced mp3/digital musical media, there's something sad about not really having a record collection anymore. yes, i still have maybe 75-100 vinyl records, dating back to around 1989, the year i purchased a cd player and stopped buying vinyl entirely. as a teenager in the mid to late 80s, more than half of my purchased music was in the form of cassettes, which were convenient at the time for walkman use but fairly useless now, given that i no longer own a tape deck and have either given away or thrown out all of my cassettes. this realization, triggered by stuart's question about re-discovering and re-digging old records, has prompted me to redouble my efforts to back up my current collection and locate some of those songs from the 80s in mp3 form...'That Petrol Emotion' and 'The Mighty Lemon Drops' are two likely candidates for imminent re-acquaintance.


three, stuart's mention of maya's newfound interest in u2 has me admiring u2. i haven't purchased an album of theirs since Achtung Baby (for the record, Stu, 'Unforgettable Fire' is my personal fave). and i probably won't purchase their new disc. but at least they're still putting out catchy, mostly interesting (okay, i probably won't be hired as their p.r. rep anytime soon) pop music. i can't think of any band approaches their 30 year anniversary that still engages the pre-teen crowds/the billboard charts in the same way. yes, there will always be classic rock devotees (my sympathies, mike. i'm sure it's just a phase) and a market for boomer retreads whose concert tour announcements appear each spring like dust mite excretion, bilking their only-too-willing-to-be-bilked cohorts into forking over cash for...okay this is just going to turn into another one of my anti-Eagles rants...but my point is...okay, how about in the form of a question, "Can you think of any bands that have been around for 30 years that are still putting out interesting music?"

Btw...though I'm all for engaging different viewpoints, there are wrong answers to this question. Chiming in with, "The Rolling Stones", for example, will result in you being suspended from posting for an unspecified duration. Just a friendly warning. :)

My kids are also getting into music that I used to listen to, but for the most part, it's stuff that I no longer like very much. My son tends to the heavier side - AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple etc. My other son hasn't really carved out a particular identity, but his favorite radio is the local classic rock station, which I find very tedious. My daughter has fallen under the influence of a friend with a strong interest in music, and she's started to go to concerts at local clubs. She's into ska and a variety of different genres that all sound like punk to me. I can't really say that any of them have re-introduced me to some old favorites. I do get the occasional nice moment of nostalgia when an old favorite from Led Zeppelin gets aired, but that's about it.

I do remember seeing "Live Rust" back in the '80s and loving it. The first time I ever heard of Neil Young was when I was living in Belgium in 1979. At the time, I was into all that heavy stuff that my son is currently listening to. I bumped into a girl at the local commissary (a girl that I happened to have an unrequited crush on) who was deliberating over a copy of "Rust Never Sleeps". Knowing that I was Canadian, she asked my opinion, assuming that I would know all about Neil Young. It was just one more awkward stumbling block confirming a relationship that was not to be.

well it seems my music life is being driven by my daughter who is now getting really into music...

I picked up a copy of Live Rust the live neil young movie circa 1978 which i last saw circa 1980 and though I am admittedly a big fan of neil I would have to say its hard to top this as a concert video, he is at the absolute pinacle of his game here, it has to be seen to be believed, his guitar work in like a hurricane resonates well...like a hurricane.... if any of you missed this it shows why we love him so....

also maya is gettiing into U2 , and i was mentioning to Derek bout the unforgettable fire cd which i have not played for 15 years and I am just loving it to death ....song after song is great , much more consistent as an album then i remember....

so any of you found old records that you have found staying on your music player that you hadn't listened to in years...???

I used to get a big kick out of the Pandora algorithms, and how they picked "similar" music. My favorite approach was to seed the engine with a single song, and see where it went. I've been doing the same thing with the Grooveshark autoplay feature lately. Yesterday I seeded it with "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot, and got a very strange result. Grooveshark alternately played Beatles songs and country songs by the likes of Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. I can understand the country connection, but I was expecting more of a folk selection. But a heavy dose of the Beatles? I didn't see that coming.

Agreed, a remarkable turn of events vis-a-vis Mr. Watson and technology. Why, only this morning, young Stuart emailed me a link to something that I could not fathom him having been able to find, without possessing almost hacker-like skills!

The explanation for this "linking miracle" was, as it turns out, somewhat less tech-reliant than it seemd on the surface, but I was prepared to give Stu the benefit of the doubt given his iPod expertise the other night.

My solution for this admittedly annoying conundrum is to use your computer as your source of palying music, and its iTunes screen as the reference to the music. Works pretty well, though ultimately I think I could see a wireless device that puts the song information onto your TV. I know, just me being a tech visionary again.

Because we (okay, mostly myself and Derek) often mercilessly deride him for not being tech savvy, I feel I must give props to Stuart for showing me how to shuffle songs within playlists and genres in my ipod. Believe it or not, in the past two days alone, this has been an invaluable tool for discovering, or in some cases, rediscovering, music I've downloaded over the past two months. Kudos, sir!

I'm now trying to return the favour by locating a device that would prevent you from having to get up from the comfort of your couch and walk over to the stereo/plugged in ipod in response to countless queries from your guests as to what song/artist they're listening to at any given moment. So far, I've only been able to locate this, which seems a little bit pricy. Perhaps a better bet is to ask your guests to get themselves iphone and then download Shazam.

I liked 'Post War', but I know what you mean about the reverb. I read a review that compared some of the songs to the 1980s album by Roy Orbison, which tempered my initial wild enthusiasm for the album. Will work on that other post, which I abandonned after deciding the steps outlined therein would have been a lot of work for most to bother, even if the result is kind of funny.

For now, I'll give you another reason to love Radiohead and a celebration (I think) of passionate, if vitrolic, music critics.

Haven't heard the new M Ward yet Kyle, but his last record left me strangely cold, so that's likely why. I think it was the super-reverby production that felt really self-conscious. Not entirely fair, but then how does one explain likes and dislikes?

Grizzly Bear is an interesting band...though I prefer Horn of Plenty, their lo-fi debut from a few years back, to their breakthrough album from a couple of years ago - Yellow House. To me their second one is a little annoyingly bombastic - perhaps songs over-developed. It's undeniably different though, and pretty arty.

Kyle, you should finish off your post of a few days ago - looks like fun.

Some of Grizzly Bear's previous albums (and yes, that sounded as surreal to type as it does to read) are now available on emusic. Am hoping the new one will be there as well. Anyone d/l the new M. Ward? If so, thoughts?

I tried searching for every (real) artist that stuart listed here in grooveshark and only added those that appeared on the list. If you want to create a grooveshark profile and upload some songs, I think you can even add these to my playlist (called stuart february 20th).

Stuart, you are just so hilarious my friend. And the Opera disk was Albanian, not Armenian.

Kyle, great comp, though oddly it doesn't include anything that I brought....just an oversight I'm sure :) . Interestingly, I noted that Department of Eagles (which I sampled last night and at first blush, really love) is a side project of Grizzly Bear, who have a new record coming out shortly, and whose song "Don't Ask" I am over the moon about.

Thanks for posting Stu. Thought it would be a nice recap for those who attended and those who could not to hear some of those tracks, courtesy of my new favourite little tool, the grooveshark playlist. Enjoy:

Nicely done Stuart. Love that first list especially Marc's box set. You were obviously on form this morning mate.

For those of you that enjoyed Kyle's selection of Tinariwen the other band that you might want to check out is Etran Finatawa which is available on e-music.

selections:
Dylan -Bootleg vol8 89-2006
The pains of being pure at heart -young adult friction
Roy haynes-we 3
ted macero-with the prestige jazz quartet
Department of eagles
Horace Silver-doing the thing
Electrelane- no shouts no calls
Sin fang bous
Cut Copy- in ghost colours
Glenn Mercer-wheels in motion
Animal collective-merriweather post pavillion
Art farmer-farmers market
J-live - the upgrade lp then what happened
open sky unit - sunshine star
tinariwen
the new year
lykke li - touith novels

and there wasnt a bad cd in there.........

sorry for the delay in the list......

Brians choices:
Jazz compilation: Jazz so rare we cant find it
Opera Disc: eastern Armenian all male choir sings their favorite songs from the 14th century

Derek:
I love to dance.....Whitney huston
I need your love stick....Rick Astley

Kyles :
The best of nickleback
Celine Dion: I love old bald men

Marc:
World music comp: All african music ever made (1000 disc box set)

Yeah, I'm thinking that this is another muxtape, waiting to be quashed by the labels, especially since I don't see any 'buy it here' type icons or any corporate branding. Seems like there's an ability to create playlists, as existed in muxtape, as well as the ability to email a song to a friend, so the friend can listen to a full stream. I'm in the process of 'creating a widget' which should, if it works, allow me to embed a little mp3 player with said playlist within the blog. will keep you all posted.

UPDATE: A little digging and I'm nervous about it's long-term potential. Still, I'm cheering these guys on.

UPDATE: Here's the playlist.

I don't get it - I'm currently listening to the latest album by James on Grooveshark. I was able to dial it right up and play it directly, which I always understood to be a copyright violation in itself (Pandora always allowed me to choose a song as a seed, but it wouldn't play that song right away because of copyright laws). I gather that Grooveshark also has an autoplay feature that suggests songs, although I'm not sure of the algorithm that it uses. But why is this service able to play in Canada if Pandora is not? I guess I should just enjoy it for as long as I can until some faceless bureaucrat shuts it down as well. Great find, Kyle!

Not sure if there are many others I can add to the list, other than Miki Berenyi of Lush and possibly Pat Benetar (one of my first pop music faves). Will second Liz Fraser, Emily Haines, Hope Sandoval, others but I guess I'm mostly curious as to when you all started drinking Irish whiskey....

Mike, I haven't had a chance to try out musicovery yet but I did come across grooveshark, which looks pretty good, though i should note that i'm typing this stateside and have not tested in canada. i'm assuming that it does work in canada, since i read about it in the globe and mail's technology section this morning.

i have to say that males outnumber females in my collection, that is not surprising as I would bet there are more males then females in pop rock, (as this is seen as a primary means of getting laid to all guys).
I am however very much enamoured by many female artists and find no difficulty in making a list of female artists who are at the top of my absolute favorite artisits.. (granted that is a big list)...
I will have to check out the cockteau twins and try for Nico once again though I fear Nico lands on my list of hip artisits I dont get... although Nico could also be on the list of artisits that Brian is frankly wrong about, and that is a big list too... )
Some of the favorites in no particular order are:
Bjork,
Janis
Sinnead,
Dionne Warwick
Stevie Nicks
Sandy denny
Neco Case
Emmy LouHarris
Patsy cline
Joni Mitchell
Kate Bush
Julie Doiron
Marianne faithfull
Natalie Merchant
etc....
all these gals spend much time every year w me so to speak...

Like Mike I also browsed my record collection and I was quite surprised at the number of female vocalists that I've taken a shine to over the years. Many of them do tend to fall in to the period of late 70s through early 90s with very few in the last 20 odd years. Similar to Suzanne Vega I suppose.

The likes of Kate Bush, Siouxsie Sioux (from the Banshees), Liz Frazer of the Cocteau Twins, Clare Grogan of Altered Images, Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, Bjork (with and without the Sugarcubes), the lovely Harriet Wheeler of the Sundays, Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, Beth Orton, Michelle MacAdorey of Crash Vegas and Natalie Merchant were all a big part of my life through my late teens and twenties.

More recently I've enjoyed Neko Case, MIA, Tujiko Noriko and Emily Haines both her solo work and her music with Metric.

If I had to pick any one of these as a standout it would probably be Liz Frazer. Her ethereal voice, an almost indecipherable musical language and the complete lack of information about the band on their record sleeves (in a pre-internet age, pipping Belle & Seb by about a decade) lent an air of mystique to her that will likely go unsurpassed and unrepeated now that I'm a rather jaded and cynical music fan in my mid 40s.

Given the number of live shows I've seen over the years it's strange that with the exception of Neko Case and Stereolab I didn't see any of these artists in concert. When I see somebody live I usually hope to hear a band rock out and bring something more that just a regurgitation of a record to the concert hall. Is it possible then that with the exception of the Pretenders, as Brian brought up the other night, there just aren't that many female fronted bands or solo artists that are likely to bring that to the table?

I found your new post, Brian, misleadingly nestled among those older posts. Who'd have thought that MetaBeats would have such a burst of activity that we'd be in danger of missing entries? I was pleased to see that somebody picked up on my Zappa thread. And I found your challenge quite - well, challenging. I've been thinking about it and scanning my albums, and there are certainly lots of women represented, but very few that I would even consider as my favorite. My choice would have to be Suzanne Vega I think - I've got almost all of her recordings, and I've gone to see her in concert a couple of times. It's a less passionate connection than your unhealthy obsession with Nico, but I think it's the best I can do. When it comes right down to it, female musicians have generally not inspired me as deeply as male musicians have, and I'm not sure why that is. There are generally a lot fewer females than males in the business, but I don't think that fully accounts for it. I wonder if, at some hidden level, the female perspective is different enough from the male perspective that it impedes the musical and lyrical resonance that the very best music can produce.

Boys, I put up a lengthy yet typically intriguing post earlier today which was sent back to last week because that's when I started it. Just thought you might want to know that.

I agree with Kyle about the highly irritating pricing policies of Ticketmaster. I suppose it's really the scalpers that I find irritating, but Ticketmaster doesn't seem to exert much if any effort to control them, and the implication of this article seems to be that they might even be profiting from that mechanism. But apart from all of that, I think that concert tickets are ludicrously expensive now. When I was in high school, I went to quite a few concerts, and I seem to recall paying between 25 and 50 dollars for them. At the time, that was the equivalent of 2-4 albums, which seemed reasonable to me. These days, even at face value the ticket price for a big name act can be over $200. That's the equivalent of 10 CDs - does that seem reasonable? And yet, they seem to have no trouble filling up the stadiums.

As for whether bands have an obligation to play their hits, I am firmly in the "no" camp on that one. Performers can choose to perform anything that they wish, but they have to understand that the size of their following will be dependent on those choices. If Smashing Pumpkins wants to divorce itself from its catalog, it'll lose some large percentage of its current fan base. I think that the prospect of a smaller and more discerning audience probably has appeal to many artists as they grow older.

Finally, have any of you played around with Muiscovery? I recently stumbled across it - I don't find it as interesting as Pandora was, and I don't yet have a good sense of the breadth of its catalog (although I did notice that their list of genres didn't include either country or folk). But it is interactive, and it does have stream some good music.


Mike

Offhand, I'd say Calexico's Feast of Wire, which I didn't love off the bat but about 10 listens in it all came together, the mariachis, the brooding slow orchestral build of 'Black Heart', the sweet guitar strings of 'Not Even Steve Nicks', the twangy instrumentals, all make this one of my favourite of the decade. I also recall not liking The Cure's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me after what seems now like many listens (apart from the odd song like 'Just Like Heaven' or 'The Catch', which were instant-pleasers) and now I find I myself going back to some of the lesser known tracks on the disc like 'The Perfect Girl' and 'Like Cockatoos'. I liked but did not love 'Kid A' after the first dozen listens but find it gets better with each listen, in a way that arguably a more accomplished or at least feted album like 'OK Computer' does; perhaps this is due to the layering of sounds or the beauty in the cacophony of tracks like 'The National Anthem'.

I'm sure there are some others....will think on it and add some more....

You're discounting the possibility that young Henry is/was a big Zwan fan and knew what he was buying into.

But rather than talk about albums that were bollocks upon release and remain so years later how about those albums that start off making barely a dent in your consciousness, whether you had high expectations or not, and yet end up being one of those "go to" discs that more than stand the test of time and you might have tossed aside after 5 or 6 listens and never ventured near again.

I've had this type of discussion with some of you from time to time but I raise it again having just read Tim Perlich's latest 5N review in Now Magazine of Dan Auerbach's (from the Black Keys) latest solo release. Up until yesterday, the release date, on the Nonesuch record label website you were able to stream the entire disc. I did so and as much as I enjoyed some of the music I kept waiting for it to wow me like a so called perfect disc is supposed to.

But of course in the real non-Pitchfork world most of us don't make bold statements about any record until we've lived with it for a long time and let it's magic, if it exists, have its way with us. Very rarely does that happen after a few cursory spins. Sometimes it can take years and having those whose opinion we respect continually harp on about what we're missing in a great album.

Which brings me to my question. Are there records for you which upon first, 3rd, maybe even 10th listen left you shrugging your shoulders and now you wouldn't be without. And likewise are there records that you have been told time and time again by those in the know that you just oughta love that you know will never click.

A few examples for me that remain treasures in my collection but took a lot of listens: Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", Olivia Tremor Control's "Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing"and Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs".

As perhaps one acclaimed record (two actually) I'll never feel warm and fuzzy about how about that Gram Parsons "GP/Grievous Angel".

As someone who has long bemoaned the exorbitant fees tacked on by Ticketmaster, I'm quite pleased to see them taking a PR beating, and perhaps a big financial hit, for their recent tactics with some big name concerts.

What stands out for me in the article (assuming you've read the link), apart from the evil genius that lies at the heart of scalping your own tickets and essentially forcing the casual concert-goer to take a leap into a whole new level of fandom by ponying up airfare-like prices to attend what will likely be two hours of uneven musical performance, is that, in the year of our Lord 2008, somebody actually paid $536 to see the *#!*ing Smashing Pumpkins. I mean, okay, $200 of those charges were likely 'handling fees', but still I'm wondering how Henryk Krajewski felt when, after having doled out $270 per seat, Mr. Corgan et al refused to play their old hits?

Discuss. Or tear out your hair. Or just chortle smugly.

Harkening back to your note on Zappa, Mike, I had (and maybe still have) a strong ambivalence towards his music. Partially this stems from the fact that my brother played "Joe's Garage" incessantly in my mid-teens, which, to say the least, got under my skin, and partially it's from the overarchingly satirical nature of his work, which I often find smug and annoying. Musically, however, I think there is a fair bit to experience, and so I've gone back in the past year and downloaded a number of his early records, including Freak Out and Absolutely Free. They are pretty enjoyable pop-psychedelic records, with strong song structures and arrangements. I've also picked up Hot Rats, which many think is his masterpiece, a jazz-fusion-pop record that needs a few listens, but is pretty dynamic musically, more along the lines of what you described Mike. Having said all of that, and at least I've given the man chance, if I'm being honest with myself he's never going to be one of my guys.

So nice segway (how the hell do you spell that word?) into your blog Derek. Frank Zappa is a good BD example of a much-lauded artist whom I don't much like. If you look him up on allmusic his bio starts with "was one of the most accomplished composers of the rock era". Seriously, I question that.

Which segways into records that I didn't like initially, but grew on me, there are lots...genius, or near genuis, often is harder to digest, I find. Even in pop music. Examples like Animal Collective's "Feels" album (more on AC momentarily), the Deerhof's Runner Four, VU and Nico, Stones' Beggar's Banquet, Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dreams, Pavement's Slanted, Nico's Desertshore (more on Nico later), even Juliana Hatfield's Become What You Are, were all records that I grew to like and then love after repeated listenings and despite initial wariness.

And re Kyle's mention of Pitchfork's 9.6 for Animal Collective, I'll start by saying, I like these guys. I think they make really interesting music, with lots of layers. But I find PM's unfettered adoration pretty far off the mark. And it's not just this record, it's all of them, plus the solo efforts by Panda Bear and whatever the other guy's nom de plume is. I'm nowhere near feeling the genius that Pitchfork does.... and it happens a lot with them, both on the overly positive and opverly negative side, so it shouldn't bother me as much as it does (but it does). For the record, I'm far better aligned to allmusic as a source of reliable reviews.

And finally, in chatting with Derek over a Jamieson's last night, I wanted to pose an additional question to the group. And here it is :

Who is the coolest female pop / rock artist of all time? (If you've been reading along you know who I'm about to nominate...yes, that's right, Nancy Sinatra!) OK nope, I would put forth Nico as the most fascinating, imponderable, strangely beautiful and uncompromising female artist - who, unlike many uncompromising pop artists, makes music I truly adore - of the pop age.

High praise, I know, and based mostly on two records (Chelsea Girl and Desertshore) and her work with VU. I can't get enough of this music. Over the past five years she is probably my most oft-played artist. Every few months I go through another period of deeply unhealthy mini-obsession. These two and a half records are outstanding, weird-but-very-musical statements that inspired a couple of generations of avant garde artists. A Big Wow.

Anyone else care to put forward their not-as-cool-as-Nico fave female pop/rockers?

That sounds highly plausible, Stuart. Probably the best summation of the Billy Joel discussion can be found in an article written by music writer Chuck Klosterman, collected in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. I have a copy and will bring to Stuart's for those who care to borrow it.

So what's the best of 2009 so far? Beyond this.

Beast was reviewed within the last week in the star ben raynor....gots good marks...
and by the way what a coincidence, i was discussing the Billy Joel debate with some people I met in a new bar last week and turns out one of them is a booking agent and knows the guy who booked him with Elton john for this springs concert..so to make a long story short Billy Joel will be at the next cd club event at my house...so we can disparge him to his face..

Definitely a distinctive voice. At times she sounds bit like Shirley Bassey but also like this singer Res who had an album out a few years ago (Derek, for some reason I think you own a copy of her disc but I may be wrong). Not sure that I like most of the songs on the Beast album at emusic. Then again, I'm not sure that I dislike them either. The production seems overly elaborate but I get that that's the point so not really a valid complaint. It's an interesting sound and I may have to download just to see if it catches on with me. Interesting find, Mike!

I heard a song on the radio the other day that caught my ear. It was released in 2008, but it wasn't mentioned on any of the "best of" lists in this blog. The band is Beast - they're from Montreal. The song is "Out of Control", and the album is available on emusic. For me, the compelling thing about the song is Beatrice Bonifassi's vocals.

Speaking of Frank Zappa, are any of you fans of his? I've never really heard too much of his music, but I happened upon a radio show about him the other day. They were interviewing musicians who were in his band, and they were positively reverent about him. One woman (a vibraphone player) was describing his system of hand signals. Apparently he had a very complex system that he used to control the music in real time. She said that they'd be playing something, and she'd be really getting into it, and all of a sudden he'd make the gesture that meant that she had to launch into a particular musical phrase from a different song at top speed. She had to do this on command, whether or not it fit the current piece of music, which everybody else kept playing. He had dozens of these signals - some for individual musicians and some for the whole band. She was playing bits and pieces while she talked - really complex stuff. One piece had a time signature change in every bar. But it was not cacaphonic - despite the seemingly random way he called for these substitutions, it all fit together nicely. These musicians described him as a kind of a sonic sculpter. As I heard some of the snippets they played, I had the same reaction that I often have to jazz - I was impressed by the virtuosity, but it's only academic to me. Somehow it doesn't engage me on an emotional level.

Good morning gents. I'm just kicking back listening to Pandora at work. Such a great site. Today's choice is "Stan Getz Radio". Awesome.

Re Billy Joel, I think the man has more than his share of pure songwriting and performing talent, but he's hopelessly devoid of the cult of cool. In that way, perhaps he would fit in well at one of our CD clubs. Ha! Just a thought....

Anyhoo, my sense is he has different heroes than the rest of us - I'm guessing he might list Frank Sinatra, or Frankie Valli, possibly even Frankie Avalon, though likely not Frank Black or Frank Zappa. How else can you explain his output over the years, consistently nowhere near cool, albeit reflective of the aesthetic of the times....say, aware of the beating heart but more content to hang out in the fatty middle-aged spread. What other explanation for his apparent smugness, which is how I interpret his lame bad-assedness?

It's indisputable that guys like Billy exist in the pop music spectrum and have their moments in the sun. It's the length and breadth of his success in particular that's a bit of a stunner, and perhaps should be taken personally - hands up for those of us that own a BJ record - mine is up. Though I do take comfort in the fact that I bought it when I was 13.

I like the idea of a guilty pleasures list. And not the ones that seem like gp's but end up looking pretty good, like, say, digging Black Sabbath. More the Leo Sayer (got him), Toto (got two of 'em) type of thing.

Have a hand-clapping great weekend.

You might want to be careful about how you express your love for John Denver, Mike, at least when it comes to karaoke. It can cost you dearly in Bangkok, apparently.

You're right. Billy Joel does think he's a badass, and he has several totalled automobiles to prove it. And yes, the correct answer to the question, "Don't you just love/hate him?" is a quick shrug of the shoulders.

Giant ads featuring inexplicably popular musical acts at Yonge and Dundas? Say it ain't so! Thanks for the suggestion, D. I've added the link at the side right to beemp3, which I'll second as to its usefulness in finding popular mp3 songs you just can't bring yourself to purchase from itunes.

I've also added a link to iLike, which I discovered yesterday in my wanderings and seems to be a combination muxtape/pandora (with the benefit of actually working in canada, screw you and your us-based servers bri), with additional functionality with itunes, social networking sites, sharing of music, etc. There are some frustrating limitations but also some interesting features. Will continue to play around with it and post my discoveries here.

My 2 cents on the Billy Joel thing - he's never been a favorite, but he's a very long way from the worst thing in popular music. In fact, I'm surprised that his music would engender such a passionate dislike - I would have thought that offhand dismissal would be more appropriate. He's written some good songs and a lot of junk. I've always thought that the amusing thing about Mr. Joel is the difference between his own self-image and the way the rest of the world sees him. The article touched on this - he describes himself as a rock and roll badass, but he is pretty much universally seen as an adult soft-rock crooner.

Taking up Stuart's challenge to admit some musical guilty pleasures, I was a Neil Diamond fan long before it became cool. To be precise, I like the early ND - not "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and beyond. I started with "Hot August Night" and went backwards from there. I've also been a John Denver fan since way back - still waiting for that one to become cool.

To keep it brief, Bob Pollard is an idiot, Neko is a goddess and there are at least a handful of Billy Joel songs that I like so far be it from me to slag him.

Speaking of slagworthy there's a huge billboard above the Eaton Centre touting what must be Celine's latest release and it is titled "Taking Chances" and I almost dropped Ciaran as I laughed so hard as we passed by there yesterday afternoon.

Sites worth listing:

http://beemp3.com/ (better than Limewire or Kazaa and no software to download, if you're only looking for single tracks this is the place to go)

Clearly, this hasn't been the busiest day at work. As such, I've taken to looking at ways to update the blog, including (shock) writing in it as well as updating some of the links on the right side of the screen. If you have any suggestions for cool sites you think should be here, let me know. I'll be adding a couple of ones that I think you all would like in the coming days.

In the meantime, for your downloading pleasure, here is the new Neko Case single, from her forthcoming March 3rd release. Apparently, by simply posting this song for you folks on this blog, Neko will be making a $5 donation to an animal rescue society. Did I really need another reason to love her?

You knew that the ex-GBV frontman, was good for at least two albums per year but apparently in 2009 he's really gonna get off his ass. (I direct your attention to the line of text above the label and release date info). I hereby suggest a new category for 2009's end of year list making: Top 5 Robert Pollard Albums of the Year.

re: the Piano Man. I tend to like these types of 'shot-across-the-bow' articles where the writer takes on popular artists and knocks them down a peg, though one could argue that, given the unhip status of Mr. Joel, that it's more of the 'fish in barrel' type of shooting. And I didn't mind the Gram Parsons aside or the snide tone overall. I'm just not sure I buy his thesis that most Billy Joel songs are about contempt.

"Piano Man" seems more of a lamentation about failure and isolation in the modern world and which paints a mostly empathetic portrait of its sad sack characters rather than a derisive one. "She's Always a Woman" may contain a whole rash of cliches but does the writer really think that the point of this song is Joel expressing his contempt for women? The delivery of the lines he condemns ('hides like a child' and 'carelessly cuts you and laughs') and musical arrangement suggest quite the opposite.

Do I like "She's Always a Woman"? Not particularly. Do songs like 'We Didn't Start the Fire' or one containing line 'Heart attack ack ack ack' provoke a reaction in me akin to the discovery of a cockroach crawling up my leg? Hell yes. But I'd agree with Stuart that there's something to be said for great pop hooks and even in cases where I don't dig all those hooks, I can at least acknowledge them or understand why others do.

The only thing worse then music of the likes of Joel is santimonious smug art critics who like to promote how hip they are by putting down obvious targets.... I read his article for 5 minutes and felt that he was unlikely to add anything of interest to the debate....His obvious self laudatory aside about scooping the Gram Parsons cd is a stong indicator of this type of critic who looks to promote his uber coolness while mocking obvious targets...

Granted I am a big Backarach fan and he fits the catagory of someone who was laughed at but is now considered worthy of praise ( of varying degrees) , so i am biased towards overt pop, but I try to be fair about admitting i like something even if it is the opposite of uber cool...I would be curious to see your own guilty pleasures if you could bring yourself to blog them here...

He also mentions some pop music ( he dont like) gets unfairly reappraised as hip, but cant something be admired because it is a purly irresistable pop hook , why does it have to be cool to be liked? I have to believe it is much more difficult to write an indelable pop hook, then a generic ( read any Nickelback song or the like ) song by an unoriginal band , the likes of which populate the commercial radio dial constantly.,.. come on Piano Man ain't that bad.....

While you're contemplating the merits of the article trashing William Joel, an update and background on the Muxtape, that neat little website that was up and running for a few months last year. Apart from outlining his motivation for creating the site, he also outlines his experience with the major record labels, which is far more illuminating than any article on declining sales or lawsuits in capturing the desperation, pomposity, and overall confusion that reigns amongst the majors.

Thought this might generate some thoughts/discussion: Billy Joel yay or nay?

Big Dipper? Wasn't that your nickname in college, Bri?

Sorry I don't have much else right now. Just started my travels and don't have a lot of new music to talk about. Also, I don't want to spoil what is bound to be an exciting cd club meeting at Stuart's in less than 2 weeks time.

You voiced your disappointment with 80s music, and though I've blogged about this podcast previously, thought I'd repost for those of you who haven't had a chance to listen to it. Mostly funny, though I do take umbrage with the fact that they ignore some of the more interesting bands from that decade (i.e. The Cure, The Smiths) and focus on crappy top 40 stuff.

Given the inauguration today, Carrie Brownstein's (former Sleater Kinney member) blog post and musical suggestions are timely. I particularly like the inclusion of the Wilco track, 'Ashes of American Flags'.

I was more than a little pleased in surfing through allmusic's best re-issues of 2008 to see that a Big Dipper anthology had been released. I was even more (than a little) pleased when I found the anthology on emusic. Though fairly short-lived, they were a fantastic Boston-based band who had one outstanding album and a few other really great songs. The album is "Heavens" from 1987, and it's among my favourite indy pop records of all time. On the anthology, "Heavens'" songs begin with "She's Fetching" and end with "Mr Woods". My favourite tracks are the two above, plus "All Going Out Together", "Easter Eve", and "Wet Weekend".

Whenever I think the eighties were a weak decade of music (and I do) I fall back on a few records to convince me otherwise, and this is right at the top of the list. Interesting historical note, I played a couple of tracks at our first CD club at Kyle's apartment all those years ago (ten? twelve?). Anyway, if you've got a few free downloads at the end of the month, give it a listen.

Apologies for not having my cds ready for you but thanks much for yours...I have only listened to kyles thus far and it is fantastic...in fact so much so that for my year end cd simply make a copy of kyles and right in a (blue) sharpie "all the best from Stuart 2008" on it... Ditto for my year end favorite cd list....

hopefully I will get my siot together shortly but no time just now...