Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Dears - Protest EP




Hey hey brothers and sisters. I've got far too much time on my hands (among other things) so I figured I'd pop some shit up. The Dears Protest EP! This doesn't really sound much like the material that came before or after it, but it's a kickass record just the same. It's another one of those: "Hey, have you heard of The Dears? Oh you have? I bet you don't own this obscure EP".

The Dears originally released the Protest EP in 2002 in limited numbers and with different album artwork, so the original release is much more coveted for collectors, but we're internet users not archivists, so we can skip that bullshit. Thankfully The Dears re-released Protest in 2004 with an additional track "Protest(parallel)" which is easily the most intricate song The Dears have produced to date. So dig this shit. It's brief, but ballsy.

Recommended as a soundtrack for waving an AK47 around in a busy office building

Much Love,

-D.ave


(clickin' the head will take you to the download link)

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sloan - Navy Blues (Japanese Import)


1. She Says What She Means {Chris Murphy}
2. C'mon C'mon (We're Gonna Get It Started) {Jay Ferguson}
3. Iggy and Angus {Patrick Pentland}
4. Sinking Ships {Andrew Scott}
5. Keep On Thinkin' {Chris Murphy}
6. Money City Maniacs {Patrick Pentland}
7. Seems So Heavy {Andrew Scott}
8. Chester the Molester {Chris Murphy}
9. Stand By Me, Yeah {Patrick Pentland}
10. Suppose They Close The Door {Chris Murphy}
11. On The Horizon {Andrew Scott}
12. I Wanna Thank You {Jay Ferguson}
13. I'm Not Through With You Yet {Patrick Pentland}
------------------------------------------------------
14. Work Cut Out {Chris Murphy}
15. Out To Lunch {Patrick Pentland}
16. Keep On Thinkin' [Acoustic]

Hello Everybody! Sorry this post fell on the tardy side, but this was one of those albums I didn't want to just hop up in a rush. Mainly, because since I found this album, when I was but 13 years old, it has been my favorite/most listened to album ever. Pretty bold, huh? I'll explain in a minute.
First! Welcome to July mafakas. I decided this month do swing a little program I call "Essential Easties", which will be my exploration of the sights and sounds of East Cost Canada in the 90's and early 2000s. A time fondly known by many, as the "Halifax Pop Explosion". Starting around '92, after the release of Sloan's Peppermint EP, a ton of buzz and money poured into a wonderfully tight knit Halifax pop/rock scene. What came out of this unfortunately short-lived explosion are many my personal most influential albums. Seeing as this has been a point of great interest for me since I was but a wee lad, I figured it might make for a great journey for anyone not familiar with the magic of restless young adults with enormous record collections.
I chose to start this expose with Navy Blues, because this was my spark plug into independent, alternative music. Before I heard Navy Blues, I liked Ja Rule and Puddle Of Mudd. Coincidentally, a little bit of confusion of Ja's Murder Inc. label and Sloan's groundbreaking Murderecords may have been a step in the right direction for me. Before Navy Blues I was a lazy as hell music fan. I sure liked having Top 40 radio filling my atmosphere but I never actively or critically searched for music. Until, "If It Feels Good Do It" punctured my radio. I remember wondering why nothing else on the radio sounded like Sloan. I was overtaken, I needed to find out if this band was for real. I did something I never did. I went to HMV and wandered to S. To my bemusement, there wasn't one CD under Sloan, but five CD's! However, none of them seemed to have "Feels Good" on it. Fuck. I was just about to wander out of the shop until I figured, I'm sure one of these has to be cool and I just picked up the first one there. This really strange black and red cover.
The minute I made it home, I ran up to my room and put the CD in.
Someone coughs. The rest is history.
You can't imagine what a shock to a kids system "She Says What She Means" is, when the most original music I'd been introduced to at that point was those very Limp Bizkits. And the way these kids sang. Harmonies!!! For once, vocal harmony that didn't sound like it was made by computers. It kinda sounded like my mom's Eagle's records. And these kids howled and had fun. Imagine that. Having fun playing music to the extent that it pours through your music. I was in HEAVEN. Until. Track Two. Jay Ferguson's "C'mon C'mon". I'm not going to try to say how I felt upon hearing that tune, but...I don't think I ever listened to Puddle of Mudd again. I promptly ran to this budding new tool, called the internet. I waited for it to dial up. I scoured the internet for weeks. Apparently, Sloan had contemporaries. Lots of them. I was 13 and had no job, so for the next few years any pennies I could pinch went to completing my Sloan discography. Christmas/Birthday presents were all gift certificates to music shops because at this point, anyone who knew me, knew that I would kill a man for Sloan (Still Would).
If I never picked up this album, this blog wouldn't exist. I never would have given a shit about playing music. I never would have come out of my shell and I probably wouldn't have graduated from High school. You may not believe me, but I have proof...my grades started going up once I owned this album. I started making friends, I started to feel confident about life. Enough about me though.
This album is perfect. It truly is. Who knows if this is my bias passing this onto you, but; find me a band with four distinct songwriters that sticks around for 16 years. Find me a band that plays the music they love, regardless of the fact that no one can market them, and still becomes one of the most loved bands in our fucking country.
Listen to how they sing together! For once a group with varied influences. Listen to how Andrew Scott writes tunes! "and It takes a while, to realize, that everything around you is too...BEAUTIFUL."
If you haven't heard this yet, you really should give it a try. If nothing else, Money City Manics will get you kickin' down doors.
In the name of posting hard to find material, I posted the Japanese import tracks plus the acoustic campfire version of Keep On Thinkin'.
I think post has gone on long enough. If you want to talk Sloan, gimme a call. I can go on for decades.

Enjoy.
Someone had to state it, so I could imitate it...Masterfully.




Clifford Gilberto Rhythm Combination - "I Was Young And I Needed The Money"



Another Ninja Tune banger. I dare you to find me an album even remotely like this one.

This is an insane album. The first track is a downbeat, lo-fi groove, and the rest of the tunes are unrelenting kick-your-door-down jazz/acoustic drum & bass. It's tough to listen to the whole album in one sitting, just because its pace is so face-full-of-coke fast. Real fucking fast. But "I Was Young And I Needed The Money" is an album that improves with every listen. So cop that shit already, yo.

Until next time,

Much Love and Respect

-D.ave


(clickin' the head will take you to the download link)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The Band - Music From Big Pink


1. Tears of Rage
2. To Kingdom Come
3. In a Station
4. Caledonia Mission
5. The Weight
6. We Can Talk
7. Long Black Veil
8. Chest Fever
9. Lonesome Suzie
10. This Wheel's On Fire
11. I Shall Be Released
------------------------------
{Outtakes from Dylan's Basement Tapes}
12. Yazoo Street Scandal
13. Tears of Rage (Alt. Take)
14. Katie's Been Gone
15. If I Lose
16. Long Distance Operator
17. Lonesome Suzie (Alt. Take)
18. Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)
19. Key to the Highway
20. Ferdinand the Impostor

Happy Canada Day, folks! In celebration of our wonderful country, I figured I would dig out what I felt to be the most essential Canadian album. You can't possible imagine how excited I am about this post. I usually really love to throw the album on whilst I write about it. I think it helps dig out some really cool ideas. I'm only telling you this, because I swear, I've been trying to finish this write-up for two weeks. The reason being, every time I hear Richard Manuel's voice tear into "Tears of Rage", I can no longer function as a person. If I tried to drive with this album on, I would get into a very serious accident. I simply find nothing more gripping, more urgent or more worth my attention.
I seem to remember my maiden post being laced with some crass idea about the frequency at which I meet Canadians who don't know who the Band are. Crass in the sense that I will now dutifully "point you the way to go, and scratch your name in sand". Please. Please. Please. Listen to this record.
Shit. I seriously cannot write this. I have no words that could even begin to scratch the iceberg of pure magic that rests in the grooves of this work. Maybe that's a good metaphor. If you are the Titanic, Big Pink is the iceberg. 'sept it's bigger, and it's pink, and it will blow you to pieces. If you gel with this album, I mean, if you give it the due it deserves, you cannot listen to music the same ever again.
When I say the due it deserves, I mean, get some real headphones, sit in your bedroom/favorite place to be, play this from beginning to end and listen to it with no other distractions. It's the only way to get the full affect[sic]. I swear to you, it's worth it.
For the love of God, Listen to it loudly and listen to it carefully. The five men whose ideas and sounds live here simply attack their art with the honesty reserved for St. Peter's Gate.
This album is for all the people out there who believe that Christina A-Guerrilla isn't a good singer simply because she can yell loudly. Yelling loudly doesn't become music until you infuse it with passion and personality. If you don't believe me, listen to Rick Danko sing. He sings like his life is at stake. It's one of the most beautiful lessons in music creation. You can hear in his voice that if he doesn't get his message across to you, he will have no will to live. It's so goddamn beautiful. For the record, this was the manner in which the Band lived. Stealing bread from grocers so they could live to play music for you.
The stories. The craft. The musicianship. If there was to be a vault of the most important art of the 20th century, this would NEED to be there. This is THE roots rock "melting pot" album. Also known as the record that changed Eric Clapton's life. It changed Eric fucking Clapton's life.
You know what. I'm sick of this. If you're going to do yourself the disservice of not listening to this, then eat shit. Or perhaps continue to eat shit and listen to Bon Jovi for your fill of "cowboy tunes".
...
yikes. Sorry.
Please Enjoy.

Dedicated to Robbie, Richard, Rick, Garth and Levon. The fore bearers. Revolutionaries. Soldiers. Paupers. Poets. Princes. Kings.