The Show Must Not Go On

I don't know if this ever came up at all over the course of this entire blog, but yes, this creepy head, used frequently as an avatar, is a self-portrait bust created in my only university art class. We were supposed to pair up and sculpt a classmate, but I suppose no one wanted to keep a disembodied head of someone else so we all ended up doing our own bust using a series of photos. Anyhoo...

I hope you all had fun with the Fong Songs 101 Cover Countdown. I want to give a huge thanks to Todd G who paid me the ultimate compliment by actually playing my Top 10 covers with commentary on his show The Shuffle, which airs on WFIT-FM, an NPR affiliate based out of Melbourne, Florida. It was very special for me, not to mention flattering, to listen to that and know that there are/were readers all over the globe taking note of my little ol' blog. With the above link, you can download hour 2 of the September 4th broadcast and listen to the portion embarrassingly devoted to me and Fong Songs. It was completely surreal to listen to myself being quoted with words I just haphazardly typed out at the last minute! Thanks again Todd!

...and very big thank you to all you readers out there! I started off writing for an audience of one (me) and ended off with hundreds of visitors a day. While some of those may have been robots and one-timers, I appreciate that I had a healthy number of regular readers, people I didn't even know repeatedly coming back for more... it still kinda boggles my mind and leaves me humbled.

===================

Just over a year ago, one of my favourite all-time bands Harvey Danger played their last ever show, which I was privileged to attend. The last song they ever played was, in fact, a completely new song. In another sense, it was indeed the last song they wrote. Now over a year later, they've finally mastered and released this last ever recording, fittingly titled The Show Must Not Go On. It is available on their site for FREE. In another generous gesture, they've also made available for a free download their Dead Sea Scrolls compilation that was only available at those final shows. In addition to collecting various rarities and demos, it includes their covers of Save It For Later (The English Beat), Maneater (Hall & Oates), and a live recording of Louisiana, 1927 (Randy Newman). Go get it!

===================

Now in a random confluence of favourite band news, The Dresden Dolls (i.e. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione) are back on tour after a two-year hiatus in celebration of the band's 10th Anniversary!

OCT 31
10th Bandiversary Halloween Show
Irving Plaza
New York, NY
with Very Special Guests!

NOV 12
A special gulf oil spill relief-benefit for BTNEP, an organazation that is working to preserve, protect, and restore the Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries of Louisiana.
New Orleans, LA
Tipitina's
with Jason Webley

NOV 13
Atlanta, GA
The Buckhead Theatre
with Lille

NOV 14
Lexington, KY
Buster's Billiards & Backroom
with Chico Fellini

NOV 16
St. Louis, MO
The Pageant
with Sleepy Kitty
**coincidentally the last I have seen and heard of Sleepy Kitty was when they opened the final shows for Harvey Danger. Of course, Sleepy Kitty's Evan Sult was Harvey Danger's original drummer.

NOV 17
Chicago, IL
The Vic Theatre
with Mucca Pazza

NOV 19
Dallas, TX
Granada Theatre
with Girl in a Coma

NOV 20
Houston, TX
Fitzgerald's
with Girl in a Coma

NOV 21
Austin, TX
La Zona Rosa
with Girl in a Coma

Tickets for some shows are already on sale while the rest will be available to purchase soon... keep an eye on their facebook page for updates. Wish I could go!

===================

I'll leave you all with one last cover...

The Blind Boys of Alabama - The Last Time [EDIT: originally by The Rolling Stones Traditional]
Well, this could be the last time
This could be the last time
Maybe the last time
I don't know

My indefinite hiatus starts now!

I Met Ben Folds in a Pizza Parlor!

It's been a week since my epic trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to see Ben Folds Five's one-off reunion. It's taken me about that long to recover from pure ultimation of that trip, not to mention the brutal 40 hours spent in transit to and from there. Northwest corner of the continent to the southeast-- what was I thinking? Basically when I got to my hotel room, I walked in the door and crashed for a couple hours. When I came to, it was time to go! I headed to downtown Chapel Hill to meet-up with a bunch of random fans from the message boards at TheSuburbs.co.uk for a pre-show meal at Pepper's Pizza, chosen for its central location and because its decor consists of paintings of local musicians including one Mr. Folds.

I got there about 10 minutes early and was told no one else had arrived ("You're with the reservation for twenty?"), so the server plopped me down at the bar. Alternating between watching the front door, the TV, and my watch, suddenly I did a double take when I noticed BEN FOLDS was dining in a nearby booth with his wife and parents! He was facing me and for a brief second he must have seen my eyes pop out 2 inches out of my skull. I casually turned back to the bar, mentally freaking out and stealing furtive glances back at his table. Eventually I found out from a different server that a corner table was occupied by some of the people I was supposed to be meeting, so I hopped over to introduce myself, though they seemed to be slightly preoccupied by BEN FOLDS EATING IN A BOOTH OVER THERE. Soon he finished up and got up to go, quickly followed by a quarter of the restaurant. I don't think I would have had the nerve to say anything to him other than a smile and a nod, but when this mini-mob formed I jumped at the opportunity to meet a musical hero. Ben was friendly and gracious, taking the time to signing things, chat, and pose for photos. Then when he was done, the rest of our group showed up... he chatted for a few more minutes then bid adieu, leaving us all chattering excitedly about what just occurred. The bulk of our group were Americans who had travelled from out of state, though there were a few from the UK and one Canuck (me). We would later meet-up with another hardcore fan who had travelled from Japan! And I thought I had a long trip.


The show kicked off with a set from Hotel Lights, a two-man band headed by Darren Jessee. Unfortunately, the crowd was made up of mostly UNC students chatting LOUDLY throughout his whole set and walking in/out of the auditorium. Ironically, they only shut up between songs, then continued right back up talking when he started each song. Kinda sad, though honestly it wasn't a very good venue for his wistful acoustic songs. The highlight of his set was Amelia Bright, an unreleased Ben Folds Five tune, which he dedicated to Ben and Robert. After his set, Darren walked off to cheers, as we prepared ourselves for his return... as the drummer of Ben Folds Five for the first time in nearly 10 years. [note: they were confiscating cameras left and right so I have no shots from the show itself, which was fine since it's wonderful to just soak in the experience rather than worry about taking pictures!]

Soon the house lights dimmed for the main event and the crowd went nuts. And out walked Darren! Ben! Robert! Together again performing The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner front to back! I'll run out of superlatives real fast attempting to describe the show, but I was in a state of Full Body Tingles for the whole night. As someone who's listened to these tracks countless times and knows them inside-out, it's exhilarating to hear them live and notice the little differences or wonder how they're going to pull of a particular moment. Every song was magic in their own way, but Magic was absolutely breathtaking with the crowd rapt in silent awe. The original Don't Change Your Plans was the first track on the album to feature horns and sure enough, on cue out walked a horn section presumably made up of UNC students. They reappeared for Army, the album's one semi-hit, which received the loudest reception and crowd sing-along. It was refreshing to hear actual horns and Robert's original fuzzy bass, both missing in Ben's solo gigs where the horn sections are sung by the crowd. Your Most Valuable Possession, probably never performed live, featured Ben's dad Dean re-enacting a bizarre early morning phone message he once left on Ben's machine while half-asleep. Ben hilariously forgot the lyrics in the middle of Regrets. "So many regrets..." he sung as he shook his head just before the booming end of the song. The set finished off with Lullabye, a bittersweet ending with Ben singing "Goodnight, goodnight". They left to a deafening ovation and the excitement was through the roof because here's where we entered the unknown portion of the program.

The encore started off with Jackson Cannery, one of my faves and the band's very first single (I think). Next was Eddie Walker, the b-side to that single. The lyrics "Eddie Walker, this is your life" seemed to fit the occasion since the hometown crowd was peppered with family members, old friends, former colleagues, and ex-bandmates. Next came two from Whatever and Ever Amen: Selfless, Cold and Composed and Battle of Who Could Care Less, the lyrics from which the album's title comes from (prompting knowing fans to hold up their hands in a "W"). Ben prefaced the next song by telling a story about them recording their debut album, which was deemed terrible and re-recorded with a new producer. "That's vaulted, you'll never hear it," he teased before launching into Julianne. The band finished off with an old favourite Song for the Dumped before leaving to an even more thunderous ovation, which lasted for a good 10 minutes through the "go home" music and house lights going up before turning to chants and eventually boos as the roadies came out. Always leave 'em wanting more. The show is due to be broadcast on mySpace sometime in October and hopefully (please!) a DVD will come out. Surely it's too epic to remain in the vault. Of course, I said that about the White Stripes' Glace Bay show which was being filmed... seemingly never to be released.

Full setlist:
Narcolepsy
Don't Change Your Plans
Mess
Magic
Hospital Song
Army
Your Redneck Past
Your Most Valuable Possession
Regrets
Jane
Lullabye

encore:
Jackson Cannery
Eddie Walker
Selfless, Cold and Composed
Battle of Who Could Care Less
Julianne
Song for the Dumped

After the show, we gathered by the stage doors to hopefully meet Darren and Robert. Most of the people had seen Ben Folds numerous times, but never the full "Five" except for one superfan who'd been to over 50 shows dating back to the old days! We were assured by our insider that those two would definitely be coming out to meet and greet, though Ben had left right away with family. Eventually Robert and Darren came out to a sizable, though not unwieldy throng of fans. They were super gracious, making sure that they didn't leave before everybody got a chance to shake hands, sign stuff, and take photos. Perfect way to cap off an incredible night.

"Grew a mustache and a mullet, got a job at Chick-Fil-A..."
Army by Ben Folds Five
Honestly outside of that song, I'd never heard of Chick-Fil-A let alone seen one. I had to try it before I left town. Not bad, not great.

Here's a treat from the KCRW archives... in July 1997, the boys did a stint on Morning Becomes Eclectic, billed as Ben Folds Five and the BFF Brass Quintet. In other words, the trio were joined by a string quartet. At one point, the DJ jokes "When's the orchestra?". Of course, years later Ben would go on to play orchestral dates in Australia and the US (more orchestral dates next year too!). There is the occasional audio glitch, which is directly from the KCRW stream.

Ben Folds Five & The BFF Brass Quintet
Morning Becomes Eclectic 07/17/1997

01 One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces (with string intro)
02 interview
03 Fair
04 interview
05 Smoke
06 interview
07 Kate
08 interview
09 Theme From Dr. Pyser
10 interview
11 Misirlou/Philosophy
12 Outro

The whole show ZIPPED.

Also, someone from Ben's label passed along his new single for streaming:
Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me



Way to Normal is due next Tuesday!

=========================================
Random news:

• earlier this week, the Dresden Dolls officially called it quits... kinda. :( Though not altogether unsurprising in light of Amanda's solo debut, the crushing news came in a roundabout manner with Brian basically leaving a youTube comment stating as much. Even Amanda found out that way. Ouch. She says: "so here's what's going on, as far as amanda is concerned: the dresden dolls aren't broken up. we're just expanding the empire. while we work on other projects, join other bands, get perspective and travel the world doing god knows what."
  and
  "i love making music with brian viglione way too much to imagine that we won't do more. we don't know when, probably more than a year from now because we're pretty firmly entrenched in our projects (me in my solo record, and brian in his new kick-ass band, world/inferno, who you should go see, because they're awesome)."
  
  
• Weird footnote to my Ben Folds Five adventure: on the Greyhound from Seattle back to Vancouver, we pulled into the Canada/US border at the 24-hour duty free shop for a bathroom break and border shopping (if anyone wanted to at 2am). Ten minutes later we headed for the border check and literally seconds before we left the parking lot, another bus passed us. We pulled in behind them and silently grumbled since that could theoretically delay us an extra 45 minutes or more while they checked that bus. Our driver got off to chat with the border people and came back grumbling about "big wig rock stars". It turned out it was Alicia Keys' tour bus headed to Vancity for a concert the next night. Actually tour buses since another one pulled up beside us. Fortunately they decided to speed process the fifteen or so of us sleepy passengers and let us be on our merry way. Take that, Alicia Keys! If you haven't heard it yet, the new Alicia Keys/Jack White Bond theme Another Way to Die is out on iTunes or stream it here.
  
  
• In related news, folk rocker Ray LaMontagne wrote an ode to Meg White. Seriously.

Find Out Who Killed Amanda Palmer

I should have mentioned this earlier:
www.whokilledamandapalmer.com has been taking pre-orders since last Monday for the new album, which is released this Tuesday. As is more and more common with dwindling CD sales, artists are getting more creative with tiered packages. All packages come with the physical CD and link to instantly download the whole album as MP3s. So, of course, I've been spinning this on my iPod since last week and it's pretty great.

1. For the casual fan ($14.99)
-digipack CD
-instant download link for the ENTIRE WKAP album in V0 MP3 format
-code for instant download of two previously unreleased exclusive WKAP pre-order tracks, Straight (with strings) and the previously-only-available-as-youTube-bootleg I Google You (with lyrics by Neil Gaiman)

2. For the more than casual fan ($34.99)
-digipack CD signed by Amanda Palmer & Ben Folds (limited to 5000 Amanda sigs and 250 Ben sigs...)
-Instant download link for the ENTIRE WKAP album in V0 MP3 format (plus the two WKAP re-order tracks Straight and I Google You)
-exclusive "I Killed Amanda Palmer" t-shirt
-download code for an exclusive digital-only Amanda Palmer EP (delivered via e-mail on or before 12/24/2008) featuring 10+ demos and rarities culled from the WKAP recording archives. Includes some one-take demos recorded with Ben Folds at his Nashville studio.

3. For the Über-fan ($100.00, limited to 672)
-everything from the middle package
-limited edition WKAP lithograph signed and numbered by Amanda Palmer
-WKAP book autographed by Amanda and Neil Gaiman
-WKAP vinyl autographed by Amanda
-Unique Amanda crime scene photo sets + surprise murder evidence - various sets with different photos, as well as trinkets which vary for each and every one of the 672 packages

Hmmm, which one did you think I went for? Yeah, so grab your credit card and clicky-clicky over here before Tuesday when prices go up and/or they run out of the super deluxe combo.

By the way, check out Voltaire on Amie Street for free (as of this writing) downloads of his album Ooky Spooky. Track 8, Stuck With You is a duet with Amanda Palmer. On the EP Zombie Prostitute and Other Ooky Spooky Hits, he's also got a cover of Bowie's China Girl. Voltaire's brand new album features Coin-Operated Goi, a parody of the Dresden Dolls song Coin-Operated Boy. It's not yet on Amie Street, but you can take a listen at his myspace site.

Amanda covers Neil Gaiman

Sigh, I feel goofy constantly re-hashing stuff Neil Gaiman's linking to-- you should already be subscribed to his RSS feed anyway-- but lately I just can't help it, what with all this Amanda Palmer/Neil Gaiman/Ben Folds convergence.

From Photographer Kyle Cassidy's blog a few days ago:
"We got finished shooting at about 2:00 a.m. and we're sitting in the kitchen in Neil's apartment and he says something like "blah blah blah I was sitting next to Paris Hilton once blah blah blah the lounge song I wrote blah blah" and we were all like "the lounge song?! so he sang it for us. Three times! because we kept applauding and shouting bravo! It's hysterical and infectious and I can't get it out of my head -- and Amanda's like "Oh I am so covering that!" So you may hear it too. It's funtabulous."

And she did. Here's Amanda covering Neil Gaiman's I Google You from a show last night in L.A.:


Audio's about as okay as one can expect from a youtube video, but it may be the only version we ever hear! According to this setlist, at the same show she also covered Cologne, a song from Ben Folds' upcoming Way to Normal [EDIT: turns out she actually lip-synched to Ben's studio recording]. Hmmm, I need that bootleg!

Amanda counts to 4

Amanda Palmer & company perform a parody of Feist's 1234... the Sesame Street version! Awesome.

my fanboy head is exploding

I'd like to direct your attention to several recent blog entries on the upcoming Neil Gaiman/Amanda Palmer photo book collaboration. Neil was/is hanging out with Amanda in Boston all this week.

• Amanda talks about it here
  
• Neil talks about it here and here (great pictures!)
  
• Kyle Cassidy is the photographer on the project and also shot the official album cover for Who Killed Amanda Palmer?. He has multiple blog entries here.

Between the 3 of them, I think they are trying to outblog each other. Also, judging by some of the photos, Neil may have killed Amanda Palmer.

Love this American Gothic shot:


Album and book should be due mid-September. By the way, did you hear Neil's doing a 2-part Batman story to be illustrated by Andy Kubert and due in January? Cool.

I've got a real covers post going up later today. Stay tuned.

Weekend to do list

From Amanda Palmer's myspace:
"Text your friends currently getting muddy at glastonbury:
I just *might* show up on stage with ben folds tomorrow to do some
*possibly* crazy shit that just *might* involve ben playing drums on songs
that *perhaps* might be appearing on my new record."

Danny Michel & Emm Gryner's Under the Covers starts airing this Saturday night at 9pm (in whatever time zone you're in!) as part of CBC Radio 1's summer programming. The first episode is actually a repeat of last year's pilot, though it'll be airing for the next 5 weeks with new episodes. Check the episode guide to see what they've got in store. Very exciting.

For Vancouverites, the Vancouver Jazz Festival is already well underway. I'm excited to see Elizabeth Shepherd performing Sunday, a free show at David Lam Park downtown.

Covering the Mouse Vote 2008: in honour of his first year of Disney cover blogging, Kurtis is tabulating votes for a sort of reader's choice awards. For roughly the next month, vote on the best, the worst, the weirdest, and most unlikely of Disney covers.

By the way, in case you aren't already, reading Fong Songs on via the RSS feed is the best way to keep up-to-date on new posts here. I'm partial to Google Reader.

In regards to Cover Riddle #6, no one's got it right yet. Some good guesses and one person is so close it's almost over, but not quite. I forgot Canada Day is next Tuesday so I'll probably postpone the answer until after that sometime. Some additional clues for the rest of you:

ng+am+bf=omg.

I'm not one to resort to lol's, wtf's, or omg's, but seriously... OMG. I just read this on Amanda Palmer's blog about her upcoming solo record:

"neil gaiman is working with me on the book that is going to accompany the record. he's also writing some liner notes for the back of the album art, which is taking a bizarre turn into the 1960s.
he's an amazing man, this neil gaiman. (the ambien is kicking in). he is kind of a rock star trapped in a writer's body. i like the way he talks about things, it makes me feel like i could spends hours and hours with him and never get bored and never stop laughing and never forget for too long the profundity of silliness. i feel so lucky. all of these incredible people have come into my life lately. neil gaiman. ben folds. beth, my assistant who is helping me save my life so that i can go tour in peace."

WTF. I was agog two years ago when I found out Ben Folds randomly called up Amanda Palmer and said he was a fan. This led to the Dresden Dolls joining him for a few gigs in Australia, after which he offered up his own Nashville studio and services to produce Amanda's solo debut album. Two of my favourite artists teaming up, a subconscious wish realized. And now Neil Gaiman is working on liner notes and an accompanying book!?! Yes, THAT Neil Gaiman who's hung out on my sidebar as "my fav author" since this blog began. A veritable Fong Songs dream team. Well that's enough to reduce me to a blubbering fanboy. Sign me up! I was already excited about this album, but it's now the holy grail release of 2008.

Amanda Palmer - Such Great Heights [originally by The Postal Service]
Ben Folds - Such Great Heights (live on Myspace) [originally by The Postal Service]
Neil Gaiman - Such Great Heights [heh, I wish]

UPDATE: More cool news... special guests include the Dead Kennedys' East Bay Ray shredding on a track called Guitar Hero and one-time Polyphonic Spree member Annie Clark (AKA St. Vincent) joining Amanda for a cover from the 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel. Zoë Keating, formerly of Rasputina, is another guest musician.

Happy Record Store Day!

For the record, today's a holiday. Record Store Day! Celebrating the existence of independent record stores across the US and Canada, and probably elsewhere. Hundreds of special events going on: sales, free stuff, prizes, exclusive merchandise, and such. You and I know both know the first artist that comes to mind when you think "indie record store"... Metallica! Um, yeah, so they're kicking off the festivities with a in-store signing and fan meet & greet at Rasputin Music in Mountain View (near San Francisco).

450+ record stores are participating in the events. Lots of local bands performing in-store. An incomplete sample of artists involved can be read here and here.

• If you live in Massachusetts and have a Newbury Comics near you, check the list of events here. Coolest in my mind, at the Newbury Comics in Cambridge, Brian Viglione and Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls will be acting as "employees" between 2 and 5pm. In addition to helping out at check-out, Brian will be acting as store DJ and Amanda will be painting a picture that will be given away at the end of the day. Coming soon from the Dresden Dolls: No, Virginia a collection of b-sides and newly recorded versions of songs left off Yes, Virginia. There's a pre-order contest here. Grand prize? A wicked-looking toy piano (a baby baby grand), a copy of their new songbook The Virginia Companion (literally a Dresden Dolls tome), and pair of tickets to every Dolls concert in North America and Europe that you can physically get yourself to. 5 runners-up get all of the above minus the piano. Nice.
  
  
• Concerts all day at Sunrise Records (click for full line-up) on Yonge Street in Toronto. Hey, at 4:30pm, Fong Songs fave Laura Barrett will be performing there.
  
  
• Check here for events across Canada as compiled by the folks at CBC Radio 3. Here in Vancouver, I've heard there's a few indie record places to check out: Red Cat Records, Zulu Records, and Scratch. Since moving here I've only been to Red Cat which is probably closest, but today I may just do a little circuit to see what's going down. Unbelievably it hailed and snowed last night-- hopefully it warms up soon.

So yeah, support your local record stores. Sure it's all fun to download and stuff, but nothing beats flipping through stacks of CDs and finding gold.

Record Store Day Grab Bag!
Mates of State - Starman [originally by David Bowie]
Long Goners - Ball & Biscuit [originally by The White Stripes]
The Bad Plus - Velouria [originally by The Pixies]
Metallica - Stone Cold Crazy [originally by Queen]
Furillo - The Final Countdown [originally by Europe]
Cansei de ser Sexy - One Way or Another/Teenage Kicks
[originally by Blondie/The Undertones]

Little Ditty Tidbits

Just some news tidbits that came to my attention this week that makes me want to jump up and shout it to anyone who will listen. Because when I go bug-eyed and speak excitedly about the Dresden Dolls, Ditty Bops, or Zooey Deschanel I'm generally faced with shrugs and "Oh, I see"-s from my closest friends.

• One of the perks of being Neil Gaiman as opposed to John Malkovich: Amanda Palmer will personally send you an advance of her debut solo CD "wrapped in lace" with DVDs! Damn you, Neil!
  
  
• The Dresden Dolls (Amanda Palmer & Brian Viglione) were back in the studio in January re-recording some old school non-album tracks and leftovers from the Yes, Virginia sessions. The collection of "scattered" tracks tentatively titled No, Virginia is set to be released sometime this spring before her solo album comes out. Woo! Bonus Dresden Dolls action out of the woodwork!
  
  
• It seems like Amanda has also been busy finishing off a full-length Evelyn Evelyn record with Jason Webley for anyone who missed the limited edition EP. She's also been collaborating with Estradasphere for (I think) her solo album. Estradasphere is responsible for the BEST Super Mario Bros. 2 cover ever.
  
  
• [**UPDATED] Even more DD tidbits, courtesy of Amanda's blog (warning, don't click that link if you don't want to see close-up photos of her vocal nodes) that just updated around the same time I originally put up this post:
  • No, Virginia is likely going to be released late May.
    
  • Amanda's working on a companion songbook to accompany all the songs from both Yes/No, Virginia. The previously Dresden Dolls companion was a fantastic book of full piano transcriptions with hand-written notes and an extensive diary-like section with colour photos, drawings, and such.
    
  • Cover Alert: the Dresden Dolls teamed up with their pal Franz from The Hold Steady to record a couple covers, one for a Johnny Cash compilation and one for a Jonathan Richman compilation to be released later this summer or fall.
    
  • Amanda is going to be playing with the Boston Pops Orchestra June 19th and 20th. Sweet.
  
  
  
• Once upon a time, Neil Gaiman introduced me to the wonderful world of the Ditty Bops. And there's a brand new Ditty Bops album in just a couple weeks! Summer Rains is due March 1st and is available for pre-orders from their online store. Sold!
  The Ditty Bops - Bye Bye Love [originally by the Everly Brothers]
  The Ditty Bops - Gentle Sheep
  The Ditty Bops - Aluminum Can
  -there's a tease of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in here
  The Ditty Bops - Some of These Days [originally by Shelton Brooks]
  -from the Live Music Archive which has tons of great Ditty Bops live recordings
  
  
• Zooey Deschanel is playing at the Largo tonight in LA. I managed to catch the Watkins Family Hour at the Largo when I went there in January and it's a phenomenal venue. Probably like dinner seating for 100 or less plus standing room. It'd be like a Zooey Deschanel concert in your living room. Thinking about it makes me sad that I can't be there. The Largo has a bunch of strict rules (i.e. no cell phones, electronics, talking during show, etc.) with one goal: it's all about the show/performer. And that's a refreshing attitude for music lovers. Don't forget her album with M. Ward is coming out March 18th. Note to self: get crackin' on that full Zooey cover post.

Another Year o' Fong Songs

**WARNING! Cover-free posting!**
Ah, the inevitable year-end post.... Almost. This is simply a year-end recap of happenings in my own little world. I'll jump into favourite covers, albums, films, and those sorts of things soon. In the meantime, feel free to not read this at all, though you might miss out on How I Almost Got the White Stripes to Perform at the Library I Worked At. Intrigued?

One of the things that's fun about keeping this blog is that it doubles as a sort of diary of personally significant events (musically, at least) and I can just skim through the 2007 archives to see what happened without wracking my brain too hard.

• The first post of the 2007 was... um, last year's year-end post.
  
  
• I had a wonderful first-time trip to San Francisco, also finding time to zip down to San Jose to watch the Oilers beat the Sharks (that'd be hockey for the non-hockey inclined).
  
  
• 2007 would turn out to be the year of band reunions with Davie Lee Roth rejoining Van Halen, The Police coming back together, Genesis, and even The Spice Girls getting in on all this reunion action. February saw the return of one of my favourite bands the Squirrel Nut Zippers who had been missing in action since 2001. When I posted about this reunion back on February 2, little did I know that the ultimate band reunion would be announced later in the year...
  
  
• Chinese New Year fell on February 18th and it was MY year, the Year of the Pig. As far as concerts went, 2007 was positively epic. And I had the fantastic opportunity to take a huge trip to China to check out my roots. Yes, it was a very good year and technically I still have a couple months left on the Chinese calendar.
  
  
• Heart-thumping news on March 20 courtesy of the White Stripes. After some hoax tour dates appeared, their official newsletter was sent out with the teaser "The White Stripes have yet to confirm their North American routing as of yet. But we are happy to say that it will include all 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada, as well as the remaining 16 states of the United States the band have yet to play." Good god, a Canadian tour including the territories?!? Would they actually be coming to Edmonton? Is this a horrible joke?
  
  
• For a time, I was addicted to Desktop Tower Defense.
  
  
• March 30: I finally tracked down the official Interstate '76 soundtrack. Score!
  
  
• April 10: Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls confirmed that none other than Mr. Ben Folds would be producing and playing on her solo album, which as of now is still in the works.
  
  
• April 17: Jack White reiterates the plan to cover all Canadian provinces and territories. Speculation rampant and tour dates imminent.
  
  
• April 26: Jack White is a man of his word. Full Canadian tour dates are released including Edmonton. Unlikely stops: Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Glace Bay.
  
  
• May 4: Star Wars Day. I post some Star Wars covers, my blog is bombarded with hits after an Idolator shout-out, and I'm inexplicably featured on IMDB's Hit List. At the peak, 4052 unique visitors on one day vs. the usual 150. My virtual ego inflates, but then blog traffic returns to normal as I return to my regular posts. Never underestimate the power of the Star Wars fan contingent.
  
  
• Some time in mid-May I joined Facebook. Strangely, it wasn't really a matter of caving in. I was blissfully ignorant of the addictive site until I was trying to view some Danny Michel tour photos that were posted on Facebook. Ironically after I joined, those photos were unavailable.
  
  
• My rock dreams were coming true as I booked myself aboard a Ben Folds cruise for 2008. These dreams would later be dashed as the cruise was unceremoniously cancelled.
  
  
• They came, they played, they conquered. The White Stripes came into Edmonton on June 30th. Even better than the actual show was one of the now-legendary Secret Shows, which took place in a youth centre in the inner city. I was arm's length away from Jack as he played to a packed room of 200-ish salivating fans. I guess enough time has passed for me to tell the full story on how I almost got the White Stripes to play in my library... I was working at the library in the heart of Old Strathcona, a beautiful newly-renovated brick building that was the first public library in Edmonton built in 1913. A friend and former co-worker at the downtown library called me (although he was sworn to secrecy) with crazy news that someone from the White Stripes camp had contacted them about potentially playing their secret show there. And the library declined! What?!? GRRR! I was so excited and disappointed at the same time. I went on the Little Room forums to rant and rave about what a blown opportunity it was. I also posted some photos of the White Stripes shrine I had put up at the library as the display person and not-so-subtlely suggested the gig should happen at our library. Amazingly, I received a private message from someone... After some rapid back-and-forth e-mails with some scouting photos I took, it turned out our room could probably on hold 80 people and they were expecting more like 300. I also found out later the downtown library gig was kiboshed because of fire hazard and security concerns rather than management simply being close-minded. In any event, I got to go to the secret gig after getting the announcement on the forums and rushing to the youth centre. On the way there, that someone gave me a courtesy call to let me know where the gig was at. And that is how The White Stripes almost played at my library. The end.
  
  
• While on my weeklong White Stripes Maritimes Extravaganza, I was contacted by some guy named Kurtis who was planning to start up his own cover blog... A couple months later, Covering the Mouse debuted featuring all Disney covers, all the time. And the world rejoiced.
  
  
• I went to the Calgary Folk Festival and had a heck of a great time. Squirrel Nut Zippers reunited, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings... it was fun. It occurs to me that I never wrote my Calgary Folk Fest Part II post, which has been condemned to draft hell. So I never told the story of how I weaseled my way into the volunteer's after party to watch the Squirrel Nut Zippers for one last time and danced the night away. Maybe someday I'll finish up some long lost posts.
  
  
• August 28: I stayed up and watched the lunar eclipse like an idiot.
  
  
• September 12: My head exploded as Led Zeppelin officially announces their one-off reunion show. In spite of great lengths to procure tickets, it just didn't work out.
  
  
• Boyhowdy joins the cover blog fray with Cover Lay Down, devoted to folk covers.
  
  
• As I'm off galavanting in China, Kurtis takes over Fong Songs temporarily.
  
  
• While wandering the streets of Macau, I see a sign. Literally a sign for "Fong Song". I wonder if there's a real Coverville out there somewhere.
  
  
• And lastly, I moved to Vancouver.

My Year in Concerts (click links to revisit old concert posts):
2007/01/14 The Tragically Hip Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/01/23 Video Games Live Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB
2007/02/06 The Arrogant Worms Winspear Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/02/25 Wolfmother Edmonton Event Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/05/17 Danny Michel Convocation Hall, Edmonton, AB
2007/05/23 The Killers with Hot Hot Heat Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/23 Red Shag Carpet with Kyle Riabko Freemason's Hall, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/24 Roger Waters Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB
2007/06/30 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, AB
2007/07/10 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB
2007/07/11 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Charlottetown Civic Centre, Charlottetown, PEI
2007/07/13 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain Cunard Centre, Halifax, NS
2007/07/14 The White Stripes with Dan Sartain and Ashley MacIsaac The Savoy Theatre, Glace Bay, NS
2007/07/18 Jon Levine Band Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto, ON
2007/07/25 Weird Al Yankovic Capital Ex, Edmonton, AB
2007/07/27 - 07/29 Calgary Folk Festival (Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Polyjesters, Eleni Mandell, Watermelon Slim, Hawsley Workman, Sarah Slean, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Don McLean, and many more!) Prince's Island Park, Calgary, AB
2007/09/01 Andrew Bird with Dosh Richard on Richard's, Vancouver, BC
2007/09/02 Gogol Bordello with DJ Scratchy Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
2007/12/09 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings with Megatron Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

Clearly this was an outstanding year for concert-going. The White Stripes Maritimes Extravaganza was logistically improbable but in the "so crazy it just might work" way and with the ultimate pay-off. The 10th Anniversary show in Glace Bay was the most unreal concert experience I've ever partaken in and unlikely to ever be topped. I tear up just thinking about it... so great in so many ways. Roger Waters put on a spectacular show and in a non-White Stripes year it would contend for best concert of the year. They had a giant high definition screen as a backdrop that is by far the clearest I've ever seen. Giant inflatable graffiti pig too. Shine On You Crazy Diamond was near-euphoric performed live. That concert now has the distinction of the most expensive concert ticket I've ever paid for at $167 and I somehow convinced two of my friends to come too. Tickets for the three of us nearly matched the cost of all of our White Stripes Maritimes shows put together. After years of waiting, I finally saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers live and they did not disappoint. Concert-wise, there's nothing really on the radar yet for 2008. High on my list of must-see someday are The Polyphonic Spree, Harvey Danger, and if we're really lucky maybe Zooey Deschanel will go on tour with M. Ward in '08.

OK, thank you for indulging me. Next time: top stuff of 2007.

Jason Webley & Amanda Palmer & Evelyns

Here's a treat if you're a fan of Jason Webley, The Dresden Dolls, or both. I just got the word from Jason's mailing list that his latest collaboration is ready to be pre-ordered. It's the long-awaited (by me anyway) project that Jason Webley worked on with Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. Earlier this summer, Jason was booking his own tour dates and sent out a mass e-mail asking if he should come to Edmonton and/or Calgary (a rare question from ANY artist). Of course, I responded a resounding yes, but unfortunately the proposed date that he was available clashed with our city's Folk Fest (death to other concurrent live music acts). So he went to Calgary and not Edmonton, but I thought it was way cool he asked and even personally responded. If you're unfamiliar with Jason Webley, google his brilliantly catchy song Eleven Saints. Incidentally, I found out about him last year from Neil Gaiman's journal, who also turned me onto The Ditty Bops a few years back. Impeccable taste, that fellow.

All you really need to know about the collaboration is that it's Jason, Amanda, and conjoined twin sisters both named Evelyn. It's a 3-song 7" vinyl with a 6-track bonus CD and one of the songs is a cover of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart. Act fast since there will only be 1,111 copies made and apparently the Dresden Dolls mailing will be notified Thursday. Full story and ordering details here.

Meanwhile, we're still waiting on Amanda's debut solo album, which is being produced by Mr. Ben Folds. I still haven't gotten over the cancelled Ben Folds cruise, on which Amanda would have been a special guest.

Canadian Cover Content #4: Barenaked Ladies

The big news earlier this week is that I booked my Ben Folds Cruise for next February. I would never had predicted it, but this Ben Folds cruise is the concert I've been unconsciously waiting the last ten years for. Since his Ben Folds Five days, he's been my favourite artist/band yet I've only had the opportunity to see him perform once, 2 years ago just outside of Seattle while I was living in Vancouver. Other than that, he's never toured anywhere near Edmonton. I figure (probably exaggerating) that this cruise costs about the same as me travelling to one of his regular gigs. In some sort of crazy wish fulfilment in my little world, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls was also announced as an onboard guest for the festivities. In a word: UNBELIEVABLE.

I try not to do shameless plugs too often, but here's an exception. If anyone out there is also planning to go on this Ben Folds cruise too, please use my Sixthman ID SXM-029727 as a referral when you book. The reason I ask is because if I refer somebody, I would get to go to an exclusive intimate acoustic performance by Ben Folds. Yes, for purely selfish reasons, I make this plea to LET ME REFER YOU! Um, if Eef Barzelay (of Clem Snide) is your thing, he's coming. Corn Mo is aboard too. Not official yet, but Ben said The Streets is coming (and no, that is not grammatically incorrect). And of course, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, who is reason enough on her own to attend. More artists to come over the next 8 months including comedians apparently, but in any case it should be an event for the ages to be sure. So if anyone out there decides to take me up on this offer, let me know via e-mail because I can be easily persuaded to send you a stack of some of my cover CD collection (oh dear, I've resorted to bribery). Public sale starts June 11th. End plea.

In anticipation of the pre-sale which started Tuesday, I was reading up on the Barenaked Ladies' Ships & Dips cruise that took place earlier this year and already has a follow-up in place for next year. In fact, Ben's touring this summer with John Mayer who recently announced his own cruise vacation too... now it's just getting out of hand. All of these experiences are organized by a great, great company called Sixthman, who genuinely seem to be working hard to fulfil everybody's music dreams. They supposedly have 16 events in the works for next year... I cannot even imagine.

Anyway, while perusing the Barenaked Ladies forums, I stumbled upon a link to The Bathroom Sessions, a whole series hitherto unbeknownst to me of youtube videos that BNL Ed Robertson (and sometimes Steven Page) recorded in Ed's bathroom. One of my favourite BNL songs The King of Bedside Manor gets the Bathroom treatment with a brilliant acoustic performance by Ed and Steven (even a couple cover snippets sneak in there). Check it out here. Man, that whole performance just cracks me up!


Barenaked Ladies - The King of Bedside Manor
The original from 1992's Gordon.


I feel goofy when I do these "Canadian Cover Content" posts and Barenaked Ladies covers pop up by default, so I thought I'd post a few choice covers and lay off them for while.

Barenaked Ladies - Psycho Killer [originally by Talking Heads]
Years ago I had heard the Moxy Früvous cover of Psycho Killer (one of my favs!) from their Live Noise album that I borrowed from the library. After I got my iPod and was attempting to amass my mp3 collection over again, I tried tracking down that cover but mistakingly thought it was the Barenaked Ladies. See, when I was 9 years old I first heard Moxy Früvous' King of Spain on the radio and had thought it was Barenaked Ladies, so this initial confusion has plagued me since. Interesting trivia I just read (thank you wikipedia!): King of Spain was the second Canadian independent #1 hit in Canadian history, preceded only a few months earlier by BNL's Be My Yoko Ono. Coincidentally (or not?), the Barenaked Ladies DID do a cover of Psycho Killer and this just confused matters further since I knew it wasn't the same version I had heard years earlier. That is, until I re-discovered the Früvous Live Noise album about five years ago. And until that point I didn't even realize this was a cover song (embarrassing but true). Since then I've of course heard the Talking Heads original and fell in love with that too. Great song with lots of covers.

Barenaked Ladies - Careless Whisper (live) [originally by Wham!]
There also seem to be a lot of covers of this song cropping up lately. Ben Folds also semi-regularly covers this live...

Ben Folds & Rufus Wainwright - Careless Whisper (live) [originally by Wham!]
...and there you go. Canadian content provided by Mr. Wainwright.

Barenaked Ladies - When Doves Cry (live) [originally by Prince]

Barenaked Ladies - Do They Know It's Christmas? [originally by Band Aid]

Barenaked Ladies - Legal Age Life at Variety Store (live) [originally by the Rheostatics]
Canadians covering Canadians.

Captain Tractor - Legal Age Life at Variety Store [originally by the Rheostatics]
A little bit of Edmonton cover content too for ya. This was the first time I had heard this song ever.

Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson [originally by Barenaked Ladies]
Possibly the most conceptually surreal cover ever: Brian Wilson performing Brian Wilson. Ack, brain meltdown!MalkovichMalkovichMalkovichMalkovich!

The Bathroom Sessions have even inspired a youtube user by the name of tornadocanemusic to post his own series of Odes to the Bathroom Sessions. And wow, this guy can actually play and sing. Check out his cover of BNL's Brian Wilson here. The best thing is that Ed Robertson leaves this comment on one of his other videos: "Your voice is better than mine... but my bathroom's better."

Ben Folds + Amanda Palmer = Pure Gold (coming soon...)

It's been confirmed by Amanda Palmer (of the Dresden Dolls) that Ben Folds is producing and playing on her upcoming solo album being recorded at Ben's Nashville studio. Awesome, awesome news. For those out of the loop, Ben's my favourite artist/band and The Dresden Dolls are up there too. Ever since Ben randomly called up Amanda last year, which lead to the Dresden Dolls opening for a couple of Ben's gigs in Australia, I've been waiting for some sort of collaboration to come of this new musical relationship. And for the project to be Amanda's debut solo album after a hiatus of sorts from the Dolls is absolutely brilliant. Ben's own solo album should be coming out this year too. With Andrew Bird's latest already out, The Polyphonic Spree's coming up, The White Stripes back in action... it's shaping up to be a great year in music (for me at least!).

[edit: link fixed] Amanda Palmer - Night Reconnaissance
Ben Folds - Side of the Road [originally by Lucinda Williams]
Amanda Palmer - Material Girl (feat. Meredith Yayanos) [originally by Madonna]
Ben Folds - Them That Got (live) [originally by Ray Charles]

By the way, if you want to check out Amanda covering The Rolling Stones' Satisfaction with a puppet, you should go here.

Happy Pi Day!

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067982148086513282306647093844609550582231725359408128481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381964428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364367892590360011330530548820466521384146951941511609433057270365759591953092186117381932611793105118548074462379962749567351885752724891227938183011949129833673362440656643086021394946395224737190702179860943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132000568127145263560827785771342757789609173637178721468440901224953430146549585371050792279689258923542019956112129021960864034418159813629774771309960518707211349999998372978049951059731732816096318595024459455346908302642522308253344685035261931188171010003137838752886587533208381420617177669147303598253490428755468731159562863882353787593751957781857780532171226806613001927876611195909216420198938095257201065485863278865936153381827968230301952035301852968995773622599413891249721775283479131515574857242454150695950829533116861727855889075098381754637464939319255060400927701671139009848824012858361603563707660104710181942955596198946767837449448255379774726847104047534646208046684259069491293313677028989152104752162056966024058038150193511253382430035587640247496473263914199272604269922796782354781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586926995690927210797509302955321165344987202755960236480665499119881834797753566369807426542527862551818417574672890977772793800081647060016145249192173217214772350141441973568548161361157352552133475741849468438523323907394143334547762416862518983569485562099219222184272550254256887671790494601653466804988627232791786085784383827967976681454100953883786360950680064225125205117392984896084128488626945604241965285022210661186306744278622039194945047123713786960956364371917287467764657573962413890865832645995813390478027590099465764078951269468398352595709825822620522489407726719478268482601476990902640136394437455305068203496252451749399651431429809190659250937221696461515709858387410597885959772975498930161753928468138268683868942774155991855925245953959431049972524680845987273644695848653836736222626099124608051243884390451244136549762780797715691435997700129616089441694868555848406353422072225828488648158456028506016842739452267467678895252138522549954666727823986456596116354886230577456498035593634568174324112515076069479451096596094025228879710893145669136867228748940560101503308617928680920874760917824938589009714909675985261365549781893129784821682998948722658804857564014270477555132379641451523746234364542858444795265867821051141354735739523113427166102135969536231442952484937187110145765403590279934403742007..... and so on and so forth.

Belated Happy Pi Day everyone. I almost missed it. Ok, I did miss it but I'm not waiting another year to post my π songs!

Hard 'n Phirm - Pi
My favourite all-time π song. And check out the awesome music video here. The funniest is when that chubby kid starts to wander off the set and then gets wrangled back on by an angry production assistant. Keith Schofield's other music videos are worth a look too.

The Specifics - 3.1415
Very pleasant tune about how love is like π (my interpretation). "3.1415, the non-recurring story of my life..."

The Seatbelts - 3.14
This a strange little ditty from the Cowboy Bebop movie soundtrack with Ed singing what sounds like a Japanese nursery rhyme then reciting some π-ness


Also, a Pi Day treat: some requests! Don't let this lead to a bombardment of requests now, I'm just in a good mood today. :)

A couple more from Osaka Popstar:
Osaka Popstar & The American Legends of Punk - Astro Boy
[originally by Donald Rockwell & Tatsuo Takai]
I didn't recognize this cover at first, then I found out that this is the 60's Astro Boy and not the 80's Astro Boy that I grew up with.

Osaka Popstar & The American Legends of Punk - Man of Constant Sorrow
[traditional; made famous by the Stanley Brothers]
Upon closer inspection, Sailor Moon and Astro Boy are the only anime covers on the Osaka Popstar album, though 75% of it is still covers (like this one). You can see the full tracklist here.

Five months ago I made a post called Life on Mars? to the Max, with about 30 covers and versions of one of the best David Bowie songs. You can all thank Joe for me re-posting the "Life on Mars? Collection" with a few changes:
-Tino Casal's cover was incomplete the first time around so it's been cut
-I lost my David Bowie live in Edmonton version (don't worry the quality was terrible)
-I've replaced the Dresden Dolls version with an official version I got from the .2 Contamination Bowie Tribute album, although I suspect it was recorded from the same show
-I've added a Caecilie Norby jazz cover

The Life on Mars? Collection: [EDIT: I"M NOT RE-POSTING THIS AGAIN!]
Part 1 (A - L)
Part 2 (M - Z)

Word on the street is that experimental jazz surrealists The Bad Plus offer up a Life on Mars? cover on their new album that comes out at the end of May (not to mention covers of Tears for Fears and Rush!). Anyone got any other Mars covers?

The Onion AV Club posted their "14 Cover songs that are better than the originals". I originally wanted to post some of my picks, but I'm a little bogged down with work so that'll have to wait until maybe next week. Also check out their interview with Andrew Bird about his upcoming album, the Scythian empire, and his appearance on Jack's Big Music Show. Can't wait 'til next Tuesday!
One last bonus track: Andrew Bird as Dr. Stringz

Alright, going to the mountains this weekend for some skiing! See you next week.

Gypsy Punk

Lately I've been diggin' me some so-called "gypsy punk," a genre that previously I didn't even know existed. Yet over the past few months, I've independently stumbled upon two bands that could be each classified as such.

First, there's Gogol Bordello whose frontman Eugene Hütz is credited with coining the term "gypsy punk cabaret" to describe the band, which is a punk-infused Eastern European romp. The gala screening at the Edmonton Film Festival in October was a film called Wristcutters: A Love Story, an offbeat roadtrip comedy set in an alternate plane of existence where all the suicide victims end up and "everything's the same, just a little bit worse". It's quite a charming little gem of a movie with inspired performances from an eclectic cast that includes Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Tom Waits (!), Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, and Arrested Development's Will Arnett (as a self-proclaimed Messiah, no less). I found out after that some of the music on the soundtrack was done by Gogol Bordello, so I checked the library and we had a couple of their CDs. Shea Whigham's character Eugene, who electrocutes himself and dies mid-song at a gig, is no doubt inspired by Gogol Bordello's Eugene Hütz (who presumably did not electrocute himself and die mid-song at a gig).

Here are a couple of my favourite tracks:
Gogol Bordello - When The Trickster Starts A-Poking (Bordello Kind Of Guy)
Gogol Bordello - I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again
Gogol Bordello - Huliganjetta


The other band I've started listening to is Golem. Apparently gypsy punk can be further sub-categorized: Gogol Bordello could be considered Slavic gypsy punk while Golem is more along the lines of klezmer/Yiddish gypsy punk. I first took note of Golem when I heard their song Warsaw is Khelm, which features Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls sharing lead vocals.

Golem - Warsaw is Khelm (featuring Amanda Palmer)
Golem - Mazel
Golem - The Rent


I suspect my affinity for this genre goes back to my days as a huge fan of Captain Tractor, a local band whose music is usually Celtic folk-rock but they have a few songs that share the same "gypsy punk" vibe. For example, the conspicuously titled Gypsy Music, a 30-second throwaway track from their Bought The Farm album. Also, a cover of If I Were a Rich Man, which I posted long ago in the formative stages of this blog.

Captain Tractor - Gypsy Music
Captain Tractor - If I Were a Rich Man [originally by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick from Fiddler on the Roof]

Happy New Year

Here's a belated, much belaboured year-end round-up post. Phew.

Top covers:
I'm not going to bother ranking these or anything, but these are some of the notable highlights of last year for me in the cover world.

Harvey Danger - Oh! You Pretty Things [originally by David Bowie]
One of my favourite bands covering one of my favourite Bowie tracks? Most excellent. I don't know what I was expecting when I first heard it, but I was vaguely underwhelmed. This may have to do with the piano being replaced by an organ. I quickly got over that minor quibble and by the second time I gave it a listen, it had suddenly become a delayed instant classic. Go figure. If you're looking for something to spend $0.99 at the iTunes store, I'd have to recommend this above all others.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Since I've Been Loving You (live AOL session) [originally by Led Zeppelin]
I was blown away when I heard this cover. This is the 2nd cover I've heard from her and now I'm starting to take notice. Despite being one of the greatest and most successful rock bands ever, I still feel that Led Zeppelin is somehow underrated (if that is even remotely possible). Um, I was about to go into a big rant about it, but you'll just have to take my word for it. Apparently, Bailey Rae will have an album version of this next year... or rather, this year (still not used to 2007 yet).

Chris Thile - Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground [originally by The White Stripes]
I love The White Stripes. I love covers. And Chris Thile of Nickel Creek hit this one out of the ballpark. The version I posted is not actually the cut from the album, but a truly solo live version from Reg's Coffee House, which is incidentally fantastic. Also go here for video of another live version and a great cover of The Band's Ophelia.

Nickel Creek - Just (live at the Largo) [originally by Radiohead]
Last year Mark Ronson released a cover of Radiohead's Just, which was superb to say the least. While there are billions of Creep covers, it was the first Just cover I had heard and I welcomed it with open arms. Then Nickel Creek had to come along and cover it too. Now there are two superb Just covers. I nicked this from the Largo website, which I had stumbled upon while scouring the net for Jon Brion material. For a while there, he was performing at the Largo once a week. How sweet would that have been? Answer: pretty damn sweet. Now I hear The Watkins Family Hour (aka two-thirds of Nickel Creek) are performing at the Largo almost every Thursday until the spring (contrary to the online Largo calendar). Very cool, if you live in LA.

Lulu Hughes - Time [originally by Pink Floyd]
So I borrowed this album from the library called Pink Floyd Redux. I wasn't expecting much seeing how I'm just a casual Pink Floyd fan, but damn if this isn't one of the best covers of the year.

Devo 2.0 - Monkey's Uncle [originally by Annette Funicello with the Beach Boys]
My musical knowledge of the original Devo is limited, so I haven't really formed an opinion as to whether an all-children's update of the new age group is a good idea or instant sacrilege. I have also never heard the original of this 1965 Disney song (from the movie of the same name), which was apparently sung by Annette Funicello with the Beach Boys (?!). Somehow none of this mattered as I was sucked into this song unawares and learned the following things: A) Songs about monkeys are cool; B) Children singing like robots is strange (but fun!); C) Corporate Disney channel cash-ins aren't ALL bad; D) Devo for kids is WAY better than kidz bop... ugh.

Natalie Cole - Criminal [originally by Fiona Apple]
Fiona Apple in the style of Aretha Franklin is unexpected. Unexpectedly awesome, that is.

Fall Out Boy - What's This? [originally by Danny Elfman from The Nightmare Before Christmas]
This had all the makings of disaster... Fall Out Boy? Covering beloved animated classic? And yet, it's addictive. Not surprisingly amped up, but surprisingly faithful and the lead singer has a flair for theatrics, which is advantageous in this case. Other covers on the Nightmare soundtrack re-release, not so successful (with the exception of Fiona Apple). Why wasn't the 3D re-release of the film shown seemingly anywhere in Canada?

===========================

Catchiest song of the year:
Jason Webley - Eleven Saints [via Fabulist]
This year's War Photographer award (for an insanely catchy tune attached to online animated music video) goes to Jason Webley's Eleven Saints. About a month ago Neil Gaiman posted on his journal "And just so you know, I cannot get this song and video out of my head". Naturally I had to check out the link and he was absolutely right, it's damn catchy. Since then I've been listening to it incessantly and then a couple days ago I finally decided to check out Jason Webley's website where I discovered in the forums that he had just finished touring with the Dresden Dolls. What the deuce?!? My musical tastes once again converge in strange and unexpected ways (see: Ben Folds calls up the Dresden Dolls). In this recent interview with Fabulist, Jason Webley's story of how the tour with the Dolls came about is equally strange.

===========================

Favourite albums of 2006:
The Dresden Dolls - Yes, Virginia


Analyzing my iTunes play counts by 2006 albums, The Dresden Dolls take 5 of the top 6 most played tracks. Four songs from this album and a b-side. It's hard to argue that any other album released last year topped this one in my books.
Mrs. O
Lonesome Organist Rapes Page Turner (B-side)
When I hear the latter song, I'm reminded of a French film I saw this year at the Edmonton film fest called La Tourneuse de Pages and specifically a scene where the lonesome cello player attempts to take advantage of the page turner (this does not end well for him). Previously I had never heard of a page turner as a vocation, let alone the subject of a film or song. If cold, calculated revenge is your thing, I recommend this film. Although when it ended, the woman seated in front of me promptly stood up and declared that she hated it. You can listen to me or that woman.




Rodrigo y Gabriela (self-titled)
First of two artists I "discovered" this past summer while in the FOPP record store in Bath, UK. A friend and I were perusing the CD racks and just couldn't NOT ask what was playing over the speakers. We were told Rodrigo y Gabriela. OK, mental note to self: remember those names and look into it when I get back home in a month or so. I later learned their latest album was produced in Bath, so it made sense that they were promoting it. The duo themselves are from Mexico and based in Dublin (!). I would later have the obscene good fortune of seeing them when they inexplicably made a stop at the Edmonton Folk Festival (to the neglect of the rest of Canada). Here's a Metallica cover:
Orion [originally by Metallica]

Wolfmother (self-titled)
Wolfmother is the other band I heard for the first time while in FOPP in Bath. It was this first track Dimension blaring over the speakers that was irresistably rockin'. Later in my summer travels, I bought their CD in New York City. First impressions: Jet spliced with White Stripes. To some, that would be a bad thing. But I like it, so there.
Dimension

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
I am of the opinion that nearly everything Jack White is involved with is exceptional and The Raconteurs is no exception. Looking at that sentence I just wrote, I'm starting to doubt its logicality. . . Um, The Raconteurs rule!
The Bane Rendition (b-side to Steady as She Goes)
Together

Hawksley Worksman - Treeful of Starling
Seeing Hawksley Workman at the Folk Fest made me regret not checking out his music earlier. His long delayed, rain-soaked Friday evening performance on the Main Stage was mesmerizing even though it was only him and his piano player Mr. Lonely. I became an instant fan and thoroughly enjoyed his subsequent workshops on the side stages. This makes a nice post-apocalyptic companion piece to We Will Become Silhouettes.
You and the Candles

===========================


My Year in Concerts (click the links to revisit old concert posts):
02/18 - Edmonton - The Philosopher Kings
04/25 - Edmonton - Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab for Cutie
06/24 - Dores, Scotland - The Loch Ness Monster: Fatboy Slim & guests
06/30 - Toronto - Seu Jorge
07/15 - Toronto - The Dresden Dolls
08/01 - Toronto - The Living End
08/10 - 08/13 - Edmonton - Edmonton Folk Music Festival (Hawksley Workman, Rodrigo y Gabriela, K'Naan, Bedouin Soundclash, Feist, Chumbawamba, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Sarah Harmer, and many many more...)
08/24 - Edmonton - Ben Lee
09/22 - Edmonton - Danny Michel
10/06 - Edmonton - The Who
10/17 - Edmonton - The New Pornographers, Immaculate Machine, and Novillero
10/22 - Edmonton - Ellen McIlwaine with Cassius Khan

About 75% of those shows were brilliant. Let's just say that with the exception of The Who, larger venue concerts are not ideal. The tantalizingly short 30-minute set by Rodrigo y Gabriela was unreal and unarguably the best gig out of 4 days of solid music at the Edmonton Folk Fest (read more here). At the other end of the gig spectrum, The Dresden Dolls' night of entertainment, which spanned nearly 5 hours for $10 in an old movie theatre was amazing and was one of those rare occasions of quantity AND quality (see above link).

The Who - See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You (live in Edmonton 10/06/06)
Roger Daltrey's parting words after a night of technical difficulties: "Never give up!"

The Living End - 10:15 Saturday Night [originally by The Cure]
Danny Michel - Moonage Daydream [originally by David Bowie]
Death Cab for Cutie - Little Boxes [originally by Malvina Reynolds]
Ellen McIlwaine with Cassius Khan - R&B Medley (live in Edmonton) [various covers]
The Dresden Dolls - Tout les garçons et les filles (live in Lyon) [originally by Françoise Hardy]




I'm kicking this melting popsicle stand and jetting to San Francisco next week with the fam'. Stay frosty.