Random Blender of Randomness

Once again, blogging has fallen by the wayside as I've recently found myself spending unhealthy amounts of time in the wide world of Red Dead Redemption while also plowing my way through the third part of Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Blah Blah Blah trilogy (this time she kicked the hornet's nest!). The continued DMCA crackdown and migration of mp3 bloggers off of Blogger also does little to muster my waning enthusiasm.

Anyway, here's a grab bag of covers that have caught my attention recently. The Boss covering Bryan Adams? Kenny Loggins covering Feist? Joseph Gordon-Levitt covering Tom Waits? I'm not making these artist-cover combos up!

Bruce Springsteen - Cuts Like a Knife (live) [originally by Bryan Adams]
Last month, an all-star cover of Don't Stop Believing by Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Sting, and others made headlines. Lost in all the OMGs and LOLs was that it was 80s nostalgia night at Sting's Rainforest Fund benefit and there were a bunch of random cover pairings such as Elton John doing a Material Girl/Like a Virgin medley, Sting dong She Drives Me Crazy, and perhaps the least likely, Bruce Springsteen adding horns and a rambling story about a girlfriend who left him to a nearly 10-minute version of Bryan Adams' Cuts Like a Knife.

Garfunkel and Oates - One More Minute [originally by Weird Al Yankovic]
Garfunkel and Oates (AKA Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome) were recent guests alongside Weird Al on an episode of the Comedy Death-Ray Radio podcast. In tribute, they performed a cover of one of Weird Al's best originals, One More Minute, with added cussing.

Kenny Loggins - 1234 [originally by Feist]
Finally got a listen of Kenny Loggins' All Join In album from last year, more or less a cover album sung more often than not with his kids. On the whole, the album may be a little too saccharine (it is on the Disney label after all), but I do enjoy how the coda to his Feist cover gets the Beatles treatment, incorporating bits of Penny Lane, All Together Now, and Two of Us, the latter two of which were also covered on the album.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Blind Love [originally by Tom Waits]
Admittedly there's a huge hole in my music upbringing when it comes to Tom Waits, so I don't really know how this rates as a cover, but it sounds pretty decent to me. I am super stoked for Gordon-Levitt's turn in Inception though!

Keller Williams & The Keels - The Switch and the Spur [originally by The Raconteurs]
Keller Williams recently released Thief, a bluegrass cover album with an eclectic tracklist from Amy Winehouse (Rehab) to Marcy Playground (Sex and Candy) to The Presidents of the United States of America (Bath of Fire. Major kudos for covering this sweet track from The Raconteurs' Consolers of the Lonely.

The Oneups - Rainbow Road [originally from Super Mario Kart]
Last month, video game cover band The OneUps released their long-awaited (by me) Super Mario Kart cover album. Ah, Rainbow Road sure brings back the memories.

Evelyn Evelyn - Lean on Me (live) [originally by Bill Withers]
Via krewechief's Live Music Blog, the conjoined twin cabaret act Evelyn Evelyn fittingly covered this classic song live in Toronto. The twins are the brainchild of Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley and ironically I've seen them each "separately," so I was totally bummed to miss their Vancouver show while I was in Toronto.

Amanda counts to 4

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

Muppet Covers Week, Day 4: Covers by Muppets & Friends

We continue Muppet Covers Week with covers of songs performed by the Muppets and/or special guests.


Ozzy Osbourne & Miss Piggy - Born to Be Wild [originally by Steppenwolf]
From the 1994 album Kermit Unpigged, which featured the Muppets, uh, mupping it up with special guests such as Jimmy Buffett, Linda Ronstadt, and Don Henley. Ozzy & Miss Piggy make for stranger bedfellows than a frog and a pig, eh? Actually, when you think about it, this is really the unlikely singing combo of Ozzy and Oz [Frank].

The Muppets - (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
[originally written by Chips Moman and Larry Butler]
From the first season of the Muppet Show with guest host Peter Ustinov. Gathered around Rowlf's piano with various other Muppets, Miss Piggy takes the lead on this cover of the Grammy-winning country song originally recorded by B. J. Thomas.

Joel Grey & The Muppets - Razzle Dazzle [originally by John Kander & Fred Ebb]
One of two numbers from the musical Chicago to be performed in the first season of The Muppet Show. This opens with The Great Gonzo putting on another typically misunderstood performance piece (demolishing a vintage car with a sledgehammer to the tune of The Anvil Chorus) before Joel Grey comes in with some stage advice.

Ben Vereen & The Muppets - Mr. Cellophane [originally by John Kander & Fred Ebb]
Mr. Cellophane is the other song from Chicago performed in season one. I was scrolling through Ben Vereen's IMDb listing and the one credit that jumped out for me was his role as "Mayor Ben" on Zoobilee Zoo. Man, I hated Zoobilee Zoo. The costumed animal/human hybrids freaked me out the same way clowns do, and yet it was something I watched again and again as a kid. Why? A strange childhood tendency to watch anything whether you liked it or not (also known as Younger Sibling Syndrome).


Floyd Pepper - New York State of Mind
Rowlf - New York State of Mind
This Billy Joel ode to New York City was covered by two different Muppets. Floyd, backed by Dr. Teeth on keys and Zoot on sax, performed it on The Muppet Show during its second season (shown again in the third season). Rowlf also performed the song on the out of print album Ol' Brown Ears is Back, which seems like a labour of love moreso than any other Muppet album I've heard. According to the Muppet Wiki entry, the songs were originally recorded by Jim Henson and Derek Scott (who played all of Rowlf's piano tracks on the Muppet Show) in 1984, but the album was not released until 1993, three years after Henson's death. Unlike Kermit who would from then on be performed by Steve Whitmire, Rowlf was not recast immediately after Henson's death and would appear silently in future Muppet productions for many years. Muppeteer Bill Barretta gradually took over the role and other Henson characters such as Dr. Teeth and the Swedish Chef, though Rowlf would not speak his first word ("Yeah!") until a 1996 episode of Muppets Tonight and his first full lines would not come until 2002's It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie ("Hey, Kermit!" and "Yeah! Heh, heh. Oh!").


Rowlf - Cottleston Pie [originally a poem by A. A. Milne]
Rowlf - Bein' Green [originally sung by Kermit]
A couple more covers from the Ol' Brown Ears is Back album including a cover of a Winnie-the-Pooh poem, which was written in 1924. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the poem was first put to music on this 1952 record by Jack Gilford. Bein' Green is a Rowlf cover of Kermit's signature song, ha ha. Of course, the dog and the frog were both performed by Jim Henson, though in Muppet terms I consider it a cover. Rowlf's "banter" on the album is heartwarming and often hilarious. It never sounds like someone putting on a character; Rowlf simply exists and it's magical. Other than Kermit, Rowlf is my favourite Muppet with his floppy ears, gruff voice, goofy jokes, and mad piano poundin' skills. And Baby Rowlf as seen in The Muppets Take Manhattan is absolutely adorable. What I love about Rowlf is that you never doubt for a second that he's a dog playing a piano. You know in movies when some actor is supposedly playing the piano and it cuts to a close-up of someone else's hands? Rowlf is most often shown from an angle where he's convincingly playing, not just random pounding. For a long while I assumed someone controlled his head while a piano player was ducked out of sight actually playing the piano with his big paws, which is half true. In actual fact, the piano is a "dud" that makes no noise, but the Muppeteer controlling the hands could possibly spend hours learning all the nuances of the pre-recorded piano track to play it believably. Incredible. It's often said that seeing the behind the scenes of "movie magic" can ruin the illusion, but in the case of The Muppet Show it just further enhances one's appreciation of the artistry and, well, the magic of the Muppets. Just watch the vintage behind the scenes special Of Muppets and Men that someone thankfully put up on youTube. Endlessly fascinating.


Rowlf - The Muppet Show Closing Theme
Near the end of season one, the Muppet house band abandons the show (temporarily) because they're fed up with playing the same old Muppet Show theme every night. Led by Floyd, they take off leaving only Rowlf to play the closing theme by himself. A nice twist.


Not exactly covers, mind you, but here are a couple guest appearances from Sesame Street:

Norah Jones - Don't Know Y
Norah was supposed to meet with Y, but he was a no show. She don't know why Y didn't come. That's not grammatically correct, is it?

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Put a Lid on It
I literally tried to track this down for years before some kind reader alerted me a couple months back to the recently uploaded youtube video. Victory! The goofy skit from 2001 has the Zippers trying to put different "lids" on a muppet's head. For context, watch the full clip here.

A few days ago the much anticipated Feist performance of 1234 for the upcoming season premiere of Sesame Street hit youtube:

Uh, wasn't that a completely missed opportunity for an appearance by The Count? Still fun though. My favourite part is her gleeful reaction at the very last second!

The Dust Brothers - Shining Star (featuring Jeymes) [originally by Earth, Wind & Fire]
This is the lead track from the Muppets From Space soundtrack. I frantically tried to track this cover down (indirectly leading to this whole series of Muppet cover posts) when I first found out that The Dust Brothers had covered Earth, Wind & Fire's Shining Star. Disappointingly it's a very blah straightforward carbon copy cover, not at all what one would expect from the duo who produced Beck's Odelay and scored Fight Club, among other prominent projects.

Muppet Covers Week, Day 3: Cover Songs From the Street

With an astounding 4,160 episodes over 38 seasons, children everywhere are still managing to find their way to Sesame Street. First hitting the airwaves in 1969, Sesame Street is still going strong with season 39 coming your way August 11th with a swack of celebrity guest stars lined up including Jack Black, Feist, Will Arnett(!), David Beckham, Jessica Alba, and more. There have been hundreds of Sesame Street songs over the years, but just a handful of them are continually introduced to new generations of children (uh, don't quote me on that). I've chosen a bunch that I specifically remember from my childhood and have some sort of meaning to me.

See this? This is the exact album cover of the LP that was the source of my early love of Sesame Street music. All the hits were on there: the Sesame Street theme, C is for Cookie, Bein' Green, Somebody Come & Play, Sing, ABC-DEF-GHI... all of which were written or co-written by the brilliant Joe Raposo, who composed numerous other Sesame Street songs. Another virtuoso was Jeff Moss who wrote Rubber Duckie, I Love Trash, The People in Your Neighborhood, I Don't Want to Live on the Moon, and so many more. Raposo and Moss each scored and wrote songs for a Muppet movie too, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan respectively. Like Jim Henson, both Raposo and Moss left us far too soon though their legacies are indelible.



Rubber Duckie
[originally performed by Ernie]
That's Baby Boy Fong (circa 1986 maybe?) with a lifesize Ernie and raggedy handmade Bert. These days one of Ernie's arms is detached and his legs are barely hanging on... well-loved. Rubber Duckie, of course, is Ernie's signature song. It's also very dear to me because "duck" was my very first word, believe it or not.

Little Richard - Rubber Duckie
Little Richard is hilarious and little scary. Sounds like he's struggling a bit with the script, but he's in his element (and bathtub) when performing this rockin' cover of Rubber Duckie.

Kelly Hogan - Rubber Duckie
Fun cover by Kelly Hogan, vocalist from Atlanta band The Jody Grind.

Love Pigs - Rubber Duckie
The inevitable punk cover...

The Buffalo Chips - Rubber Duckie
...and the inevitable a cappella cover.

Larry Paulette - Rubber Duckie
Inappropriate Bert & Ernie jokes aside, this is the most overtly sexual Rubber Duckie cover by the openly gay Larry Paulette from his 1977 album What Makes a Man a Man?.



C is for Cookie
[originally performed by Cookie Monster]
Another song that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I had a soft Cookie Monster doll with googly eyes that rattled. One day he took an ill-fated tumble off the handlebars of my bike, cracking his eyeballs and spilling eye crystals all over the pavement. Cookie underwent some emergency crazy glue surgery with a few salvaged crystals, though he never quite rattled the way he used to.

The Independents - C is for Cookie
Punk cover that takes a bit of a cue from Oingo Boingo with this cover. The Independents contributed C is for Cookie to the 1995 compilation album 31 Bands Trash 31 Songs to Find the Way to Sesame Street, though this particular version was newly recorded for their 2002 album Back from the Grave. Interestingly, Joey Ramone discovered the South Carolina band in the 90's and became their manager.

Slapshot - C is for Cookie
Another punk cover. Here's a bizarre, yet amusing article from the Wall Street Journal about "Cookie Monster singing" in death metal. The writer even contacted Frank Oz and the Sesame Workshop about it. The response from the VP of corporate communications: "What is it?"

Cookie Monster - C is for Cookie [disco version]
Hilarious disco version from the Sesame Street Fever album, though clocking in at 5:47 it's hardly for casual listening!



I Love Trash
[originally performed by Oscar the Grouch]
Ernie loves his rubber duckie, Cookie Monster loves cookies, and Oscar, well, he loves his trash.

Steven Tyler - I Love Trash
The Aerosmith lead singer contributed this lively rock cover to Elmopalooza!. He's actually really into it and the backing band does an excellent Aerosmith impression (I'm under the impression the rest of the band wasn't involved). I noticed this did not make the setlist for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

Animal House - I Love Trash
From that "Animal House Sings and Plays..." kids album I mentioned the other day. A little more successful than the other Muppet/Sesame Street covers from that album because they don't try too hard to imitate Oscar's distinct vocals.

Krupted Peasant Farmers - I Love Trash
Yep, the inevitable punk cover. Most of these punk covers are from that 31 Bands Trash 31 Songs to Find the Way to Sesame Street album.



Rights Reserved - ABC-DEF-GHI
This song used to crack me up as a kid. Silly Big Bird, it's the alphabet! Not a great cover, but the only one I know of this tune.

Idiot Flesh - People in the Neighborhood
A hilarious, yet not so innocent cover of the Jeff Moss-penned classic. The pimp, the crack-addicted mother of 8, and one more surprise are some of the people in this neighbourhood and the music shifts to match each particular character. Need I mention this isn't for the kiddies?

Take 6 - Easy Bein' Green
Performed by Kermit in the inaugural season of Sesame Street, his signature song has been covered numerous times by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, Ray Charles, and Tony Bennett. This short but sweet a cappella cover by gospel group Take 6 is an upbeat, toe-tapping reversal of Kermit's lament (but of course, Kermit changes his mind by the end of the original too). Thanks to Boyhowdy for this one!

Barenaked Ladies - La La La La Lemon
BNL's Ed Robertson and Steven Page respectively take on the roles of Ernie and Bert in this wonderful cover from the 2002 benefit compilation For the Kids, which also featured a few more Muppet/Sesame Street covers. Steven Page made headlines yesterday when he was unbelievably arrested in New York on charges of cocaine possession! Right on the heels of Barenaked Ladies' children's album Snacktime!, this is the exact opposite type of press one could hope for. Say it ain't true! Hopefully it's all some sort of misunderstanding, or else he's got some explaining to do... For the Pollywog in a Bog music video, the band members were turned into woodland puppets with the help of puppeteer Noah Ginex who once trained at the Jim Henson Company.

I'd also like to direct your attention to this intriguing sounding jazz CD by The Choi Sacks Duo called Imagination: The Music of Joe Raposo, which is all covers of Raposo-penned tunes such as Somebody Come and Play, Sing, Bein' Green, and La, La, La. Listen to samples and purchase here.

This post was brought to you by the letter J and the number 3. Tomorrow: more covers by Muppets and guests.

Indie Kids

Sweet gig going on tonight... actually considering the time zone difference it's probably over. But anyway, way out east in a small community outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia choir students from the Dutch Settlement Elementary School, Musquodoboit Valley Education Center, and Upper Musquodoboit Consolidated School put on a concert called Canada Rocks. This ain't no Kidz Bop. The choirs performed songs by Feist, Joel Plaskett, Shotgun Jimmie, Julie Doiron, AC Newman, Islands, K-OS, Wintersleep and Patrick Watson. The event organized by 26-year-old music teacher Jarred Gates also had Shotgun Jimmie and Julie Doiron on hand to perform.

Intentionally or not, this follows in the footsteps of a similar undertaking on the opposite coast of Canada 30 years ago when a music teacher in Langley, BC, Hans Fenger had his students performing contemporary rock songs. Originally pressed as LPs for the students and their families in 1976-77, the recordings were rediscovered in 2000 by a Victoria record collector who sent it to WFMU DJ Irwin Chusid. He in turn was involved in getting these released in CD form as The Langley Schools Music Project. I first stumbled upon this CD at the library a few years ago where I proceeded to play it enthusiastically for amused co-workers. Just listen to a few of these:

Langley Schools Music Project - Rhiannon [originally by Fleetwood Mac]
Langley Schools Music Project - Band on the Run [originally by Paul McCartney & Wings]
Langley Schools Music Project - Space Oddity [originally by David Bowie]

Bowie himself on the Space Oddity cover: ""The backing arrangement is astounding. Coupled with the earnest if lugubrious vocal performance you have a piece of art that I couldn't have conceived of, even with half of Colombia's finest export products in me."

Now imagine this with contemporary indie Canadian bands and you'll see why those Nova Scotia gigs would be awesome. The Musquodoboit area choirs are taking their show to the big city with a "two-date world tour" at Halifax schools in June. This project needs to be recorded immediately. I'd buy it!

[P.S. Check out Cover Lay Down tomorrow for a guest post by yours truly.]

Another Concert Alert for Torontonians

I just read about this:

The Songbook II: featuring Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, June 20 & 21, 2008 8pm

Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies will be accompanied by an ensemble comprised of some of Canada’s finest musicians including: Phil Dwyer (sax), Rob Piltch (guitar), Rafael Hoekman (cello), Joseph Phillips (bass), Steven Sitarski (violin) & Andrew Burashko (piano).

Songs by Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, Rufus Wainwright, Jane Sieberry and Radiohead; in fresh new arrangements by innovators from the worlds of pop, jazz & classical music such as Gavin Bryars, Rob Carli, Phil Dwyer, Kevin Fox, Jonathan Goldsmith, Jim McGrath, Owen Pallett (AKA Final Fantasy), Tom Walsh and Cameron Wilson.

The Art of Time Ensemble is a fascinating musical collective organized by artistic director Andrew Burashko of classical and jazz musicians, now in its 9th season of concerts. The Ensemble produces "unique and intimate
concert experiences that bridge the worlds of classical music, popular music, film, literature and theatre". Last year, they collaborated with Sarah Slean for the first Songbook consisting of new arrangements of Canadian artists including Leonard Cohen, Feist, and Sarah Harmer (listen online here).

Tickets can be purchased here between $24-$36.

Undoubtedly I will not be in attendance and there's a strong likelihood you won't either, but fortunately CBC Radio 2 is the Art of Time Ensemble's official partner so the concert should be recorded for future broadcast.

Canadian Cover Content #8: Juno Wrap-up

There's a new Juno juggernaut and her name is Leslie Feist. After winning 3 Junos during the non-broadcast gala on Saturday, Feist completed the sweep last night with two more (Album and Pop Album of the Year), winning all 5 of her nominations. Celine Dion who led all nominees with 6 nominations and Avril Lavigne who had 5 were both shut out. Wintersleep won New Group of the Year, Blue Rodeo won Group of the Year, and Paul Brandt won best country recording. Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé proved to not be such a juggernaut after all, only taking home the Doritos Fan Choice Award. Bublé joked as he accepted the award, "This is for all those people who said I couldn't vote for myself enough times to win. I’d like to thank Doritos for making such tasty treats... Sometimes when I eat them it makes my fingers go orange—but it’s worth it!” I'm just listening to the CBC's Q podcast right now and host Jian Ghomeshi thinks Bublé would make a good host for next year's Junos which are being held here in Vancouver. I agree. He's a natural performer with an irreverent sense of humour. Equal parts artist and entertainer, a fan favourite, and a hometown Vancouver boy, I can't think of a more appropriate host for the Junos '09.

Michael Bublé - This Love [originally by Maroon 5]
From his Caught in the Act DVD, Bublé riffs through a goofy sing-a-long version of the Maroon 5 hit, ending with a little operatic flourish.

Feist - Inside + Out (Apostle of Hustle UnMix Live at the BBC) [originally by The Bee Gees]
Another version of Feist's cover of The Bee Gee's Love You Inside Out from her album Open Season, a collection of Feist "remixes and collabs".

Feist - Sealion [traditional; popularized by Nina Simone]
A traditional folk song that goes by many names: Sea Lion Woman, See Line Woman, Sea-Line Woman... It was first recorded by Christine and Katherine Shipp in 1939 for the Library of Congress and is available on a CD called A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings. The liner notes to that even offers some more variations: See [the] Lyin' Woman or C-Line Woman. Nina Simone recorded her version See Line Woman for the 1964 release Broadway-Blues-Ballads. At last night's show, Feist performed a show-stopping version of Sealion from her now Juno-winning album The Reminder.



Remember how I mentioned that there was a controversy about who was on the Best Album list that shouldn't have been? Quick recap: Anne Murray was left off the nomination, but after recalculating the figures for Best Album (one of several categories where nominations are based on sales) they added her to the ballot, so now there was an extra nominee. Up against two Celine Dion records, Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne, and now Anne Murray, I sort of suspected that it may be indeed Feist who was the odd one out. I really couldn't imagine her outselling the other nominees, each of whom have huge demographics driving their sales. Please forgive the broad generalizations, but Avril has her teen/pop crowd; Celine has Québec and Oprah; Anne Murray skews to an older, nostalgic crowd with a gauntlet of superstar guests; and Bublé kinda appeals to everyone. What about Feist? Indie types and people who liked that iPod commercial? Weeks ago Anne Murray told the Canadian Press, "The person who is not supposed to be in there could conceivably win..." And I don't mean this as a slight against Feist, but rather the methodology behind the nominations. For example, a couple years ago you know who was up for Album of the Year? Nickelback, Bublé, a Diana Krall Christmas album, and TWO Canadian Idol contestants. That about sums it up right there. I just found out that Anne Murray flub wasn't the only Juno "logistical error" this year. After the nominations were announced, they also added Jill Barber to the New Artist list and rapper Classified was all out replaced by JDiggz because his album was already nominated last year. Whoops!

McNutt blogs about Feist's "mistaken victory" here and notes that this has happened before, not too long ago...

Canadian Cover Content #7: Juno Weekend, Part II

As it turns out almost all of the Juno awards were given out last night at a gala dinner except for the 7 major awards in the televised portion, which is on tonight hosted by comedian Russell Peters. Feist already claimed two Junos for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. She's also up for three more tonight. Blue Rodeo was the other double-winner for Adult Alternative Album and Best Video. The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible won for Best Alternative Album. I was rooting for Serena Ryder and she did in fact win for New Artist of the Year. Way to go! There's too many to mention, but a PDF of the non-broadcast winners can be looked at here.

Serena Ryder - Good Morning Sunshine (remix) [originally from the musical Hair (MacDermot/Rado/Ragni)]
The music of Hair was written by Montréal-born Galt MacDermot with lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. I wouldn't have realized the Canadian connection without this cover from Serena Ryder's collection of covers by Canadian songwriters If Your Memory Serves You Well. The alternate mix of Good Morning Starshine is a hidden track on the album.

Boy Kill Boy - Maneater [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Panic! at the Disco - Maneater [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Richard Clapton - I'm Like a Bird [originally by Nelly Furtado]
Nelly Furtado - Crazy [originally by Gnarls Barkley]
Last year, Nelly Furtado hosted the Junos and ended up sweeping all 5 of her nominations. This year the only category she's up for is the Fan Choice Award, though she is a "friend" on the multi-nominated Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends.

Rufus Wainwright - Puttin' on the Ritz [originally by Irving Berlin]
Rufus was up for Adult Alternative Album and Songwriter of the Year, going home empty-handed after last night's ceremony. This cover is from his Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall live album where he re-created Judy Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall concert backed by an orchestra with special guests, including a duet with Judy's daughter Lorna Luft.

Relient K - Manic Monday [originally by The Bangles; written by Prince]
I didn't know Relient K were Canadian... and they're not really. Lead singer/songwriter Matthew Thiessen was born in Ontario before moving to Ohio at an early age, meeting best friends and future band mates Matt Hoopes and Brian Pittman in elementary school. So I guess there's enough Canadian blood in the band to satisfy Juno criteria. They were up for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year, which was won by Brian Doerksen. This is from a Punk Goes 80's compilation.

Holly Cole with Bob Belden - Purple Rain [originally by Prince]
From the jazz tribute album Blue Note Plays Prince. Holly Cole was up for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, which was won by Sophie Milman.

Jake Shimabukuro - My Heart Will Go On [originally by Celine Dion]
Celine Dion - I Wish [originally by Stevie Wonder]
Universally loved and hated, I debated about including some Celine, but she is Canadian and she does lead all nominees with 6 nominations. I'm a fan of ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro so if you've been looking for a palatable version of the Titanic theme, here you go. Plus, her Stevie Wonder cover gives you the rare opportunity to hear Celine Dion reminisce about her days as a "nappy-headed boy".

Tegan and Sara - Rebel Rebel (featuring Grace Nocturnal) [originally by David Bowie]
Tegan and Sara were in a tough category for Alternative Album of the Year with Arcade Fire (who won), Holy Fuck, Patrick Watson, and Wintersleep rounding out the nominees. This Bowie cover is from all-girls The Spiders From Venus compilation released by the soon-to-be-defunct label Skipping Discs, though it's still available on CD Baby.

The Arcade Fire - Five Years [originally by David Bowie]
While we're on the topic of The Arcade Fire, Bowie, and compilations... here's The Arcade Fire's live cover of Five Years from the 2-disc Bowie cover compilation .2 Contamination.

Canadian Cover Content #6: Juno Weekend

This weekend is Juno weekend and I don't mean last year's much-beloved indie film, even though that does has more than its fair share of Canadian content-- director Jason Reitman, Ellen Page, Michael Cera... even Jason Bateman has a Canuck connection: he's Paul Anka's son-in-law! Anyway, the Junos are the annual music awards given out by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Think Canadian Grammies. Ironically, Juno (the film), despite being filmed in Vancouver with its Canadian stars and director, was ineligible for this year's Genies (think Canadian Oscars) because it wasn't made with Canadian money...

No, not Juneau, though coincidentally the Junos are named after Pierre Juneau, one-time head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and architect of our Canadian content regulations. This year's Junos are being held tomorrow night in Calgary, Alberta with host Russell Peters.

There's a bit of controversy this year's awards. At first, Anne Murray's album Duets: Friends and Legends (which has some covers on it, FYI) was left off the list of best album nominees due to an error in the way sales figures were calculated. They've since added her to the nomination, but now there are 6 nominees, leaving everyone wondering who's the weak link of the category... The other nominees are Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion (with two nominations), Michael Bublé, and Feist. A lot of nominees for the major categories are based purely on sales and there's even a Doritos (ugh) Fan Choice award. I have no idea what's the deal with the "International Album of the Year" category with this year's nominees Bon Jovi, Fergie, Josh Groban, Rihanna, and Timbaland. Clearly a celebration of Canadian music. Juno nominations have always been a little suspect: in 2004, Fong Songs fave Danny Michel was once nominated for Best New Artist after his 5TH album since 1997, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

Record sales and stuff aside, at the very least the Junos remind us how awesome Canadian music can be. To celebrate here's a tasty sampling of covers by and of some of the nominated artists.

Danny Michel - After the Gold Rush [originally by Neil Young]
One Juno nominee honours another. Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II is nominated for Best Adult Alternative Album (whatever that means) and Danny's live DVD is nominated for Music DVD of the year. His newest album Feather, Fun & Fin just came out a couple weeks ago and he's currently on a cross-country tour with a stop in Calgary for the Junos. His live shows are not to be missed and I'll probably be seeing back-to-back shows here in Vancouver at the end of the month.

Serena Ryder - Some of These Days [originally by Shelton Brooks]
Serena Ryder - It Doesn't Matter Anymore [originally by Buddy Holly; written by Paul Anka]
Serena Ryder is nominated for Best New Artist of the Year and my vote's for her, though admittedly I'm pretty unfamiliar with the other artists (Belly, Jeremy Fisher, Justin Nozuka, Suzie McNeil, and Jill Barber). I'm still not sure what the criteria for this category is since her debut album is from 2005 while her collection of Canadian cover songs If Your Memory Serves You Well came out in 2006. Her soulful renditions of Some of These Days and It Doesn't Matter Anymore just floor me. I was also blown away when I found out that deep rich bluesy voice was attached to someone in her mid-20's... in fact, younger than me by a few months. Très bizarre.

Suzie McNeil - Remedy [originally by The Black Crowes]
Another of the New Artist nominees is Suzie McNeil, a former contestant on the reality show Rock Star INXS who came in 4th overall. In fact, of the 15 contestants vying to be lead singer for the Aussie rock band, three were Canadian including the eventual winner JD Fortune. From the show's official soundtrack, she does an okay job covering the Black Crowes.

James Keelaghan & Oscar Lopez - Follow Me Up There, Carlos [originally Follow Me Up to Carlow by P. J. McCall; traditional]
James Keelaghan & Oscar Lopez first teamed up in 1997 for the album Compadres, combining Latino and Celtic influences into what they dub "Celtino". I first heard them at the 2000 Edmonton Folk festival and became hooked on that album, which features this traditional Irish tune. I didn't even realize it was a cover until I heard a Celtic punk cover last year. Their long overdue follow-up Buddy, Where You Been? is nominated for a Juno in the category of Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Group).

Feist - Inside and Out [originally Love You Inside Out by The Bee Gees]
Feist - We Can Work It Out (with Arthur H) [originally by The Beatles]
Jack Penate - 1234 [originally by Feist]
Feist, who's already won a few Junos in past years, could walk away with a few more this year with 5 nominations including Album, Artist, Pop Album, Single (1234), and Songwriter of the Year. Her Beatles cover with French singer Arthur H is from the French TV show Taratata, which I'm starting to realize is a great source for live cover songs. In 2006, Feist was even nominated for a cover song! Her Bee Gees cover was up for Single of the Year, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

The Corb Lund Band - Sixteen Tons [originally by Merle Travis]
Corb Lund's Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! is nominated for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year (Solo). The first time I heard of Corb Lund he was playing a show in the basement theatre of the downtown library I was working at. Earlier this week, he and his band The Hurtin' Albertans played to a hometown crowd of 6000 fans at Rexall Place, home to our Edmonton Oilers (who are now packed up for the golf season). What a difference a few years makes. Even just last night I happened to catch a feature story about him on The National (Canada's national news broadcast). I'm one of those people who say "I listen to everything... oh yeah, except country music". Of course there are always exceptions to that and Corb Lund is one of them. His debut album Modern Pain was released on cassette in 1995 with only 1000 copies in circulation. It was re-released in 2003 with some bonus tracks including this live cover of Sixteen Tons. To me, the deep baritone of Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of Sixteen Tons will forever be associated to Grade 12 art class where this and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue seemed to be in constant rotation (no complaints though, I love 'em both!).

Jamie T - When the Night Feels My Song [originally by Bedouin Soundclash]
English singer/songwriter Jamie T performed this cover of Bedouin Soundclash's biggest hit on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge show. This year, Bedouin Soundclash is nominated for Pop Album of the Year and Video of the Year. A couple years ago, When the Night Feels My Song was nominated for Single of the Year, eventually losing to Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.

Pascale Picard - Wish You Were Here [originally by Pink Floyd]
Québécois artist Pascale Picard is in tough against Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Feist, and Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé for Artist of the Year. Not sure how Picard's only nomination ended up in this category. Artist of the Year with no other nominations? Her debut album came out last year and she's not even up for Best New Artist! Silly Junos. She contributed this cover and a great Shine On You Crazy Diamond to the compilation album Pink Floyd Redux, an underrated album that I've posted about a few times.

Michael Bublé - I'm Your Man [originally by Leonard Cohen]
From this year's nominee for Best Album, Call Me Irresistible, Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé swings Leonard Cohen's I'm Your Man. He's also up for Best Pop Album, Artist, Single, and the Doritos (ugh) Fan Choice Award. Call Me Irresistible has already won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at this year's Grammies down south. Bublé was nominated in that same category at last year's Grammies too for his Caught in the Act, eventually losing to Tony Bennett's Duets: An American Classic... featuring Juno juggernaut Michael Bublé.





Tune in tomorrow on Juno night for more Canadian covers!

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?

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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.

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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

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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.

Edmonton Folk Fest Megapost

Wow, I last posted to say I was still alive and then disappeared for about 3 weeks. I just got back into Edmonton last week and I have been utterly consumed by the 4-day Edmonton Folk Music Festival which started last Thursday. This is the first year I've attended the festival on a more than casual basis. While I was away my sister picked up full passes for the whole weekend, so I've been in 100% festival mode for the past few days. That is to say I woke up, went to festival, went home to sleep, and repeated for four days. To compensate for lack of postings, I'll try to generously pepper this post with related mp3s.

Among the many performers: Linda Ronstadt, David Gray, The Neville Brothers, Sarah Harmer, Bedouin Soundclash, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bruce Cockburn, Chumbawamba (?!), and Ricky Skaggs. The stand-out artists for me were in that category of "heard-of-but-never-actually-heard-before". So I'm a newly minted fan of Feist, Susan Tedeschi, Geoff Berner, K'Naan, and Hawksley Workman.

Chumbawamba was an eye-opening performance. Knowing them only for their annoying 90's hit Tubthumping, it was a shock to find out they've evolved into (or always were) English folk anarchists singing political rebel songs and medieval-sounding ballads. The beautiful four-part harmonies and playful guitar strumming are a stark contrast to the angry lyrics and political themes of their songs (see Homophobia). They're a hoot to see live and they entertained the crowd with goofy in-between song banter and translations of the sometimes overly British lyrics. They finished their set with a funny anti-Queen song, an extension of the Beatles' Her Majesty. I was able to record it with my digital camera, which isn't great quality but not bad considering. The line about showing the queen around Edmonton is particularly amusing because she did come to Edmonton last May for our province's centennial celebrations amid much fanfare. I snapped this photo last year at city hall and was so close I could have slapped her if I wanted to (not that I would...).

Chumbawamba - Her Majesty (Live at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival)
Chumbawamba - Her Majesty [originally by The Beatles]
Chumbawamba - Homophobia


Apparently Bedouin Soundclash's rise to fame and eventual Juno for best new artist began last year when their song was used in a Zellers ad campaign. Being somehow one of the only people to not hear/see this ad, I had to ask a friend to point out which song it was. They put on quite an enjoyable reggae/ska set. Here's that song for your listening pleasure, which is good song, might I add):
Bedouin Soundclash - When the Night Feels My Song


I'm not a huge hip-hop fan, but K'Naan was a refreshing voice rapping about actual issues and not just the ghetto, girls, and bling, which he actually takes issue with in one of his songs. K'Naan was born in Somalia and he raps about growing up in Mogadishu surrounded by hunger, warlords, and armed children. The first time I heard K'Naan was in this cover of U2's One with Jarvis Church for a peace album. Of course, Jarvis Church is the stage name of Gerald Eaton, lead singer of The Philosopher Kings, who also co-produced K'Naan's first album The Dusty Foot Philosopher.
Jarvis Church featuring K'Naan - One [originally by U2]

Though not exactly my cup of tea, I ended up seeing a sidestage session with Ricky Skaggs because I wanted to see Rodrigo y Gabriela (who were no-shows). It was still a fun show, especially because local artist Oscar Lopez was called to fill-in and he jump-started some awesome jam songs with Skaggs, Dirk Powell, and Seamus Egan (of Solas).
Ricky Skaggs & Jim Varney - Hot Rod Lincoln [originally by Charlie Ryan]

Feist impressed me when I saw a session where she shared the stage with Hawksley Workman, Geoff Berner, and The Waifs. She performed a really cool jazzy number that I don't know the name of and can't seem to find on her albums (something about everlasting love?). The sidestage performances were great because artists were thrown together and encouraged to jam with each other, which sort of depended on whether the artists were open to such an idea. Luckily at this session, they helped each other out on a few songs which is cooler than each individual artist taking turns playing. This was a prelude to a full set she played on the main stage later, qhich was really good although I did prefer the stripped-down set of tunes (just Feist and her guitarist).
Bright Eyes with Spleen - Mushaboom [originally by Feist]

The Blind Boys of Alabama were a treat and brought everyone to their feet with their inspiring gospel music (regardless of religious beliefs). This version of Amazing Grace, which the performed on Sunday night, is unexpectedly yet succesfully combined with the music of House of the Rising Sun.
The Blind Boys of Alabama - Amazing Grace

In '93, Randy Newman put out an album based on his Broadway reworking of Faust and cast various singers to play his "dream cast" including Don Henley, James Taylor, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, and Linda Ronstadt. Linda Ronstadt played the "good girl" role and Bonnie Raitt the "bad girl", but on Thursday night Ms. Ronstadt said she was going to sing one of Bonnie's songs because "bad girls have all the fun". And the song she sang is Feels Like Home, which I enjoyed even though it's atypical of the most of the stuff I listen to... but that's what Folk Fest is all about: exposing your ears to different sounds.
Chantal Kreviazuk - Feels Like Home [originally by Randy Newman]

For her encore, Linda Ronstadt covered this Warren zevon song, here covered by Bonnie Raitt & Jackson Browne:
Bonnie Raitt & Jackson Browne - Poor Poor Pitiful Me [originally by Warren Zevon]

Bruce Cockburn took the main stage on Saturday night and performed this song. I also enjoyed a song called Slow Down Fast, which is off his new album and features Hawksley Workman who was on hand to help perform it live.
Barenaked Ladies - Lovers in a Dangerous Time [originally by Bruce Cockburn]

Geoff Berner - Lucky Goddamn Jew
This guy reminded me of Ben Kweller with an accordion, at least in terms of vocal stylings. He won over the crowds with quirky sometimes angry punk accordion songs such as Maginot Line, Whisky Rabbi, Song Written in a Romanian Hospital, and this one: Lucky Goddamn Jew, which he performed in front of 20,000 folk-festers. At the end of the weekend, Geoff received an award and cheque from Galaxy Satellite Radio for best new artist. Check out his site here for some more MP3s. Strange celebrity sighting: as I was walking to the bank yesterday I saw Geoff on Whyte Ave buying a newspaper. That's random, thought I as I mosied on by.

A hilarious song Geoff sung was called Don't Play Cards For Money With Corby Lund. FYI: Corb Lund is an Albertan artist and sometime Edmontonian who apparently is a bit of a card shark according to Geoff Berner. A Corb Lund cover for you:
The Corb Lund Band - Sixteen Tons (live) [originally by Merle Travis]

Sarah Harmer was the closing act on Sunday night and included in her set was a cover of The Shins' Gone For Good. Here's a version of that song that Sarah Harmer performed with the Weakerthans on a CBC radio program. I nicked this from B(oot)log but I'm mirroring it myself because I was having a spot of trouble with his EZarchive link.
Sarah Harmer with The Weakerthans - Gone For Good [originally by The Shins]
...and another Shins cover for good measure:
Of Montreal - Know Your Onion! [originally by The Shins]


Hawksley Workman was a huge surprise for me. I knew nothing of his music and I was totally blown away by his main stage performance and other sidestage shows. A friend made an interesting comparison to Adam Sandler (Hawksley often ventures into falsetto) and he reminded me vaguely of a edgy, crazy Billy Joel probably because there's a very faint physical resemblance (at least without my glasses on) and he's accompanied by his piano player Mr. Lonely. Here's a video I got with my digital camera as I attempt to implement YouTube for the first time... At this particular session, he shared the stage with Lynn Miles, Michael Joseph & The Ridges, and Lorrie Matheson and you can see Hawksley motioning at Lynn Miles' drummer to join in. This song is Jealous of Your Cigarette off the album (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves with a little Pink Floyd thrown in near the end.




The HUGE major highlight of my weekend was getting the opportunity to see Rodrigo y Gabriela and their abrupt 30 minute performance was so epic it deserves it's own post... so tune in next time for that.

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On the topic of my last post regarding the Dresden Dolls, I see that Amanda Palmer recently updated her Dolls blog which talks about the hell of Panic! at the Disco fans and the experience of the Fuck the Backrow shows, one of which I partook in (read about that here. Later down in her post she talks about how Ben Folds randomly called her up and chatted for 2 hours, inviting the Dresden Dolls to play at the Sydney Opera House since both of them would be touring Australia around the same time next month. The mere idea that Ben Folds (probably my favourite music artist) randomly called up one of my other favourite bands and invited them to play almost makes my head explode with excitement. If this leads to some sort of collaboration or double-billed show, I'd be very very very very very very very very happy.

The Dresden Dolls - Mandy Goes to Med School
The Dresden Dolls - Pretty in Pink [originally by The Psychedelic Furs]
Ben Folds - Songs of Love [originally by The Divine Comedy]