2011 has been a spotty year for music, with few real highlights and a lot of releases that I had much higher hopes for. The one disc that’s been getting steady play at LC headquarters since it came out in June has been Doug Hoyer’s breakout record Walks With The Tender and Growing Night.
Hoyer, associated with the Old Ugly outfit out of Edmonton, has managed to evolve from standard guitar-and-drums rock into a fuller electronic sound that has turned his songs into otherworldly pop confection. Seriously, this record is a delight from the beginning to end, with songs about the joys of bicycles and cheap pineapples, why not to get a tattoo, and chasing the Northern Lights. While Walks didn’t chart nationally, I have no doubt that if he can pull of another record of this calibre, Hoyer will be a CBC 3 darling in no time.
Runner-ups this year include the Black Keys’ El Camino, one of their stronger releases, as well as Rich Aucoin’s We’re All Dying to Live.
Having left Sackville, New Brunswick just as the music scene started blossoming (a la Sappyfest), I long for the sound that I know from those days. Sitting in George’s Fabulous Roadhouse, I would hear Shotgun & Jaybird, the Port City All-Stars, Gary Flanagan, and more – always exciting, fresh, innovative. When I heard that BA Johnston and Shotgun Jimmie were swinging through the Ship and Anchor on 17th Ave, I knew I had to go.
Since TD Square became a scene out of the movie Brazil, shop owners have taken a hit. Recently, the d-spot Play store closed it’s doors (or perhaps more accurately, had the doors shut on them). While it wasn’t the cheapest music store in Calgary, it was clean and had a decent selection of music. They had been sliding into selling DVD’s and T-shirts, and towards the end were having some pretty crazy sales. Maybe they could have read my advice for running a record store? Bankruptcy notice underneath the fold. Continue reading »
On this day the King of Pop Michael Jackson has ceased to be of this world.
My respect for him is great. I once tried making a database about pop music in the 80′s, and if there was one consistent heavy-hitter, it was MJ. He was like a prime number, fascinating and unique. Continue reading »
I’m not sure if you’ve heard yet, but my new record Fluke is available now for full download.
This record was designed for maximum danceability. There was extensive testing (some tests were done on animals), but the result is a scientific success. If you would like to replicate my experiments (peer-review is very important), then the steps are as follows:
Ensure a dancing space is available. This is generally about 2.3 square feet.
Play the music at a volume in which the bass excites the ear drum. Not too loud to cause permanent hearing damage, though.
