This is not a countdown

Here it is: my last episode of 2013, split below into two mp3s. Of course, 2 hours wasn't nearly enough time to play everything I wanted, but I think I managed put together a decent range of genres and artists. The show includes some heavy hitters as well as some newer material that never really seemed to fit within my regular, indie-rock-saturated playlists. Basically, you'll hear me saying so-and-so had a "big year" a few too many times.

Overall, it's a mix of some of my favourite tracks of the year and some of the music that's going be buzzing from now till Christmas. I'm not going to go through the whole line-up like I usually do when I post an episode, but I do want to give a shout out to some of the artists that could've just as easily thrown into mix (and, in retrospect, probably should have --- I mean, do we really need more people playing Daft Punk?). Follow the links to check out White Poppy, The Dodos, Lab Coast, Doug Hoyer, Anamie, Hooded Fang, Bill Callahan, Crosss, Frog Eyes, Alex Calder, Palehound, Shotgun Jimmie, and I could keep going.

Next year, I'm gunning for a three hour finale.

*We begin at the end of "Making Whoopee"
*And then there's 5 minutes of news from the BBC
"Inter" - Baths
"Retrograde" - James Blake
"White Noise" - Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge
"In Two II" - Blue Hawaii
"Dropped" - Atoms for Peace
"Thor's Stone" - Forest Swords
"Button Fumbla" - Royal Canoe
"Doin' It Right" - Daft Punk
"Punk (la vie anterior)" - Deerhunter
"Husbands" - Savages
"KV Crimes" - Kurt Vile
"Night Still Comes" - Neko Case



"Metal Swing" - The Range
"Clipped On" - Blood Orange
"Lonely" - Danny Brown
"Fam Jam" - Shad
"One Half" - Julianna Barwick
"Horns Surrounding Me" - Julia Holter
"Mute" - Youth Lagoon
"Library" - Julia Brown
"Coast to Coast" - Waxahatchee
"Dust in the Gold Sack" - Swearin'
"Nu Sundae" - The Courtneys
"Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)" - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
"Luella" - Ghostkeeper
"Patients" - The Ketamines
"New You" - My Bloody Valentine

Head south?

Despite the blizzard raging outside, today's show went off without a hitch, thanks in part to some familiar stand-bys. I felt pretty "on" today. It probably had something to do with the fact that my homework was done and my lunch was prepared prior to the show. (Usually I'm scrambling to make it to class on time and I end up skipping lunch.)

Following Deerhunter's already timeless "Back to the Middle" from this year's Monomania, we took an early electronic detour with a winter jam from Montreal's Braids, an off-kilter romp from Winnipeg's Royal Canoe, some sounds of isolation from Halifax's Ryan Hemsworth, and a heady new track from Beck.

Next, Winnipeg's Greg Macpherson joined Haley Primrose for slow-burner from his new effort, Firecracker. He was followed rudely by former Edmontonian Mac DeMarco (who lets out a classy belch right before launching into a romantic number from last year's 2); after Mac redeemed himself, we heard a sobering classic from Cat Power's Chan Marshall and a brand new track from Halifax lo-fi bruisers Dog Day.

Part 2 of the show began with Texas crooners Shearwater putting their stamp on St Vincent's "Cheerleader," one of a dozen covers from their just released album Fellow Travellers. From there we heard a live take of Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Co. playing their Crazy Horse inspired "The Dark Don't Hide It." Next, Spencer Krug delivered a song based on the motif of Noah's ark and The Hold Steady's Craig Finn donated a song to Slim, the former guitarist for the Replacements and namesake of a new compilation album raising money to help him pay for his outrageous medical bills. Today's show ended without much fuss: after some acoustic grunge from Brooklyn's Palehound and we closed with sensibly titled song from Modest Mouse. Head south? For this guy, that means going to Winnipeg.



"Back to the Middle" - Deerhunter
"December" - Braids
"Button Fumbla" - Royal Canoe
"Still Cold (feat. Baths) - Ryan Hemsworth
"Defriended" - Beck
"Tourists" - Greg Macpherson
"Still Together" - Mac DeMarco
"Nude as the News" - Cat Power
"Sunset" - Dog Day
"Cheerleader" - Shearwater
"The Dark Don't Hide It" - Magnolia Electric Co.
"Everyone is Noah Everyone is the Ark" - Moonface
"Isn't It?" - Craig Finn and Friends
"Pet Carrot" - Palehound
"Head South" - Modest Mouse

Challenge accepted

Despite my general apathy for professional sports, I made up this week's playlist with Sunday's Grey Cup rivals, Saskatchewan and Hamilton, on my mind. I'll leave it up to you, dear listeners, to determine which one is Batman and which is Jughead in the image above. Last week's inclusion of Whitehorse's "No Glamour in the Hammer," followed by Trevor's visit and our discussion of Hamilton, had planted a seed in my heart for regional rivalry.

Today, it was Hamilton that drew first blood. After a raging number by the great Roky Erickson to get the blood flowing, we had not one but three epic songs by Hamilton's B.A. Johnston. I threw in a few Alberta bands (Lab Coast and Cowpuncher) to divvy some highlights from Johnston's latest release, the provocatively titled Mission Accomplished. The next set was all Saskatoon: we had a slew of winning tracks from Powder Blue, The Moas, and Jeans Boots. (Later in the day, I discovered that the guy who requested a song by Roky Erickson also knows someone in The Moas. Neat.)

Departing from the prairies, we heard something new from Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug, who's just released an album of piano ballads under his current moniker (Moonface); next, a brooding folk tune from Bill Callahan, followed by a rootsier number from British Columbia's Kacy & Clayton. But the real champ of the last half hour was Halifax, the city responsible for a near-perfect pop song by The You Are Minez and a very sentimental favourite from the late 90s.



"2 Headed Dog" - Roky Erickson
"Too Dumb to Live" - B.A. Johnston
"Walking on AYR" - Lab Coast
"Straight Outta Cobden" - B.A. Johnston
"Raised on Rock 'n' Roll" - Cowpuncher
"I Don't Want to Live in Windsor" - B.A. Johnston
"Go On Forever" - Powder Blue
"Of Mice" - The Moas
"Asshole" - Jeans Boots
"Everyone is Noah Everyone is the Ark" - Moonface
"Spring" - Bill Callahan
"Pretty Saro" - Kacy & Clayton
"Dust in the Gold Sack" - Swearin'
"Can't Question Desire" - The You Are Minez
"Shattered Me" - Bass Drums of Death
"Minstrel Rock" - Old + Weird
"Scott Pilgrim" - Plumtree

Glamour in the Hammer?

Sadly, I have no MP3 to post this week. CJSR's server was down for a good chunk of time and my show was one its many victims. It's a shame not only because of the great slew of tracks you'll see listed below, but also because I got to discuss the upcoming Grey Cup final (to which I am mostly completely oblivious) with Trevor. Earlier on Monday morning, he had sent in a request for the Whitehorse song "No Glamour in the Hammer," a tribute to his hometown Tiger-Cats who'll be facing off against the Saskatchewan Rough Riders in Regina this Sunday. And although I'm pretty naive when it comes to Canadian (or American) football, I do know that when you play against the Riders in Saskatchewan, the odds will not be in your favour. Hamilton needs all the help it can get. Trevor came by the show to provide more context for his requested song. The "Hammer" refers, of course, to Hamilton (I embarrassingly failed to pick up on this) and the song contains a bunch of other references to the underdog Ontario city.

So that was the show's highlight and I'm sorry if you missed it. All things considered, I'll probably spin a bunch of these tracks again next week. Maybe we'll be celebrating a Hamilton win and I'll have another opportunity to play Trevor's request.

"This Lonely Morning" - Best Coast
"No Glamour in the Hammer" - Whitehorse
"Forgiven/Forgotten" - Angel Olsen
"Uninvited Guest" - Eamon McGrath
"Tugboat" - Joanna Gruesome
"Sleepsick" - Dinosaur Bones
"Love You Here" - Sebadoh
"Walking on Ayr" - Lab Coast
"Sure As Spring" - La Luz
"Cash In" - Solange
"Minstrel Rock" - Old and Weird
"Anytime" - Monomyth
"Can't Question Desire" - The You Are Minez
"Dust in the Gold Rush" - Swearin'
"Sleigh Ride" - Fuzz

A new pyck from the Dodos

This new video for the Dodos' "Transformer" (from this year's awesome Carrier) seems to be in keeping with the spirit of Dyck's Pycks and, for that reason, share it I must.

 

Peace y'all

This week my show landed on Remembrance Day so I selected several songs about peace, conflict, and memory that may or may not have been relevant. Perhaps my choices reflect a greater sense of ambivalence about a day of commemoration that has, in many cases, become a celebration of Canada's ongoing militarization.

And so, for that reason, we began with a peace-themed stoner ballad from Chad VanGaalen, followed by an urgent cry for escape from Winnipeg's Cannon Bros. and a tribute to social incohesion from Women. After some great new stuff from Neko Case, La Luz, and Lou Barlow's Sebadoh, we heard some placid tracks from Deerhunter and from Winnipeg's Slow Leaves.

Sleater-Kinney's post-9/11 headbanger ("Combat Rock") asked some hard questions about political allegiance, while PJ Harvey's self-conscious remembering of the Great War ("The Colour of the Earth") seemed a fitting way to close out the program before observing a minute of silence at 11am.



"Peace on the Rise" - Chad VanGaalen
"Out of Here" - Cannon Bros.
"Untogether" - Women
"Remember" - Figurines
"Peace Signs" - Sharon Van Etten
"Night Still Comes" - Neko Case
"It's Alive" - La Luz
"Horns Surrounding Me" - Julia Holter
"Love You Here" - Sebadoh
"Memory Boy" - Deerhunter
"Calm and Serene" - Slow Leaves
"Master Hunter" - Laura Marling
"Combat Rock" - Sleater-Kinney
"Steal this Sound" - Constantines
"The Colour of the Earth" - PJ Harvey

Cold signs

Since Saturday evening's snowfall, it's been impossible to ignore the sad fact that winter is here. Indeed, we're all heading down the "Winter Road," as Bill Callahan somberly put it in the show's opening song. But it wasn't all self-pitying ballads about the cold signs of our current climate. We heard a highlight from Julie Doiron's recent classic I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day, some dreamy shoe-gaze from Philidelphia's A Sunny Day in Glasgow, and a lackadaisical jam from Kurt Vile latest, Walkin' on a Pretty Daze.

The show's centrepiece, however, was a pair of back-to-back tracks from Bruce Cockburn. After spinning his jazzy bummer "The Coldest Night of the Year," I had to let Bruce deliver a more traditional pick-me-up, this time from 1978's Further Adventures Of. I'm a real sucker for the jazz flute. From there, we headed to Montreal to hear from a 30-piece orchestra known as Land of Kush and to witness some fantastic noise work from Tim Hecker. Julia Holter's eerie track from Loud City Song allowed us to transition out of Hecker's ambient experiments into the hook-driven garage rock of Edmonton's Switches and Bass Drum of Death (with an expansive new track from Yamantaka // Sonic Titan thrown in for good measure).

Before I could continue, I was politely interrupted by Trevor, a recurring guest on the show, who had just returned from the Conservative Party convention in Calgary. Don't worry. He wasn't there celebrate our country's embarrassing status quo -- he was there as a reporter for one of CJSR's flagship news shows, Terra Informa.

We ended the hour somewhat bashfully, with a crowd-pleaser from the Arcade Fire, you know, because they're having such a rough go of it right now. And just in case you're not yet tired of hearing about them, you can follow this link to read my take on their new album.



"Winter Road" - Bill Callahan
"Heavy Snow" - Julie Doiron
"100/0 (Snow Days Forever)" - A Sunny Day in Glasgow
"Snow Flakes Are Dancing" - Kurt Vile
"The Coldest Night of the Year" - Bruce Cockburn
"Laughter" - Bruce Cockburn
"The Big Mango" - Land of Kush
"Amps, Drugs, Harmonium" - Tim Hecker
"This is a True Heart" - Julia Holter
"Roomate" - Switches
"Lamia" - Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
"Shattered Me" - Bass Drum of Death
"Here Comes the Night Time" - Arcade Fire

Lou, or something like it

By now the Lou Reed tributes are plentiful but I'm going to add one more to the heap. Few DJs could resist an opportunity to play a full hour of music by a figure so awesome and influential, and as I soon found out, an hour is hardly enough.

Instead of simply sticking to the hits, I've included a smattering of VU covers from artists whose music is often featured on the show (Beck, Yo La Tengo, Swervedriver, Ride, Cat Power, etc.). Unsurprisingly, most of the songs covered come from 1967's The Velvet Underground & Nico, which incidentally happens to be the first VU record I owned. At the time I was probably more enamoured with the tracks featuring Nico but it wasn't long before I was spinning Loaded and 1969's self-titled album on a regular basis.

As to be expected, some of the covers play it pretty safe. Of Montreal's take on "She's My Best Friend" is virtually identical to the original, but when you have a pop song that's already perfectly crafted it's hard to think beyond it -- that is, unless you happen to be Cat Power's Chan Marshall, who, in my opinion, still lays claim to the most affecting Velvet Underground cover out there.

Along with all the covers, I had to play some tracks from 1970's Transformer and at least one of the many weird collaborations that popped up during the latter part of Reed's career (sorry, no Lulu). It was a bit tricky assembling some of these tracks so if I sound distracted or out of breath, or if I contradict myself and give the wrong dates it's because I'm trying to cue up several things at once and fighting back all the tears.



"Satellite of Love" - Lou Reed (Transformer, 1972)
"I Found a Reason" - Cat Power (Loaded, 1970)
"Perfect Day" - Lou Reed (Transformer, 1972)
"European Son" - Ride (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967)
"Jesus" - Swervedriver (The Velvet Underground, 1969)
"All Tomorrow's Parties" - The Velvet Underground & Nico (previously unreleased mix, 1966)
"All Tomorrow's Parties" - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967)
"Some Kind of Nature (feat. Lou Reed)" - Gorillaz (2010)
"She's My Best Friend" - The Velvet Underground (previously unreleased, 1969)
"She's My Best Friend" - Of Montreal (previously unreleased, 1969)
"I'll Be Your Mirror" - Beck (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967)
"I'm Set Free" - Yo La Tengo (The Velvet Underground, 1969)
"Here She Comes Now" - Galaxy 500 (White Light/White Heat, 1968)

To a young visionary

It was election day and I was tired, so be prepared for some disjointed rambling. Lots of delicious pauses and slow chatter. I'd say that I was preoccupied with the decision of who I should vote for in Edmonton's municipal election, but that was pretty obvious and I had made it out to cast my ballot earlier that morning. I needed a pick-me-up so I went with another no-brainer, Marnie Stern, who provided a punchy start.  After some powerful new stuff from Best Coast he jams continued with Mammoth Cave favourites, the Ketamines, Vancouver's Ones + Zeros, Brooklyn's The Obits, and Hamilton's Crosss. From there it was onward to some captivating vocals from Braids' Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Glasser (aka Cameron Mesirow). We also heard some pensive new stuff from Canuck rapper, Shad, and I finally conceded to Talk Talk, who emerged from the background to deliver some chills from 1988's Spirit of Eden.

I was also very pleased to present pair of prairie-folk troubadours: Winnipeg's Slow Leaves and our own Local Haunts (aka David Janzen), who will be releasing his debut EP this Saturday evening at the Artery. The show ended with a pair of tracks from two of the most important bands to come out of the late 70s (I'd call them "visionaries" but that's a horrible pun), Television and Joy Division. Let's call it a tribute to our very hip and very young new mayor, Don Iveson.



"Year of the Glad" - Marnie Stern
"This Lonely Morning" - Best Coast
"Patients" - The Ketamines
"Life on Video" - Ones + Zeros
"This Must Be Done" - The Obits
"Mountain King" - Crosss
"Shape" - Glasser
"December" - Braids
"Y'all Know Me" - Shad
"Eden" - Talk Talk
"City of Broad Shoulders" - Local Haunts
"Careless and Serene" - Slow Leaves
"Elevation" - Television
"Disorder" - Joy Division

Seasonal fare

Thanksgiving Monday found me with my pal, DeLayne, who trained out to Edmonton from Winnipeg to spend the weekend with me. We decided against doing a show that was themed around Thanksgiving, instead trading the particular for the general: songs themed around Christmas, Easter, and birthdays. DeLayne snagged a couple records from the "Jazz" section in our library, while I stuck to my usual playlist. Sadly, there was no jazz flute, but Pete Jolly's accordion was a good substitute.



"Ruby" - Louise Burns
"I won't be long" - Beck
"Native Dreams" - Rose Windows
"Haze" - Absolute Boys
"Christmas Waltz" - Eschete
"Red, Red Rose" - Deep Dark Woods
"Feeling" - Monomyth
"Had it any other way" - Lab Coast
"Autumn Festival" - Pete Jolly
"Burning Bridges" - Willis Earl Beale
"I am sold" - James Blake
"U'n'l" - Miles Davis
"Easterween" - John Southworth & Andrew Downing
"Birthday" - Royal Canoe

Rockin' the Pycks

FunDrive is over, so it's back to business as usual for the show. Of course, you can still give CJSR your money, but I won't be taking up my airtime asking for it.

Here's the recap: after Buffy St Marie's intro we launched right into a new song from the Dodos that's been stuck in my head for a good while (I've written more about it here). Cynthia and I were eventually joined by Trevor, who came with something to prove: he can rock. So he had Sleater-Kinney blow our eardrums and dropped a classic jam from Joel Plaskett's former band, Thrush Hermit. We will never doubt you again, Trevor!

Plaskett wasn't the only East Coaster on the show. Along with a new track from Cousins, we heard a slacker anthem from Monomyth, hand-pycked by Cynthia. From there, we surveyed some expletive-filled rock 'n' roll from King Tuff, some T. Rex-inspired acoustica from Ty Segall, some beautiful pop fuzz from Calgary's Lab Coast, and some enduring dad rock from the prolific Robert Pollard.



"Confidence" - Dodos
"Coming Through (feat. Cat Power)" - Willis Earl Beal
"Breakfast + Tea" - Ghost Cousin
"Easy Easy" - King Krule
"Dog That Bit You" - The Baptist Generals
"Feeling" - Monomyth
"Laserbeam" - King Tuff
"The Man Man" - Ty Segall
"Had It Any Other Way" - Lab Coast
"I'm Closing In" - The Obits
"River" - Cousins
"He Requested Things" - Robert Pollard
"The Fox" - Sleater-Kinney
"The Day We Hit The Coast" - Thrush Hermit
"Smoke" - Crosss

Let's relive some FunDrive glory

We survived another FunDrive. Below, you can listen to my first outing as a DJ during CJSR's annual week of fundraising (in years past, I've helped out in other ways). As for music, I decided to stick with some old standbys -- the Constantines, the Replacements, Women, the Pumpkins, etc. -- and showcase some of the best local artists I've discovered since moving to Edmonton. You'll hear a LOT of talking. More specifically, you'll hear a lot of talking about CJSR. At times, it gets pretty awkward, but hey, that's what college radio is for!

Special thanks are in order, especially to my folks, who donated a whopping $120 to the station, and to all the others who called in to support Edmonton's community campus radio station for another year.



"Little Instrument" - The Constantines
"Left of the Dial" - The Replacements
"Eyesore" - Women
"Slowly Soaking Up Some Rays on a Sofa" - Brazilian Money
"Billy and I" - Travis Bretzer
"Hummer" - Smashing Pumpkins
"Everything Flows" - Teenage Fanclub

Background music: Tomorrow's Harvest - Boards of Canada

Backlog

I've fallen somewhat behind with my weekly posts. Blame it on FunDrive. Below, you'll find my September 23rd episode, which features new music from the likes of Ty Segall, Delorean, Beck, Neko Case, Monomyth, and Brazilian Money. Towards the end, you'll hear a batch of folk tunes picked out by my friend, Trevor, who dropped by the station during his coffee break. We ended the hour with some aimless speculation about the 2013 Polaris Music Prize and didn't come at all close to predicting the outcome.



"Ode to subterrania" - Hooded Fang
"John the painter" - UBT
"The man man" - Ty Segall
"Animal Games" - Emiliana Torrini
"Ranchero" - Jordan Klassen
"December" - Braids
"Unhold (featuring Caroline Polachek) - Delorean
"Gimme" - Beck
"Bracing for Sunday" - Neko Case
"Coastal" - Monomyth
"Bones, bones, bones" - Brazilian Money
"Man of letters" - Hermetic
"Say darlin' say" - Corinna Rose
"West end sky" - Elliot Brood
"Ungirthed" - Purity Ring

FunDrive Preamble

Tomorrow morning's show will be a bit different than usual. Along with all my "pycks" I'll be plugging our annual FunDrive and asking listeners to donate some of their hard-earned dough to keep the wonderful CJSR afloat for another year.

If you donate ANY amount of money during my show (Monday, 10-11am MDT), you'll automatically be entered to win one of many fabulous prizes donated by local businesses here in Edmonton as well as some hot new LPs.

Donations of $30 or more also automatically receive some great swag from the station (like an exclusive compilation of music by local artists and the Star Card, which get deals all over town--t-shirts and other items are included for donations over $240). Here's the blurb:

As Edmonton's only volunteer-powered, listener-supported, campus based, community radio station, CJSR depends on the financial support of our listeners so that we can continue to broadcast diverse musical and spoken word programming that challenges the status quo. That's where FunDrive comes in; a listener pledge made during this year's FunDrive literally keeps us on the air for the next year. If you'd like to donate to your favourite neighbourhood CJSR, click here or call (780) 492-2577 ext 0.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the 2013 Polaris Music Prize

Congrats to Godspeed You! Black Emperor on winning the 2013 Polaris Music Prize, which was announced at last night's annual gala. I, of course, wasn't there and neither were the members of GY!BE (like everyone else who cared in Western Canada, I followed the event via Twitter).

Although I have misgivings about the award, as well as the mono-culture that has grown around it; and although I wasn't that excited about this year's shortlist, I'm happy to see a veteran band like GY!BE receive more recognition for last year's excellent Alleluja! Don't Bend! Ascend! It's an album that still gives me chills.

The main reason for this post is to direct your attention to the band's statement regarding their prize winnings. In it they express a similar ambivalence and an earnestness that cuts to the heart of our culture. The statement illustrates why this band was and is so important, why they deserved to take home the award, and explains where their prize money ($30 000) is going.

A FEW WORDS REGARDING THIS POLARIS PRIZE THING 

hello kanada.
hello kanadian music-writers. 

thanks for the nomination thanks for the prize- it feels nice to be acknowledged by the Troubled Motherland when we so often feel orphaned here. and much respect for all y’all who write about local bands, who blow that horn loudly- because that trumpeting is crucial and necessary and important. 

and much respect to the freelancers especially, because freelancing is a hard fucking gig, and almost all of us are freelancers now, right? falling and scrambling and hustling through these difficult times? 

so yes, we are grateful, and yes we are humble and we are shy to complain when we’ve been acknowledged thusly- BUT HOLY SHIT AND HOLY COW- we’ve been plowing our field on the margins of weird culture for almost 20 years now, and “this scene is pretty cool but what it really fucking needs is an awards show” is not a thought that’s ever crossed our minds. 

3 quick bullet-points that almost anybody could agree on maybe=
-holding a gala during a time of austerity and normalized decline is a weird thing to do.
-organizing a gala just so musicians can compete against each other for a novelty-sized cheque doesn’t serve the cause of righteous music at all.
-asking the toyota motor company to help cover the tab for that gala, during a summer where the melting northern ice caps are live-streaming on the internet, IS FUCKING INSANE, and comes across as tone-deaf to the current horrifying malaise. 

these are hard times for everybody. and musicians’ blues are pretty low on the list of things in need of urgent correction BUT AND BUT if the point of this prize and party is acknowledging music-labor performed in the name of something other than quick money, well then maybe the next celebration should happen in a cruddier hall, without the corporate banners and culture overlords. and maybe a party thusly is long overdue- it would be truly nice to enjoy that hang, somewhere sometime where the point wasn’t just lazy money patting itself on the back. 

give the money to the kids let ‘em put on their own goddamn parties, give the money to the olds and let them try to write opuses in spite of, but let the muchmusic videostars fight it out in the inconsequential middle, without gov’t. culture-money in their pockets.
us we’re gonna use the money to try to set up a program so that prisoners in quebec have musical instruments if they need them…
amen and amen.


apologies for being such bores,
we love you so much / our country is fucked,
xoxoxox
godspeed you! black emperor

Back in the Badlands

The last time I visited Drumheller, AB and the surrounding region I was about 9 years old. 18 years later and it all seemed new again. This time I was able to wear my 18-year-old dinosaur t-shirt from the Royal Tyrell Museum (which didn't leave my body the entire weekend) and managed to purchase its sequel (this time with a glow-in-the-dark velociraptor). The dinosaur museum was an obvious highlight, perhaps bolstered by my relatively new appreciation for Alberta's history (the first dinosaur bone was discovered by Joseph Tyrell back in 1884). But it was exploring the rugged geography of the badlands that made the trip really exceptional. A lot of the tunes you'll hear on this episode of Dyck's Pycks come from our trip down south. I was joined in the studio by Cynthia Spring, who you'll see roaming the range in the photo above.

Dyck's Pycks is back for the foreseeable future, every Monday from 10-11. I hope you'll tune in.



"In kind" - Braids
"Badlands" - Bruce Springsteen
"Smoke in the Water" - Rae Spoon
"Tiger Tank" - Speedy Ortiz
"Low F" - Superchunk
"It all feels right" - Washed Out
"Wave forms" - Islands
"Don't remind me" - Jay Arner
"Man" - Neko Case
"Adventure in the heart" - Shotgun Jimmie
"Tear it up" - The Backhomes
"The current" - The Dodos
"As I am in Tim Hortons, I realize that I hate Tim Hortons" - B.A. Johnston
"Doin' it right" - Daft Punk

Until next time . . .

This might be my last show for a while. Come September, Tuesday afternoons will no longer be part of my blissful weekend. Instead, I'll be at my drawing class, studying the human form with a paper and pencil as part of my design studies program -- perhaps you've noticed all of the attractive photographs I've been posting with each blog entry. That's right. All me! But I digress.

Dyck's Pycks will be back, hopefully by early to mid September, at a different time slot.

Unfortunately today's show didn't find me going out with a bang. More like an assortment of background noises and over-annunciated band names. At least I started things out right, with Swervedriver's hypnotizing "Girl on a Motorbike," easily one of my favourite road-themed songs of all time. Hopefully someone out there on the freeway was tuned in. A strange mix of stuff (with questionable quality) followed, but I was quite pleased to play a track from Glasgow's short-lived Life Without Buildings and I thought the spare sounds of Miserere (a new effort from the former members of Sea Snakes) made for a suitable followup.

It should have been smooth sailing from there. I was looking forward to playing some new material from the Dodos and, despite the low quality of their recordings, Weed paired well with 90s indie rock legends, Archers of Loaf. The Courtneys brought a similar level of irony and angst to their contribution, "Insufficient Funds," but the typo on the liner notes threw me for a bit of a loop. Montreal's UBT provided the show's ominous surprise hit ("John the Painter") and Speedy Ortiz seem to keep getting better each time I hear them. The show was on its way to a fine conclusion, and indeed, if you'd heard it live, it would been fine. But for some reason the MP3 recording stopped with 13 minutes to go, and I was saving the best for last!

Not a great way to end. Let's hope I get another chance.



"Girl on a Motorbike" - Swervedriver - Mezcal Head
"Faded Colours" - Yes Nice - Warm Gun
"Come to Admire" - Gold & Youth - Beyond Wilderness
"The Leanover" - Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
"Why Not a House?" - Miserere - Miserere
"The Current" - The Dodos - Carrier
"Ben's Trip" - Weed - Gun Control EP
"Wrong" - Archers of Loaf  - Icky Mettle
"Insufficient Funds" - The Courtneys - The Courtneys
"John the Painter" - UBT - Ego Orientation
"Tiger Tank" - Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana
"How I Spent My Summer" - Julia Brown - to be close to you
"A Summer Wasting" - Belle & Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap
"What Is Not But Could Be If" - Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

Unsettling the prairies

Today's show featured plenty of Canadian content and most of it came from our beloved prairie provinces. We kicked things off with a batch of songs from Edmonton up-and-comers Renny Wilson, Doug Hoyer, and Jom Comyn; from there, we headed south to Cowtown, the old stomping grounds of Montreal-based artist Rae Spoon. My Prairie Home, Spoon's latest release, departs from the lush electronica of the last year's I Can't Keep All of Our Secrets in favour of a roots/alt-rock sound, which makes for an impressively strong collection of songs.

There were a few tracks from what we might call the prairie fringes (if they were closer to the prairies): we heard a wicked slacker jam from Vancouver three-piece outfit The Courtneys, followed by an even slackier jam courtesy of White Fence; then, without warning, a rousing opener from the Polaris Prize nominated debut album of Ottawa's A Tribe Called Red, which you can download for free (!) right here.

Out of Manitoba, we had some new tunes from Winnipeg warriors, Royal Canoe and their horny bedfellows, Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers. Next, Christine Fellows gave us a vision of the apocalypse with "Not Wanted on the Voyage," a topic familiar to master songwriter Bill Callahan. Finally, Saskatchewan's The Seahags provided us with a rollicking ode to greasy skillets everywhere and Julia Holter took hold the atmosphere and ran with it.



"Could've It Been Me?" - Renny Wilson - Sugarglider
"One Foot" - Doug Hoyer - To Be a River
"Hatchet in Garage" - Jom Comyn - Sunstroke EP
"I Want" - Rae Spoon - My Prairie Home
"Haze" - Absolute Boys - Haze
"Birthday" - Royal Canoe - Today We're Believers
"Diane Young" - Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
"Snake in the Water" - Rae Spoon - My Prairie Home
"Nu Sundae" - The Courtneys - The Courtneys
"Lilian (Won't You Play the Drums)" - White Fence - Is Growing Faith
"Electric PowWow Drum" - A Tribe Called Red - A Tribe Called Red
"Boatmen" - Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers - Fruit and Ash EP
"Not Wanted on the Voyage" - Christine Fellows - Nevertheless
"Baby's Breath" - Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
"Skillet" - The Seahags - Good 'n' Greasy
"Horns Surrounding Me" - Julia Holter - Loud City Song

Actually existing music

Let's just say it's been a busy week and at the last minute things came together as they usually do. It's radio and I can afford to be vague, let the music do the talking, you know. Some surprises today in the studio: a few new discoveries, some old acquaintances about whom I'd forgotten. To start, I fell back on Wye Oak's "Take It In": reliable, cathartic, and long enough in duration for me to get sorted. Then onward to "Saskatoon," a gritty track from a gritty band, from one of last year's more depressing albums.

All tremolo guitar and vocal layering, Warpaint earned a spot on the new True Blood Soundtrack, which has, for some reason, appeared on CJSR's shelves; Surfer Blood's new-ish release also finally arrived and, despite my best hopes for another Astro Coast, it's a bit of a dud. Crosss's Obsidian Spectre still sporadically haunts my dreams and Yo La Tengo's mature jangle-pop makes the prospect of growing older a little less daunting. Moderat's very cool Charles Burns-y album cover was enough to pique my interest in the second collab between Berlin's electronic aficionados, Apparat and Modeselektor.

And, finally, thanks to Guilt Ridden Pop for some all-girl punk abrasion (Kitten Forever) and some very American indie pop. Now that Patrick Stolley's made himself known (he also happens to be a founding member of Daytrotter.com), we haven't heard the last of the Multiple Cat, who will no doubt be coming back.



"Take It In" - Wye Oak - The Knot
"Saskatoon" - PS I Love You - Death Dreams
"Smoke" - Crosss - Obsidian Spectre
"Undertow" - Warpaint - The Fool
"Demons" - Surfer Blood - Pythons
"Black Ice" - Kitten Forever - Pressure
"The Lapping Sea" - Energetic Action - Becoming
"Ruby" - Louise Burns - The Midnight Mass
"Ohm" - Yo La Tengo - Fade
"Versions" - Moderat - II
"Vampire Bats / Mall Rats" - The Multiple Cat - The Return of the Multiple Cat
"Shake Some Evil" - Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Savvy Show Stoppers

Beriault on the stereo

by Kaelin Beriault

Today I had the pleasure of guest-hosting Dyck's Pycks and will now have the greater pleasure of guest-writing Dyck's Pycks online post-game analysis -- primarily because Dyck was taking an inordinately long time to do this and Beriault wants to enjoy a beverage or two before the afternoon is out.

Hilights - Uncomfortable laughter. Jon's smooth college radio voice.
Lolights - Unable to locate Streethawk: A Seduction (Destroyer) in the CJSR music library. There was also a mishap cuing up one of the records.



"Doin' it Right" - Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
"Ruby" - Louise Burns - The Midnight Mass
"Lonely Woman" - Sean Nicholas Savage - Other Life
"Painful Life" - Austra - Olympia
"Dreamtrap" - Moon King - Obsession II
"Pensacola" - Deerhunter - Monomania
"Rosemary" - Faux Fur - Faux Fur
"Es-So" - Tuneyards - w h o k i l l
"Smoke" - Crosss - Obsidian Spectre
"So Clean" - The Ketamines - You Can't Serve Two Masters
"The Rest is Yet To Come" - Jim Guthrie - Takes Time
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" - David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
"Light Leave Your Eyes" - Alex Calder - Time
"Wear Me Away" - White Poppy - White Poppy
"Goodness" - Jr Gone Wild - Less Art, More Pop!

Beriault Out.

Dream traps

Making up for last week's premature conclusion, today's show began with the shrill sounds of Speedy Ortiz, a group that's clearly schooled in the ways of Helium and Archers of Loaf. Next up, we had a pair of dream pop gems, the first from Toronto's Moon King and the other from Frankie Rose (of Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls). Then, finally, the track that inspired many of today's selections, "Polar Bear" from Ride's seminal Nowhere. I'm afraid it isn't the best in terms of audio quality (all treble, no bass), but I'm confident it'll still be enough to convert a few new fans. The day's vinyl track came courtesy of Edmonton's The Sorels, who can also lay claim to the day's most unapologetically kickass guitar solo. Also from Edmonton, Doug Hoyer sung the danceable sorrows of the minimum wage employee; and, from across the plains, Royal Canoe delivered the goods with their lead single from a new (hotly anticipated) LP, Today We're Believers, which I frankly cannot wait to get my hands on.



"Tiger Tank" - Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana
"Experimental Fiction" - The Danks - Gank
"Dream Trap" - Moon King - Obsession II
"Daylight Sky" - Frankie Rose - Interstellar
"Polar Bear" - Ride - Nowhere
"What Would I Want? Sky" - Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
"See the Sky About To Rain" - Neil Young - On the Beach 
"GAG" - The Sorels - Daylight
"Sea of Love" - The National - Trouble Will Find Me
"Miasma Sky" - Baths - Obsidian
"Minimum Wage" - Doug Hoyer - To Be A River
"Bathtubs" - Royal Canoe - Today We're Believers
"Ode to Subterrania" - Hooded Fang - Gravez

Work and whatever

That's right, it's another themed show. Thinking about work seemed like productive way to spend my day off. Today's pycks were pretty eclectic and there were some real gems in the mix, like the late Jason Molina's beautiful "Love and Work," which I hadn't listened to in ages. Other highlights include a hella catchy opening number from Hooded Fang, some heavy fuzz from Edmonton's Outdoor Miners and a bouncy take on suburban life from the Talking Heads. The rest was pretty typical. Let's hear it for slacker jamz!



"Ode to Subterrania" - Hooded Fang - Gravez
"Friends with Money" - Outdoor Miners - Disgust
"Minotaur" - Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin
"Found a Job" - Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings and Food
"All My Days Off" - Daughn Gibson - Me Moan
"Working for the Man" - PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
"Love and Work" - Songs: Ohia - Axxess & Ace
"Work" - Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
"Working Full-Time" - Constantines - Tournament of Hearts
"Custom Concern" - Modest Mouse - This Is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About
"Step Into My Office, Baby" - Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
"Pioneer Spine" - Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana

Serenity now

In a particularly awkward episode of Dyck's Pycks, I ended up showcasing some of great electronic and instrumental music that's recently arrived at the station. It was a slow build. As usual, Sigur Ros tested my ability to pronounce their song titles (Icelandic can be tricky) and Deerhunter gracefully ended the show, tailing a barrage of catchy Canadian garage rock, which included Edmonton rock 'n' roll heroes, Jr. Gone Wild. Swoon.



"Re-Hash" - Gorillaz - Gorillaz
"Reprise" - Gold Panda - Half of Where You Live
"Reach for the Dead" - Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
"Obsidian" - Baths - Obsidian
"Breinnestein" - Sigur Ros - Kviekur
"Cadillac Desert" - William Tyler - Impossible Truth
"Taking My Time" - Jim Guthrie - Takes Time
"Why Not a House?" - Miserere - Miserere
"Ode to Suberrainia" - Hooded Fang - Gravez
"Follow the Waves to the Coastline" - UBT - Ego Orientation
"Patients" - The Ketamines - You Can't Serve Two Masters
"It Never Changes" - Jr. Gone Wild - Less Art, More Pop!
"You Don't Love Me [Starlets cover]" - The Lad Mags - The Lad Mags
"Punk" - Deerhunter - Monomania

Heatwave

Summer is here in all its unbearable glory. For Dyck's Pycks that means meandering folk ballads and scuzzy jams about summertime flings and wasted afternoons.

"Sunshine Snare Hits" - Chad VanGaalen - Infiniheart

"Summer Mood" - Best Coast - Crazy For You

"Coast to Coast" - Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt

"Shore Points" - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien

"From the Sun" - Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

"San Francisco" - Foxygen - We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

"Summer Sound" - Shotgun Jimmie - The Onlys

"I'm so near here" - Eric's Trip - The Gordon Street Haunting

"I won't be long" - Beck - TBA

"Pensacola" - Deerhunter - Monomania

"Boatmen" - Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers - Fruit and Ash

"Hot Freaks" - Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand

"Tom Courtenay" - Yo La Tengo - Electr-O-Pura

"Freakin' Out the Neighbourhood" - Mac DeMarco - 2

"That Summer Feeling" - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - Jonathan Sings!

Water, water everywhere

It's been a strange week in Alberta. I arrived in Calgary last Wednesday for the Sled Island Music Festival, just in time to see a few incredible shows (Swans and Superchunk!) before the Bow River got out of control. You can check out some of my photos on CJSR's tumblr.

On Friday morning Sled Island execs announced that, due to epic flooding in the downtown core (many people had already been evacuated by this point), the festival would be cancelling the rest of its scheduled lineup. Edmonton did its part, as quickly as it could, to accommodate some of the Sled Island bands that didn't get a chance to play in Calgary. The result was Shred Island: three days of awesome tunes hosted by Barber Ha and the Wunderbar. Days later, some Calgary residents are starting to move back into their homes and clean up, countless others are pitching in where they can.

Back in Edmonton, the rain continues to fall. I have a feeling that the tenants in my basement will experience flooding if they haven't already. This morning, I found a leak in the ceiling above our living room.

Water, rain, floods, rivers: it's not uncharted territory for songwriters. Today's playlist focuses on what's right there in front of us.



"Water" - PJ Harvey - Peel Sessions (1991-2004)
"River to Consider" - White Denim - D
"La Violence Sur Les Champs-Elysees - Actual Water - The Paisley Orchard
"Tread Water" - Shotgun Jimmie - Still Jimmie
"Water and a Seat" - Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Pig Lib
"Rain on Tin" - Sonic Youth - Murray Street
"Little One" - Beck - Sea Change
"One Foot" - Doug Hoyer - To Be A River
"Wet and Rusting" - Menomena - Friend and Foe
"River" - Akron/Family - Set 'em Wild, Set 'em Free
"A Dream of Water" - Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
"Knife in the Water" - Metz - Metz
"The Lapping Sea" - Energetic Action - Becoming

Soft view

"Eurozone" - Dog Day - Deformer
"Soft View" - Cannon Bros. - Firecracker/Cloudglow
"Mirror Mirror" - Suuns - Image du Futur
"Luella" - Ghostkeeper - Horse Thief! War Chief!
"The Lapping Sea" - Energetic Action - Becoming
"Patients" - The Ketamines - You Can't Serve Two Masters
"The Uma Uma Truth List" - Peace - My Face
"One Foot" - Doug Hoyer - To Be a River
"Defriended" - Beck - tba
"Summersweat" - Royal Canoe - Purple and Gold 7"
"You're Blessed" - Ice Age - New Brigade
"Brute" - Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light
"Cinder and Dust" - Pick a Piper - Pick a Piper
"Life or Death" - Constantines - Kensington Heights

D for Dissemination

Dissemination has begun. Starting next week, I'll have a file available for streaming via Sound Cloud. You'll be able to catch up on Dyck's Pycks anytime, anywhere.

"2020" - Suuns - Image du Futur (Secretly Canadian, 2013)
"One Foot" - Doug Hoyer - To be a River (Old Ugly, 2013)
"All Her Colours" - Pick a Piper - s / t (Mint Records, 2013)
"We Both Kiss You (feat. Mitchmatic)" - Mikey Maybe - Honey + Bread (Old Ugly, 2013)
"O Jumbotron" - Boats - A Fairway Full of Miners (Kill Rock Stars, 2013)
"Galapogospel" - Alanadale - Hypocritters (self-released, 2012)
"Boatmen" - Flying Fox and the Hunter Gatherers - Fruit and Ash (self-released, 2013)
"Out of Here" - Cannon Bros. - Firecracker / Cloudglow - Out of Here (Disintegration Records, 2011)
"GAG" - The Sorels - Great Northern Revival: Notes From the Edmonton Underground Vol. 3 (Groove Revival, 2013)
"Time Can Be Overcome" - The Darcys and Ra Ra Riot - Arts & Crafts X (Arts & Crafts, 2013)
"Sub-domestic" - Constantines - Shine a Light (Three Gut Records, 2003)
"Ex-punks" - Bry Webb - Provider - Ex-punks (Idee Fixe, 2011)
"Patients" - The Ketamines - You Can't Serve Two Masters (Southpaw / Mammoth Cave, 2013)
"Laura on the Bus" - Energetic Action - Becoming (Self-released, 2013)
"Stoned and Starving" - Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (What's Your Rupture, 2013)

See what you hear

Starting this Tuesday, June 11, I'll be posting my weekly playlist.