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