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