Interrobang

Trevor and I found ourselves trading favourites on this week's show. He had his Japandroids and Jenn Grant, I had my Archers of Loaf and Hush Pup, and the airwaves were grateful. (The way Archers of Loaf singer Eric Bachmann sings the word "weird" is pure 90s magic.) We also heard new stuff from Timber Timbre and Chad VanGaalen among others.

If the title of this week's show is unfamiliar to you, have no fear: we explain it partway through the show. Or you could just ask the internet.

Skip ahead about four minutes to arrive at the beginning of our show.



"One" - Yamantaka // Sonic Titan
"The House That Heaven Built" - Japandroids
"Web in Front" - Archers of Loaf
"War Between" - Huron
"The Fighter" - Jenn Grant
"Curtains!?" - Timber Timbre
"Décapote" - La Patère Rose
"Sign 11:11" - Hush Pup
"Monster" - Chad VanGaalen
"Lucky" - Magnetta Lane
"Shy-Town" - Gorillaz
"Hate" - Charisma.com
"Black Panther" - Crystal Castles

Contested ground

This week's show was an attempt to incorporate more independent music by First Nations artists into our usual playlist (which has, in the past, been rightly accused of being dominated by white males). While this sort of thing isn't at all uncommon in North American indie rock, it's led to some fairly stable ideas of what independent music should sound and look like. Of course, such perceptions are hardly representative of the diversity in Canada's independent music community and can create real barriers for voices that need to be heard.

Part of our inspiration came from witnessing the powerful and harrowing stories of residential school survivors at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which concluded this past weekend in Edmonton. We were able to see a free concert, featuring Cris Derksen and a host of other artists (from many different backgrounds).

Below, you'll hear music from aboriginal and non-aboriginal artists. Our goal with these selections was to steer our show in a more attentive direction and showcase several artists (such as Cris Derksen, Quillbox, Flying Down Thunder and Rise Ashen) that don't get much airtime, as well as some that do (Ghostkeeper, A Tribe Called Red, Kinnie Starr). It's a small step, but hopefully it's something we'll be able to build on.



"Pow. Wow. Wow." - Cris Derksen
"Talkin' Bout a Revolution (Tracy Chapman cover)" - Art Napoleon
"Passing Out Pieces" - Mac DeMarco
"Sadlands" - Rebekah Higgs
"Mountain/Relief" - Picastro
"Well, Well, Well" - Ghostkeeper
"Molina Blues" - Slates
"Unity of Culture" - Flying Down Thunder and Rise Ashen
"Look At This" - A Tribe Called Red
"Get the Show On the Road" - Canadian Winter
"Kiss It" - Kinnie Starr
"Spirit" - Future Islands
"Nii Mi" - Quillbox