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