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

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

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