Good Afternoon Yellow Birds,

I have been listening to such lovely new music lately, which I will tell you about in a sec. But first, during my random cruising of the net I stumbled upon the Daytrotter website, and was so happy to see Aimee Mann on the cover, and does she look good as a cartoon or what? Anyway, she performed a few excellent songs from her new album @#%&*! Smilers. If you haven’t heard this album yet you should really give it a listen. Here are a couple of songs from that performance:

Aimee Mann - Little Tornado (Live on Daytrotter)

Aimee Mann - Pheonix (Live on Daytrotter)

To hear the rest of the songs she performed click here. And I’d like to give a shout out to Karen, Will, Stuart and Michael over at MHAM. I miss you guys!

As for that lovely new music I was talking about, if you haven’t heard these two albums you should really check them out:

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

This album has been pretty much the only thing I have been listening to for the past two days. I have known about Blitzen Trapper for a while now. I had the opportunity to see them play a little while back when I saw Fleet Foxes opening for them (yes Fleet Foxes was opening!), but I didn’t end up staying for their set. I am regretting that decision now that I have heard their amazing new album Furr. They actually remind of me a bit of Dr. Dog, with a more country feel to them. They even remind me of The Kinks at times or pre-Satanic Panic Of Montreal. In short, it isn’t something I’ve never heard before, but it’s just so catchy that I can’t help loving it. My top songs on the album are probably “Furr”, “Saturday Nite” and “Sleepy Time in the Western World”. This album, in my opinion, is their best work yet, and I dare you to listen to this album and not love it.

Blitzen Trapper - Furr

Blitzen Trapper - Saturday Nite

Blitzen Trapper - Sleepy Time In The Western World

Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer

You may know her as one half of The Dresden Dolls. Or if you don’t know who the Dresden Dolls are you may not know who Amanda Palmer is at all. Well my friends, you have reason to be excited, because this Palmer character happens to be one hell of a musician. Who Killed Amanda Palmer, her first venture as a solo artist just may be my favourite of her works to date. This may have something to do with the fact that Ben Folds produced the album, and we all know what he can do when he collaborates. Anyway, this album is stellar. Songs like “Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing” and “Leeds United” really get me pumped. There are a couple of songs I could live without, but for the most part, this album rocks.

Amanda Palmer - Astronaut: A Short History of Nearly Nothing

Amanda Palmer - Leeds United

So be sure to check these two out. Something else you should be really excited for is the new Dears album. I have heard some things, and let’s just say you’re gonna like it.

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

We can all stop wondering who will win this year’s Polaris Music Prize, awarded to the top Canadian album of the year. It has been announced today that Dundas, Ontario native, Dan Snaith, known to most as Caribou, has won the 2008 Polaris Music Prize, and the 20,000 big ones that go along with it. Readers of newspapers all over Canada will now know the name of Caribou, and hopefully most will go out and buy his excellent, now award-winning album, Andorra. I have been a fan of Caribou for awhile, falling firstly in love with his The Milk of Human Kindness album, and then falling in love with the rest of his music, including his work under his first moniker, Manitoba. I was lucky enough to see him in concert a few years back, opening for the Super Furry Animals in Montreal, and was blown away by his performance. It comes as a little bit of surprise to me that he won, not because his album isn’t great, but because of how many good artists he was up against. Personally, I thought the award would go to Plants & Animals, whose debut album, Parc Avenue, has been on repeat for me for some time now. Deep down I wanted the award to go to Oh, My Darling Basia Bulat, who I saw in concert last week in NYC, or Stars, who I also saw play in NYC last week. Both shows were amazing, and both of their albums were deserving of this Prize. But as we know, not everybody can win, and Andorra is a beautiful album, definately deserving of this prize. I hope this will bring Caribou all the fame he deserves. If you don’t already listen to Caribou, you should probably get on that.

Here’s what they’ve been saying:

Pitchfork

The Globe and Mail

The Montreal Gazette

Exclaim!

The Toronto Star

The National Post

The Guardian UK

And in case you don’t know…this is what Caribou sounds like:

“Melody Day” (from Andorra)

And here’s an oldie but a goodie:

Caribou - Yeti (from The Milk of Human Kindness)

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

So I saw Stars last night at Terminal 5 in New York City. This was my second time seeing Stars and my first time at Terminal 5. When we got there, the opening band was still on the stage. They were called Bell X1, and since I only heard them play a couple of songs I can’t really judge whether they were something I would want to listen to on a regular basis. The crowd seemed really into them though, so you may want to check them out.

Before Stars’ set they had guys putting red roses all over the stage. The flower theme went really well with the music that was being played, which was like sad piano music, reminding me of Erik Satie. If anyone knows what it was please let me know because it was lovely. When Stars finally took the stage I knew that I was in for a much different experience than when I saw Stars the first time in Montreal. When I saw them in Montreal it was this secret show at an art gallery in Old Montreal, in which there were only 150 tickets for sale. I managed to get one of them and was treated to one of the best shows I have ever seen. There was no stage, no crazy lighting, no banner, nothing fancy. Just the band and their instruments. Last night at Terminal 5 in NYC was a much different sort of party. Besides the thousands of people in attendance, this show was not just a concert, it was like a show on steroids. This show had huge projections and an insane light show, that went along to the music. It was pretty insane, I have to say. Especially for me who is used to shows with minimal lighting effects. The lighting was almost too bright at times, making it impossible to even see the band. But overall it was pretty amazing.

Lead singer Torquil Campbell got the crowd on his side right away when he said that the first Stars song ever written was in New York City on 58th and 10th. And before launching into “Window Bird” he said, “here’s to Hell’s Kitchen”. The love affair with the fans didn’t end there. The crowd went crazy when Torq had a few thoughts about how Barack Obama should be the new President of the United-States. And if that wasn’t enough, the band continuously threw bundles of red roses into the crowd throughout the set.

As for the set list, I couldn’t have asked for a better one. It was expected that they would play a lot of new songs, but they surprised me by playing more old songs than new ones. We were lucky enough to hear them play “Look Up”, “Elevator Love Letter”, “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”, “Ageless Beauty”, “Soft Revolution” and “Reunion”. For the encore they played “Take Me To The Riot” and then went back to the old stuff, finishing off the night with “One More Night”, “Calendar Girl” and “Heart”. I was more than happy with this set list, a tribute to the Stars fans who have been there since the beginning. They also played two songs off of their new EP, entitled Sad Robots. Before playing these songs, Torq said that you could either buy the album here, buy it online or steal it off of your friends. He said he didn’t care how you got it as long as you listened to it. It’s nice to hear bands that care more about people hearing their music than hearing about how much money they made.

In the end it was an excellent set, by an amazing band, at a pretty mediocre venue. Terminal 5 is far from my favourite venue, but it didn’t ruin my night. Any night with Stars is a night to remember.

Stars - 14 Forever (from Sad Robots EP)

Stars - Undertow (from Sad Robots EP)

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

Hello Birdies,

I hope you are all doing well. Those of you that are still in school, as I am, I wish you a good start to the semester. May your tests be easy and your essays short. For those not in school, I hope whatever you are doing is making you happy, and that there is nothing you’d rather be doing. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than listening to music. So here are 5 songs that I have been listening to on repeat over the past week. I hope you like…

Akron/Family - Before and Again

I just discovered this band last night. Well to be honest I have been hearing about them for awhile, but never gave them a chance until last night. I saw that they were playing in Montreal for the Pop Montreal Festival so I decided to check out their myspace page for a few samples and was pretty blown away. I still don’t know them very well but this song is sounding quite nice right now.

Born Ruffians - Little Garçon

Born Ruffians have been one of my bands of the summer. They make such catchy and fun songs and they are Canadian, so they get extra points. This song is a cute little love song that you can play for your boyfriend/girlfriend/love interest in order to capture their heart. Unless they like rap music, then you should play them this.

Pinback - Wasted (Black Flag Cover)

I have been listening to sooo much Pinback lately, especially after writing that Tribute to Rob Crow. It really got me back into them. I have been listening to this song, which is actually a Black Flag cover, every night before bed for the past week. Not because it is a song that puts me to sleep. Just because I like it a lot. What makes it such a good cover is that it is so different than the original. It just goes to show how talented Zach and Rob actually are, that they can take a hardcore punk song, and make it into something so beautiful. The ending of the song is a fitting tribute to the original.

Human Highway - The Sound

Nick Thorburn is becoming quite the band hopper. From the Unicorns, to Islands, to his other various side projects. He is now teaming up with Canadian Juno Award winner Jim Guthrie, who together form Human Highway. This band is very different from anything Nick has done in the past and just goes to show how versatile he is. They make some really pretty songs, take a listen.

Midlake - Bandits

Midlake has been arguably my favourite band of the past year. I hardly go a week without listening to them. If you are not familiar with their music you are really missing something. There is something about them that makes me feel so at ease and comfortable. I’m trying not listen to them that much this summer just because I love listening to them in the fall and winter. Along with “Roscoe”, this is my favourite Midlake song. They have a new album in the works, which will most likely be entitled The Courage of Others. You can expect to see it in stores at some point before the year is out. Along with Mew’s new album, this is the album I am most excited to hear.

Well that’s all for now. I shall now go out and enjoy my last free day of summer. Is it crazy that I’m really excited for fall?

Untill next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner

Dear friends,

Have you heard of Rob Crow? You may know him better as one half of Pinback. If that is all you know of him then you are in for a treat. Not only is Rob crow one of the two angelic voices in Pinback, but he has been part of more bands than I have fingers. Each of these bands are very different from the next, showing Crow’s versatility. One thing that stays the same across all of Crow’s bands and side projects is his talent, shining brightly in each of his projects. So here is a tribute to one of my favourite artists in the past few years. Rob Crow, here’s to you.

Pinback

Obviously, this is Rob Crow’s best known project. Teaming up with Zach Smith (of Three Mile Pilot), they together have released four LP’s, each as good as the last and a whole bunch of great EP’s and tour EP’s. This is how I first got introduced to the genius of Rob Crow, and I have yet to get sick of any Pinback song for as long as I’ve been listening to them. I have been lucky enough to see Pinback live once in Montreal. They have this huge tour coming up but there is no Montreal date this time around. Toronto lucks out again. If you don’t already listen to Pinback then you really should get on that.

Pinback - Talby

Pinback - Tripoli

(Pinback’s Myspace)

Optiganally Yours

In this band, Rob Crow teams up with Pea Hix to form a band that is miles away from what Pinback sounds like. What makes this band special is that besides Crow’s guitar, the primary instrument is the Optigan, which is a toy organ made by Mattel in the 1970’s. From the two albums that they released the highlights for me are “Oar” and “Gepetto”, among others. They music is definitely different from what you hear everyday.

Optiganally Yours - Oar

Optiganally Yours - Gepetto

(Optiganally Yours’ Myspace)

The Ladies

This band fits into a completely different genre altogether, incorporating elements of metal music, which it seems Rob Crow is a big fan of. This time Crow teams up with Zach Hill to create a sort of eccentric, soft core metal band. Nevertheless, they still have that element that makes all of Rob Crows projects shine. Perhaps that element is Crow himself. In the song “Non-Threatening”, Crow softly sings along with his guitar and Hill’s double bass pedaling about how he wants to kill the president. One thing to really pay attention to while listening to this band is Zach Hill’s incredible drumming. It’s really something special.

The Ladies - Nice Chaps Buddy

The Ladies - Non-Threatening

(The Ladies’ Myspace)

Thingy

This is another of my favourite of Rob Crow’s side-projects. It really boggles my mind how one man could have so many songs in him. In this band, Crow teams up with Eléa Tentuta, Brent Asbury, Cameron Jones, Kenseth Thibideau and Jason Soares to make some of his best music to date. The strange lyrics continue with Thingy, in which he sings in one song about a ballpoint pen and another about how he’s a big dumb animal whose fingers should be put in a fan. This band is as eccentric as it gets. A sort of recurring theme in Crow’s music.

Thingy - Ballpoint Pen

Thingy - Big Dumb Animal

(Thingy’s Myspace)

Rob Crow Solo

As if it wasn’t enough, Crow also writes and records music all by himself, releasing a Rob Crow Solo album entitled Living Well. I guess this is the stuff that doesn’t fit into any of his other bands. Crow’s solo work is probably the closest sounding to Pinback of all of his other side-projects. Here we really see Rob Crow at his best, without any other musician’s influence.

Rob Crow - Taste

Rob Crow - Over Your Heart

(Rob Crow’s Myspace)

This is just a small introduction to Rob Crow. He is in over 10 bands in all. So if you like what you hear, go and buy some of his stuff! And like I said, Pinback is currently on tour all over the US and then Europe, so go check them out.

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner