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The Deep Dark Woods – All the Money I Had is gone

Chris — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:25:32 +0000

I have not spent a lot of time in Saskatchewan; a Saskatchewan band with the name The Deep Dark Woods does not create the sort of imagery that will likely change this. However, the music said band has created has piqued my interest in the land of rough riders and 80s haircuts; the 80s haircut joke is actually a lead in to my favorite quality of The Deep Dark Woods. All the songs on the band’s 3rd full-length release “Winter Hours”, especially All the Money I Had is gone, feel like they’ve come right out of a different decade. The stories and problems all remind me of a time when things were far less connected and your concerns rarely extended past your own survival; it’s actually quite a charming idea. Note: I use the word “remind” as if I have experienced this. I have not, I was born on the interwebs.

2, 3, 4

I’ve been waitin’ here for days
Tryin’ to catch a break
The way I’m livin’, it’s gonna cause my heart to ache
‘Cause all the money I had is gone
All the money I had is gone

I’ve been high and I’ve been low
I’ve been east and I’ve been west
The way it goes, I’ll never get no rest
‘Cause all the money I had is gone
All the money I had is gone

The wayward son
He never gets nothing done
If I had some money, I’d be on the run
But all the money I had is gone
All the money I had is gone

All the green hands
Deliver around this land
They’ll be wiped away come judgment day
And all the money I had is gone
All the money I had is gone

All the money I had is gone
All the money I had is gone

I can weep and I can cry
I can wonder why

Joel Plaskett – Gone, Gone, Gone

Chris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:42:09 +0000

Gone, Gone, Gone is another number from the pride of Nova Scotia, Joel Plaskett, and his 3-disc magnus opus Three. Released in March of this year, Plaskett’s 3rd full-length solo effort captured his 2nd Polaris nomination, however I’m not completely convinced this album should be considered a solo-album proper. For myself, the backing vocals (I use the word “backing” loosely as the vocals are essential to many of the numbers), from Ana Egge and Rose Cousins, are often the most memorable pieces of the songs. I’m not trying to take anything away from Plaskett, who is clearly one of the most gifted singer/songwriters Canada has ever produced, but man those girls turn me to mush when they get going. Will there be more from this trio in the future? Hopefully, but if not I’m quite satisfied with the magic they have left us with. For more from the album, check out the following posts:

Joel Plaskett -- Deny, Deny, Deny
Joel Plaskett -- Through & Through & Through

Gone, gone, gone
That’s what it looks like from here
Gone, gone, gone
You’ve been packing your bags for a year
Watching your taillights fade, that’s all I ever do
Watching you complicate a love so true
Pretty soon I’ll be gone too

Gone, gone, gone
What’s the big idea?
Where’d we go from here?
My love, always gone
Always right, never wrong
Await the light, chase the dawn
Through the night, but the night’s so long

Gone, gone, gone
That’s your middle name
Every night’s the same
My love, count ‘em down
3, 2, 1, you’re back around
You close the door, you don’t make a sound
But 1, 2, 3 and you’re leaving town

In the middle of a lonely night
Got caught in the hallway light
For a minute you were getting close
I suspect I’ve seen a ghost
In the middle of a highway dream
You got caught in the headlight’s beam
Down the road with your tired eyes
Good old boys with your old goodbyes

Bye, bye
That’s your only tune
April, May and June
My love, you come and go
Seasons change and flowers grow
By and by, the highway glow
You roll fast but the night rolls slow

Slow, slow
Time is rolling on
Sing “Two Winters Long”
My love, where you been?
Around the bend and back again
You’re never wrong, you’re always right
But you look different in this light

Make this clear, you disappeared, left me here
Gone, gone, gone, never wrong, sing your song
“Two Winters Long”

Gone, gone, gone
Surely we’ll say this again
Gone, gone, gone
In the cold early morning rain
Singing someone else’s tune, that’s all you ever do
Light on your feet in this room, but I know your shoes
Pretty soon I’ll be gone too

Reviews: Polaris

Sunset Rubdown – You Go On Ahead

Chris — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:51:58 +0000

I have 13 minutes until my oven is done transforming my frozen pizza into a little bit of happiness, so here’s a lunchtime song for everyone. You Go On Ahead is another track from Sunset Rubdown’s fourth LP Dragonslayer, released in June of this year. I suspect that for most people, Sunset Rubdown’s sound is not as instantly accessible as front-man Spencer Krug’s other project Wolf Parade (song posted here). However, if you’re like me, one of the biggest draws of Wolf Parade is Krug’s passion-filled/eccentric deliveries, which there is no shortage of in any given Sunset Rubdown song. So give it a good listen and let me know what you think. 3 minutes until happiness.

you go on ahead for awhile
I would like to follow you awhile
you go on ahead for awhile
I would like to just follow you awhile

and I’d like to watch the white flash of your heels as they take turns breaking the desert heat to beckon me in languages I’ve never learned
and I’d like to have you navigate two hills where no musicians live and on the way decide what mendings of your will you’re willing to forgive

and I’d like to think the actors never banded
and I’d like to throw this trumpet down and go on empty handed
and I’d like to think I am not one of them but I know I am
so I’d like to just follow you awhile
you go on ahead for awhile
I would like to just follow you awhile
and you go on ahead for awhile
I would like to just follow you awhile

when me and the boys were out
we killed a thousand butterflies
so I put their wings into my mouth and said a prayer for our safe arrival
and then a big black car crossed our path
and I wondered whether or not that shit(ship?) was empty
you go

see the sirens and the lizards lick their tongues behind the stage
see the actor keep a ritual to keep them all at bay
he would like to come home naked without war paint on his face
and appear before you, virgin white if virgin’s are still chaste

so when you’ve got to wait
and you’ve got to wait (x4)
and you’ve got to wait for me

and I will appear before you virgin white if virgin’s are still chaste
then I’d like to just follow you awhile

and if there are two eyes in my head there are four seasons
in a year
and reflections on the water of a burning yellow sphere
and the days add up to weeks add up to months
and add up
and add up to years

and if reflections on the water sometimes look like burning tears
we can watch them change in shape without pushing off the pier

Fucked Up – Black Albino Bones

Chris — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:11:08 +0000

A lot has been written about the Toronto hardcore-punk band Fucked Up since the release of their sophomore full-length album The Chemistry of Common Life last year. The album has been labelled, by some, as a hardcore album that is too indie-rock to please the distinct tastes of the hardcore crowd, and by others as an indie-rock album that is too hardcore to not frighten-off the indie kids. As momentum for the album steadily built, new labels began to emerge for The Chemistry of Common life. People began referring to it as a perfectly constructed bridge between the two genres, the savior of the hardcore scene, and even the best album of the year. The Polaris grand jury showed their hand on September 21st of this year, by awarding the album the title of best Canadian independent album of 2009. Though the Polaris prize is an impressive accomplishment for the album, what sealed the deal for me was when I made my Mom to listen to Black Albino Bones. Though visibly shaken following the experience, the 50-something year old accountant (who could die happy listening to nothing again but Phil Collins and Rod Stewart) remarked that there was something really quite good in there.

Can’t sleep thinking about it

Rubbing stones together until the magic comes out,
Embracing the purity, the purity of obscurity,
Try to capture the name as it spins in your mind,
Follow it with our eyes,
The dizzy epiphany discovered an artifact of my own,
It’s the little things that get us through life,

Squishing flesh together until the magic comes out,
Until we both ejaculate ride the wave
As a little dies, the orgasmic of the fantastic,
We well up, and then we explode!
It’s the little things that get us through life,

I need a little escape

Burning plants together until the magic comes out,
Take it in the inhalate, inhalate what escalates,
Hold the vapor deep down inside the toxic fumes,
Initiate the levitate,
We slowly start to drift off,
It’s the little things that get us through life

Reviews: Moms Fucked Up, Polaris, The Chemistry of Common Life

Hey Rosetta! – Black Heart

Chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:17:24 +0000

I had planned on posting this earlier in the evening, but upon returning to my apartment after buying my mother going-away sushi, I found that “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama” was airing on HBO. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, or in my case a Canadian, this is a movie you should take a look at. Anyways, I’ve got another song up tonight from the St John’s, Newfoundland sextet Hey Rosetta! (the other two songs can be found here and here). Like the previously posted songs, Black Heart can be found on Hey Rosetta!’s Polaris nominated 2008 album Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart, and on through your blood). As the band seems to do on a daily basis, they have again crafted a sweeping epic that, carried by Tim Baker’s disgustingly passionate vocals, will have you shouting along as it finds its way to climax; even if you are in a suburban apartment at 11:00pm surrounded by neighbors who are in bed at 9:00pm. I’m certain one day my neighbors will thank me for introducing them to so many great songs.

you bright sun
you darkest dirt
hardest paradox i ever learned
you’re tireless
and i tire quick
it’s the easy death of reason within my chest

you bright sun
you darkest dirt
hardest cryer i ever heard
you cry out your orders
you cry out your pain
and every letter’s followed like its sacrosanct

i’m at the mercy
of an idiot tyrant king
i jump high! talk loud! and listen? i’m always listening!
cause he built his throne from my bones and skin

i love, i hate, i hate to live this way
a dog, a slave, we do what our deity dictates

and i just want
someone to lean on
i just want someone
to lean on me.

Reviews: Polaris

Hayden – Where and When

Chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:35:21 +0000

Thanks (in large part) to the strangely fascinating drum beat, I’ve found this song on repeat for the better part of today; if any music theorists reading this can explain what is going on with that snare, in terms of time signature, please feel free to comment. Where and When comes from the Canadian indie-folk/rock artist Hayden Desser (otherwise known as Hayden), and his 7th full-length album In Field & Town. Since releasing In Field & Town early in 2008, Hayden has put out the subsequent album The Place Where We Lived in May of this year.

The snow was falling down like pieces of the sky last Friday night
I was outside on the street, and she was inside to a beat
Next thing I know, she’s watching me writing to her in the snow
“Let’s go”
She got up so close, the condensation changed her to a ghost
But she appeared again, as she wrote on the glass “Well, it depends…”
“Where and when?”

Islands – No You Don’t

Chris — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:20:11 +0000

I’ve got another song for everyone tonight, this time coming from the Montreal indie-rock/pop act Islands. No You Don’t comes from the band’s 3rd full-length album Vapours, released on September 22nd of this year. Fans of the now defunct Canadian indie band The Unicorns will recognize key Islands members Nicholas Thorburn and Jamie Thompson, who are once again collaborating on a musical project. This particular song was long-listed for CBC Radio 3’s annual Bucky Award for song of the year this morning. Public voting for the Bucky long-lists will be open until this Sunday, when the nominees will be whittled down to short-lists. The following songs, which we have posted on BowlingStone, are also nominated for song of the year:

Dan Mangan -- Robots
Great Lake Swimmers -- Pulling On A Line
Metric -- Gimme Sympathy
Thunderheist -- Jerk It
Joel Plaskett -- Through & Through & Through
k-os -- I wish I Knew Natalie Portman
Classified -- One Track Mind
Said The Whale -- The Magician (Camilo)
Handsome Furs -- I’m Confused
Pink Mountaintops -- Vampire
Apostle of Hustle -- Eazy Speaks
Amy Millan -- Bruised Ghosts

don’t buy dope from the man you don’t know
i don’t know you won’t
don’t get stuck in his pickup truck
in arms reach, front seat
man, you’re outta luck

flush it downstream
before its found, drowned, swimming in your blood stream
if you must, crush it up into dust
if you must cut it up then lie down

but i won’t let you tell me
what i can’t do
you’ll try to scare me
but you’re never gonna catch me
so don’t you tell me how to run that race

you said don’t back down in your wedding gown
don’t make a sound, you never made a sound
don’t chime in with your oppinion
you dont need to object, man, you’re such a wreck

rush to find a pulse before
you’re deep in the dirt
crushed by a cross like
jumping out of a moving train
coming down is such a pain

but i won’t let you tell me
what i can’t do
you’ll try to scare me
but you’re never gonna catch me
so don’t you tell me how to run that race

Reviews: Islands

Think About Life – Sweet Sixteen

Chris — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:45:30 +0000

Today’s lunchtime track comes from the Montreal indie-electronic/rock band Think About Life. Sweet Sixteen can be found on the group’s sophomore full-length album Family, released on May 26th of this year; The album comes 3 years after their debut self-titled LP. The band will be performing with You Say Party! We Say Die! on the Ontario leg of YSPWSD’s current tour supporting the release of their most recent album XXXX. Dates including Think About Life can be found on their MySpace here; the full tour schedule can be found on YSPWSD’s website here.

Sweet Sixteen and you’re on your own
And your family family kick you out of the house
Working part-time at dinners, saving money for college
At least you’re passing with Bs, so it’s no real tragedy

In a dark room, they’re rubbing photographs
I decided to kiss you but it felt like a downer
Since you left in a hurry and didn’t speak for a week
Then you finally called and said that which you need

It’s not quite quite what I expected from you
I never thought that you even even liked me
But it was just a little kiss, little kiss, little kiss
Now I’m ready for more, we made out on the pier

And the sewage the sewage drag you straight to my heart
At least three years ago when I arrivedt from India
Wearing Morrison clothes you’re the first thing I noticed
You’re the pearl in my heart, the golden seashell in my dreams

Oh in the summer nights dancing in the gay clubs
All the magic was brewing, we slept late every day
Oh I, I want to tell you Juliet
You’re the pearl in my heart, the golden seashell in my dreams

Oh the days when I didn’t feel obscene
Making prank calls to China and slow dance radio station
Got your hands on my arms and my hands on your hips
Calling all the stations to request another doo-wop

Oh radio DJs play my song
All day long I want to sing along
Come on radio DJs play my song
All day long I want to sing along
Come on

She said it’s not quite what I expected from you
I never thought that you even even liked me
But it was just a little kiss, little kiss, little kiss
And I’m ready for more we made out on the pier

And the sewage the sewage drag you straight to my heart
At least three years ago when I arrived from India
Wearing Morrison clothes you’re the first thing I noticed
You’re the pearl in my heart, the golden seashell in my dreams

Oh radio DJs play my song
All day long I want to sing along
Come on radio DJs play my song
All day long I want to sing along
Come on

Gregory Pepper and his Problems – 7ths and 3rds

Chris — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:24:55 +0000

Today’s song is coming in from the Guelph-based musician/visual artist Gregory Pepper, and his musical project “Gregory Pepper and his Problems”. 7ths and 3rds can be found on Pepper’s 3rd album “With Trumpets Flaring”, released in June of this year via the Canadian independent label Fake Four Inc. This relationship marks a milestone for Pepper, as his first two albums were self-released over the internet; I imagine the title of the album is cheekily referencing this label signing. For more from Gregory Pepper, his problems, and the new album, check out his MySpace here.

Here’s a noose and there’s the tile
Keep ‘em cord once in a while
Keep carbon copies kept inside of files

Goddamn Frankenstein eagle
Quick I sequence the genome
Root 5th, root 5th, root 5th, root 5th, 3rd
7ths and 3rds
My ? they work?

So I gave up on pop music
Band went in separate ways
I guess that you called it death, rockstar fantasy
It was only a phase

Say what’s he gonna practice now
Melancholy or malaise
Fonzie got to the jump, but his bike caught the lip
Crashed and went up in flames, broke his neck and he died
So we mourn every days

My girl wants to party all the time
Party all the time
Party all the time

My girl wants to party all the time
All the time
Party all the time

The Wooden Sky – Darker Streets Than Mine

Chris — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:31:09 +0000

Today’s song is another from the Toronto indie-rock act The Wooden Sky. Unlike the last song I posted from the band, Darker Streets Than Mine can be heard on the band’s debut LP “When Lost at Sea”, released in January of 2007. Both albums from the band have been released via the Canadian independent label Black Box Music, whose lineup includes other notable Canadian artists Classified and Shad. In a very cool move, the band recorded a documentary while on their “Bedrooms and Backstreets” tour; “The Wooden Sky -- A Documentary In Pieces”, directed by Scott Cudmore, can be viewed here.

There are ghosts that walk the streets of this town
And a lot of folks have been dying just to keep them around
I ain’t lost and I sure as hell ain’t found
By the looks of things it might just rain all night
And we’ll be stuck here with no bottles just trying to survive
Using fishing wire to build a paper kite
Dodging power lines just fending off the night

So I got up and I got drunk
And then I got down on my luck
Seems ever since you left me
I’ve been swinging from a tree high above
Where I’ve been looking down on love
It’s been a long time since we talked but I ain’t changed
And as much as I ain’t changed I’m not the same

So we talked a while and never mentioned our religions
I never told her how her god has got me down
How the word just ain’t been something that I’ve found
By the looks of things it might just rain all night
And if we’re stuck here with no bottles
Then we might as well get high
Using razor blades to cut out both our eyes
So when the morning comes we still won’t see the light

Reviews: Classified