I was recently reminded of another overlooked album of 2006: Ray Davies' Other People's Lives. It received favourable reviews upon release, was hyped for about two weeks, then disappeared off the face of the earth. I thought it was a strong showing from one of the best living songwriters; meaning it's a damn good album. He'll probably never recreate the excitement of the Kinks' most fruitful period 1966–1972—how could he? Who can?!—and it's unfair to judge his new record by that standard. This is still about a billion times better than most of the other shite out there.



•Ray Davies: Over My Head (MP3)
•Ray Davies: Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) (MP3)

Ray Davies home myspace kinks

"... brought down to a pile of rubble. And this nearing one of the holiest days of the year. Meanwhile, in the occupied territory known as 'Canada,' two further rebel groups were fighting over another piece of real estate: the song title 'Shine a Light.' Originally claimed by the more liberal Southern churches, it was occupied in 1972 when The Rolling Stones staged a coup d'etat. In 2005, however, bands of desperate, bloodthirsty youth overtook the territory, and its ownership remains in dispute. Which will emerge victorious is anybody's guess. Listen for yourself. For Aubade News, I'm Stack o' Lee wishing you all a little more light this Solstice."

•The Constantines: Shine a Light (MP3)
•Wolf Parade: Shine a Light (MP3)

The Constantines home myspace Radio 3
Wolf Parade home myspace Radio 3

This fantastic TVOTR show (on Minnesota Public Radio, no less) comes courtesy of B(oot)log, but his links are no longer active. I'm here to give this show a second life on your iPod (the MPR stream is great if you sit at a desk all day, but unfortunately those of us with hammers in our hands don't have the luxury).

(Side note: I'm lucky as hell I can tote an iPod to work, actually—most of the jobsites I've been on won't allow them, but I've been on some cushy ones lately.)



•TVOMPR (Three songs and two interview snippets as a StuffIt file. Please let me know, windows users, if you can't unzip this.)

•(edit: apparently Windows users can't unzip. Here, then, are the 3 songs. The interviews aren't that fascinating anyhow.)
>Young Liars
>Dry Drunk Emperor
>Wash the Day Away

•Buy TVOTR's EPs and first album from eMusic.

•TVOTR dot com

Lay-deez! and! Gemmin!

In THIS cohnah, weighing a dolla-buck-fiddy and a half, from Warshington, D.C., The Cassettes!

And in THIS cohnah, resteen on theah laurels, thee reigning blubbaweight chamPEENS of the woild, The Rolling Stones!

Each contendah has a song yclept "Sweet Virginny," and tonight! For one night only! Theah songs will face off head-to-head and toe-to-toe! One will emerge from the fray bloodied and bruised but victorious, and the othah! Will! Perish!

•The Cassettes: Sweet Virginia (MP3)
•The Rolling Stones: Sweet Virginia (MP3)

Aw, gee, I'd like to post a "Best of 2006" album list but the albums I discovered in 2006 go all over back to the '60s (it was a very modern year for me). I got an iPod in September, which kicked off a furious round of scouring the MP3blogs for the latest tasties, and I'm still playing catch-up. So I'm going to put in only one plug, for a very overlooked and very worthy album: Jay Crocker's Melodies from the Outskirts.  It's an absolutely killer piece of work, solid on the songwriting and a mammoth in performance: HORNS GALORE.



It's not rock, it's not jazz. It's not traditional anything. And it sure as hell ain't "chamber pop." It sounds like the bastard union of a menage a trois between Ron Sexsmith, Allan Toussaint, and The James Gang. Sometimes torchy, sometimes funky, sometimes plain off-the-frickin'-wall, it's the kind of record that'll leave you shaking your head saying where did this kid come from, and why haven't I heard of him?

Check out free downloads at Jay's home site. Buy the CD. Thrill! Thrill! Thrill!
 

The new issue of Canadian Notes and Queries is on shelves now. The transfer of ownership from the Porcupine's Quill to Biblioasis is obvious from the get-go: gone are the Antique Zephyr Laid pages and self-wraps; there is a colour on the cover; (the proofreading, never exemplary, has gone downhill); and the damn thing has a spine.

Don't you know, dammit? This was the best magazine in Canada. Under new ownership, it still is. John Metcalf is still at the editorial helm, and the new issue flaunts a gratifying variety of articles ranging from Carmine Starnino's considered yet provocative review of the Mercury Press's Shift and Switch anthology of avant-garde poetry (and a plodding yet well meaning rebuttal) to a rambling overview of running the Porcupine's Quill by the redoubtable Tim Inkster.

Cheap at $7.50. Buy the goddamn thing; treat yourself to a treat, and make the Aesthetic Underground very happy.

"He's an awful, awful man."
"Yes, but he's a very good writer."

What happened to all the smart, young, committed, left-leaning, creative, non-militaristic Americans that were going to move to Canada if Bush was elected in '04? Where are they?

The previous generation of same who moved here during the Vietnam era were about the best thing ever to happen to Canadian culture—a shot in the arm, anyway.

Come on, kids! We're still waiting...

Click here.

It would make you laugh, if it didn't make you wanna cry.

"The horse racing industry received $45 million from the [Alberta] provincial government in the April budget, while the [Alberta Foundation for the Arts] received $32.5 million."

—Amy Steele, FFWD Weekly

(link to full article to come; the online edition of FFWD is a week behind the print edition.)

(edit: bizarrely, the April 27 edition of FFWD never got archived online. If I was of a more paranoid bent I'd see a conspiracy.)