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Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Cold Snap Vancouver's going to be -17C tomorrow. In November. That's ridiculous! In honour of our city's latest bout with Mr. Freeze, I'm going to post some tangentially-related songs about, well, cold and snow and stuff. I couldn't find my copy of Weeping Tile's "Cold Snap," so I guess these would have to do for now.
Download: - Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews - Baby It's Cold Outside
Download: - Laura Veirs - Snow Camping
Download: - Smoosh - It's Cold
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:45 AM
Saturday, November 25, 2006
In Da Club Guess who got one of these?
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:19 AM
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Sweet Sally Molassy, Like a Donkey Eating Waffles 
Oh come on. Like you don't just know I was going to totally dig Sally Shapiro. If you read Pitchfork regularly -- which, since you're reading this blog, is probably true for most of you -- her name should be at least recognizable. The 'Fork's been going gaga over her for the past few weeks, much like how they went crazy over Annie all those months ago.
Comparisons to the Blonde Bombshell from Bergen are inescapable. Scandinavian origin: check. Cool, DJ-influenced electro-pop sound: check. Deliciously airy, slightly-accented vocals: check. Side-by-side with Annie, I'd say Disco Sally's sound is more clubby and less all-out-sugar-poppy. Like compatriot José González, her name doesn't immediately advertise her Swedishness. Her sound, though, definitely does; even her vocals sound like they belonged to an unpolished Nina Persson, a fellow Swede. I'm not holding my breath for her to come perform here -- she's too shy to even sing in front of her producer, let alone a room full of fawning music geeks. For now, her recorded music will do.
Download: Sally Shapiro - I'll Be By Your Side
Download: Sally Shapiro - I Know
Download: Sally Shapiro - Anorak Christmas
Reasons why I didn't go to Theresa Sokyrka tonight:
- I'm dead tired. I got 5.5 hours of sleep last night, which was by far the most I've had all week. I believe I'm averaging less than 5 in said week.
- If she were the real deal, she'd battle back from what was probably a lightly-attended show tonight. If that were the case, I could just see her next time -- when her promoter figures out the right size of room to book (i.e. Media Club-esque)
- Work
Oh, such is life.
NP: Sally Shapiro - I'll Be By Your Side (Rude 66 808 remix)
posted by Hanson |
12:49 AM
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Only In Dreams Death Cab karaoke? Oh, please let Fantacity get one of these!
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:34 AM
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Decemberists Shows Postponed From the Decemberists messageboard:
Hello -
I'm sorry to say that the Decemberists have canceled their 11/18 & 11/19 Vancouver shows due to Colin's illness. He's been put on vocal rest to prevent permanent injury to his vocal chords. We hope to reschedule the shows during December and will let you know as soon as we've found suitable dates.
No official word yet on how refunds will be handled, but I'm guessing tickets will be honored at the rescheduled shows or you should be able to visit the Commodore box office for refunds.
Dawn the Manager
So, no Decemberists this weekend for Vancouverites. According to Ticketmaster, the shows have been rescheduled for December 13th and 14th.
For no good reason, I blame Chris Ott for this. It kind of blows, especially for my two friends who came into town just for the show. (Well one came for other reasons too.) Apparently, Colin is sick and visibly struggling at recent shows -- word from the messageboard said that Colorado gig was shortened to six songs, and last night's Seattle show was uncharacteristically devoid of witty banter. As much as it sucks for us, it probably sucks more for Colin and the band. Lets hope he has a speedy recovery!
Edit:
More from the messageboard. This time, from sickboy Meloy himself and Chris Funk:
Hey All,
We're terribly terribly terribly sorry we had to postpone the Vancouver shows. Again, they are not cancelled, merely postponed for the 13th and 14th of December. All current tickets will be honored on the new dates.
I got hit by a pretty nasty bronchial infection in the last week of the tour and while I was able to limp through a few shows, it was getting to a point that my vocal chords were becoming pretty bent out of shape, literally. I didn't want to risk either permament damage or at least another vocally half-assed show.
Please accept our most sincere apology for this. We hate having to postpone shows. We're sorry for any inconvenience this might have created.
Colin
From Chris:
Hi Everyone,
Just another apology from the band here. We are really sorry that some of you traveled to see the show, of course we know people are traveling to see us. What would you like us to do? I think the suggestion was to "at least show up"? (!) Show up and do what, play a concert with out a lead singer?
We were taking the last few shows day by day, trying to play as many as possible as well as making judgment calls as early as possible. Canceling these shows was inevitable, the voice was gone, what don't you understand about that? How do you expect us to perform without a singer?
This situation is way, way more frustrating for us, we came home with our tails between our legs having played what we feel was a sub-par show in Seattle. Seriously, it was an awful end to a tour.
We love playing for you all, love playing this music and when it's not right, it's just the worst thing in the world.
We booked new shows the second we canceled them. I don't know what else we could have done.
Anyway, I just wanted to reach out on behalf of everyone again and let you folks that were coming to the show know that we are sorry for this.
I hope you all can make these shows still, we LOVE coming up there!
-Chris
There was another post on the board, which I won't repeat, from an irate "fan" who got crazy-pissed at the postponement. This person apparently went through a lot of shit and travelled a long way to "this stinking metropolis" to see the show. His/her disappointment is understandable, but blaming the band for not toughing it out was uncalled for. Do you think they /want/ to not play? If you want to read his/her diatribe, go here. [registration required]
Another fan added:
Hey Vancouver... be glad it's postponed. I just saw the Seattle show and it wasn't fun. They did their music and left. Colin was visibly upset at his voice.
Wish him well, and enjoy a better show. It's win/win for everyone.
And now you're all caught up.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:15 PM
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Oh Man! 
So, buried at the end of last night's post was Sarah Slean's show here next month. I'm super excited, of course. The Slean, along with a handful of others, survived from my high-school/early-university days of (pretty much) only listening to chick-pop. That my love for her hasn't waned through the years is surprising, as there have been quite a few drop offs from those days. In fact, she has now displaced another Sarah as my favourite Canadian singer-songwriter. Mostly, this is due to her evolution as an artist. Whereas the "other" Sarah has done pretty much the same thing over and over again for the past decade, the Slean grew steadily. From the performance aspect of her live shows to her arrangement and songwriting, she has just got better and better. I believe people can grow, to better and improve themselves. Sarah Slean is a shining example of that belief.
To celebrate the coming of the Slean, here are a few oldies/rarities. I have a lot more where these came from, even though I lost quite a few as I iTunes-ized my MP3 collection, thereby accidentally renaming files that weren't properly ID3-tagged. Blast. While the quality isn't great -- most of these were "taped" back when even the MiniDisc wasn't readily available here in North America -- most of these are nevertheless very "interesting." Have a listen if you haven't done so before.
Download: Sarah Slean - Julia (Our Lady Peace cover)
Download: Sarah Slean - Rock Star (original, circa 1997)
Download: Sarah Slean - Butterfly (Weezer cover)
Download: Sarah Slean - Lilac Wine (Jeff Buckley cover)
NP: Sarah Slean - Ogoni Star
posted by Hanson |
12:12 AM
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Waiting the Weeks Away So I've made a decision: I won't listen to Wincing the Night Away until it's been officially released. No, I haven't done an about-face on downloading leaks, but with so many albums on my to-listen backlog, do I really need to let a band cut the queue, even if it's the might Shins? It's been a while since I've salivated, panted at the thought of an album release. To wait until the day it comes out, and to listen to a new record front to back after frantically ripping it open, I haven't done that in ages. And I miss it.
To get my Shins fix, I bought the first single from the record, "Phantom Limb," off iTunes today. Good stuff. I especially dig the woo-ah-woo part in the middle. January 23rd, 2007: I can't wait! In the meantime, here's the video for "Saint Simon," one of my favourite songs off their last release, "Chutes Too Narrow." Enjoy!
One more thing! Sarah Slean's at the Stanley Theatre on Monday, Dec. 18th. Tickets go on sale this Friday. SLEEEEEEEAN!
NP: The Shins - Saint Simon
posted by Hanson |
12:03 AM
Friday, November 10, 2006
High Five For the first time in my life, I literally laughed so hard, it hurt. Borat. Wrestling. I knew it was coming, but I was not prepared for how absolutely over the top it would be. The movie, overall, was nice -- that scene, though, is the craziest, funniest shit you'd see all year. If you don't mind seeing hairy flesh, that is.
Picked up a bunch of new records after the movie tonight too. The much coveted new Mindy Smith, Long Island Shores, is in my possession, along with Sarah Slean's live album (i.e. Orphan Music, the new Voxtrot EP (i.e. Your Biggest Fan, and the can't-find-anywhere Shout Out Out Out Out LP (i.e. Not Saying / Just Saying, among others (i.e. Tokyo Police Club's A Lesson In Crime EP and Bright Eyes' rarities collection). Yay music stuff.
NP: Huge Manatease - Sasquatch
posted by Hanson |
1:03 AM
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Bling It On If you missed My Brightest Diamond's incredible opening set for Sufjan last month, here's your chance again: Shara and band will be at the St. James Hall with DeVotchKa on Monday, Dec 11th.
In other, less buzz-worthy show news, Theresa Sokyrka will be at the Red Room on Wednesday, Nov. 22th. Gee. Methinks she has bitten off more than she could chew since most of her teenage Canadian Idol fans won't be able to go. The Railway Club. That's where this show should've been. Oh well. The 50 or so people and I who will be there will enjoy ourselves, and maybe even hear a fuck or two from this bespectacled Saskatchewanian.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:35 AM
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Catastrophe Breaks Us Apart Britderline broke up. Rainer Maria broke up. And the Lovely Feathers are on the verge of breaking up (seeing that one of their lead singers isn't touring with the rest of the band because of med school). Oh, the carnage. At least we still have Joementum, even if the Democrats don't.
Loving right now: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. When I have more time, I'll post more about them. Their record, The Dust of Retreat, is super-duper.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
11:56 PM
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Weekend, Very Nice Watford notches its first win of the season, depsite losing leading scorer Marlon King for the rest of the year. United thrashes Pompey 3-0 at Old Trafford. Borat makes over 9m on Friday in only 800ish theatres. Yup, the weekend is starting off nicely. And it should end nicely too, with The Lovely Feathers' show at the Media Club. Now, if only everything in the middle would fall into place...
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
3:25 PM
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