Playlist for December 23rd, 2009

Hey everyone, welcome to the Christmas eve-eve edition of Pants! Pants! Pants!

Despite our close proximity to the big day, we're going to refrain from actually playing too many Christmas songs. Just a few gems that I came across in the course of putting together today's show.

the Playlist:

Young Man - Playtime [iguessimfloating]

In-Flight Safety - Fairytale of New York (feat. Jenn Grant)

The Very Sexuals - Finn

Dobré - The Melody Is A Stranger [MAP]

Deep Dark Woods - Sweet Maggie

Grizzly Bear - Easier

Le Loup - Neahkahnie [iguessimfloating]

Frightened Rabbit - Snake

Great Bloomers - Find My Way

The Dudes - Don't Diss Christmas

The Property Line - This Is My House

Cousins - Nans [herohill]

Said The Whale - The Weight Of The Season

Andrew Vincent - I Heard There Is No Sun

Outdoor Miners - Melony

Broken Bells - The High Road [cavacool]

Th Miserable Rich - Over & Over (Hot Chip Cover)

---

Thanks to Matthew for putting the playlist together this week. My only contribution is this amazing video by Tommy Sparks. It has more eye and nipple lazers than is safe, but it's a great song.
-Ishmael

Playlist for December 16th, 2009

Ahhhh, final exams! On the other hand, pizza is very good — and cheap if you go to Aromas on Wednesdays. (To Aromas: consider sponsoring our show.)

The playlist:

Patrick Watson - Beijing
Basia Bulat - Gold Rush [yellowstereo]
Laura Veirs - July Flame
Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land [awmusic]
Vampire Weekend - Horchata
Dojo Workhorse - I Got Life [herohill]
Jason Collett - Love Is A Dirty Word
Jukebox the Ghost - Victoria
Chad Vangaalen - Stuffed Animal
Coconut Records - Nighttiming
Cursed Arrows - Run Forever
Oh No Forest Fires - Robin The Boy Wonders [chromewaves]
The National - Looking For Astronauts
The Human Soundtrack - All Those Staring People
Novels - This Would Be the First Time

Playlist for Dec 9, 2009

The photo above shows that CFCR listeners aren't just artsy-fartsy types. They still care about the important things in life — like boobies. (Actually, I'm pretty sure the sticker is in support of breast cancer treatment, or something.) Also, If you have time, be sure to check out Ca Va Cool for their top songs of the decade this week. Here's this week's show.

Playlist:
The Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory [herohill]
Ruth Minnikin and Her Bandwagon - Four Churches II
Spoon - Written in Reverse [cavacool]
Make Your Exit - Smokes and Lint
The Centre Piece - Ultra Neon Gold [download album]
Hey Rosetta! - I've Been Asleep For A Long, Long Time
Final Fantasy - Lewis Takes Action [download here]
The Be Good Tanyas - Waiting Around to Die
White Antelope Silver Dagger
Brian Borcherdt - Torches [download album]
Cataldo - Black and Milds [iguessimfloating]
Marina and the Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot
Cuban Assassins - Money
Dog Day - Synastry
Myles Beck and the Fuzz - The Healing Power
York Redoubt - I Said Slightly [herohill]
The Fucking Eagles - (You Better Watch Your) Happy Home
The Heavy - How you like me now [below]

Playlist for December 2nd, 2009 - 3 HOUR CLUSTERCUSS EDITION

Screw third verse. Those guys have been putting on a good radio show for far too long. It's time for us to mess up the 9-10:30 slot in preparation for the horrible job we normally do. Sorry rap fans, we've got nothing for you, but if you check a few weeks back we posted a delightful song about Taco Bell that I think you'll really like. The playlist...

Miracle Fortress - Next Train

Octoberman - Run From Safety

Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You

The Lovely Feathers - Frantic

Maybe Smith - Open War

Le Tigre - Deceptacon

Hot Hot Heat - Talk To Me, Dance With Me

Buck 65 - Indestructible Sam

Deep Dark Woods - Downtown

Wolf Parade - Language City

Man Man - Ice Dogs

STARS - Set Yourself On Fire

Broken Social Scene - Cause= Time

Feist - I Feel It All

The Magnetic Fields - The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side

Page France - Here's A Telephone

Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click

Jens Lekman - The Opposite of Hallelujah

Feist - Mushaboom

Shotgun Jimmie - Bedhead

Holy shit this is the longest show. Quick, more kittens!

Back to it...

Arms - Whirring

The Strokes - Soma

Modest Mouse - Dance Hall

Man Man - Whalebones

The Sadies - Anna Leigh

The Terrordactyls - Devices

Shotgun & Jaybird - Secret

Do Make Say Think - In Mind

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - In This Home On Ice

Julie Doiron - Crumble

Frightened Rabbit - Last Tango In Brooklyn

Franz Ferdinand - Eleanor Put You Boots Back On

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal

Andrew Bird - Imitosis

The Coathangers - Shut The Fuck Up

Wolf Parade - Shine A Light

Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls

Plants and Animals - Feedback in the Field

That's it everyone. Have fun doing something other than listening to our show, because you're not going to be doing any of that for at least a week.

p.s. Check this out. Thanks to Patrick Bulas

Playlist for Nov 25, 2009

Hey everyone. Before we get to the playlist, a quick word. If you like Maye Smith, you can vote for his song "You Would Never Survive the Winters in This Province" as the Most Canadian Song of the year over at CBC Radio 3. Vote now!

Playlist:
The Swindlers - November First
Pants Yell - Cold Hands
Real Estate - Beach Comber [yellowstereo]
Think About Life - Sweet Sixteen
Fyfe Dangerfield - When You Walk In The Room [download here]
You Say Party! We Say Die! - Monster
Sunparlour Players - Build It Up
Surfer Blood - Take it Easy [iguessimfloating]
Maybe Smith - You Would Never Survive the Winters in This Province [vote for this song on CBCRadio3]
Bird & Bear - Old Habit
Milk & Rectangles - Slander Debunked [i♥music]
Wolf Parade - Soldier's Grin
We All Have Hooks for Hands - Made Up of Tiny Lights [yellowstereo]
Anders Ponders - The Discus Incident
Jookabox - You Cried Me

Playlist for November 18th, 2009

I have returned to the show and as a penalty for my two week absence, Ishmael has put me on music duty. So I guess I'm saying that I'm sorry the show is so awful. Jetsetting and getting behind on my school work is making me a useless lump. The first song is great though.

Seriously, I'm posting that one myself just to make sure that the link doesn't expire.

The playlist...

Das Racist - Combination Piza Hut and Taco Bell (remix by Wallpaper) [mp3]
Midnight Masses - Preacher's Son
Daniel, Julie & Fred - Runner [herohill]
The Chairs - Polly
Little Tybee - Building a Bomb [yellowstereo]
Mark Berube - Flowers on the Stones
The Wooden Sky - Bit Part
Cursed Arrows - Run Forever
Ava Luna - Clips
CFCF - How Bizarre (OMC cover) [herohill]
A Grave With No Name - Open Water
Coeur de Pirate & Le Matos - Comme des Enfants (remix)
Theoretical Girl - Rivals [chromewaves]
A History Of - Action in the North Atlantic
Pet Lions - Roman History
Julian Casablancas - 4 Chords of the Apocalypse

Playlist for Nov 11, 2009

Hello all. I'm flying solo again this week. Last week Matthew had to see Said the Whale perform at Amigos and this week his excuse is even lamer. He had to fly to Vancouver to see his girlfriend. Pfft.

I thought the playlist had a pretty heavy streak of rock'n'roll (hence the guitar photo) but, upon listening again, I think there's as much pop in there as ever. Awesome!

Playlist:
Ohbijou - Black Ice
Paper Lions - Travelling
Hot Panda - Chinatown Bun
Midlake - Head Home [myspace]
The Sorrys - Achievement Races
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
Octoberman - The Backlash
Ultimate Power Duo - Hey! Oh!
Women - Group Transport Hall
Junior Boys - Dull to Pause
Throw Me The Statue - Ship
Cursed Arrows - Run Forever
Arkells - Heart of the City
Gregory Pepper and His Problems - Motherfucker [myspace]
Gregory Pepper and His Problems - Drop the Plot [cbcR3]

Playlist for Nov 4, 2009

This week, I'm flying solo! I even have my solo moustache on.

Matthew just had to go see Said the Whale (playing at Amigos with Hannah Georgas). Despite — or maybe because of — his absence, there was still a lot of great music on the show. Special thanks to The Yellow Stereo, which does a roundup of the best new releases each week. It's very helpful.

The Playlist:
Said the Whale - The Gift of a Black Heart
The Danks - Treaty Connector
Dragonette - Pick Up The Phone

Tegan and Sara - Hell [ca va cool]

Elvis Perkins in Dearland - Slow Doomsday [yellowstereo]

CFCF - Monolith [yellowstereo]
Cold Cave - The Laurels of Erotomania [yellowstereo]

Heavy Get Go - Finding My Way [myspace]
Kings of Convenience - Peacetime Resistance

Jookabox - You Cried Me [yellowstereo]

Entire Cities - Dancing With My Brother

Of Montreal - Brush Brush Brush [yellowstereo]

fun. - All The Pretty Girls

King Khan & BBQ Show - Invisible Girl [yellowstereo]
Volcanoless in Canada - Mexican Circus [i♥music]

Florence & the Machine - Kiss With A Fist [yellowstereo]

Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension

Playlist for October 28th, 2009

Hey folks, we're back with another week of solid ass music. In stead of posting th eblog name beside the mp3s liek we normally do, I'm going to provide one link and a big shout out to i♥music, the best Canadian music blog ever, because they provided me with almost all of the music for the show this week. Thanks you.

The Playlist

Avec Pas D'Casque - L'amour à travers le linge

Sunparlour Players - Build It Up [mp3]

The Most Serene Republic - Four Humours

Brazilian Girls - Pussy

The Noisettes - Never Forget You

Faded Paper Figures - Logos

Magneta Lane - September Came

Minto - Tonight I Lay My Head [mp3]

The Ghost Is Dancing - Without Friends

ModernboysModerngirls - I Can Hardly Stand [mp3]

Cloud Control - Gold Canary

Said The Whale - Black Day In December

Little Girls - Thrills

Damien* - Confidants [mp3]

The Golden Dogs - Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Coconut Coolouts - (Please Don't Break Me Out Of) Party Jail [mp3]

The Coconut Coolouts song, Party Jail, comes courtesy of my friend Tannara, who should really stop withholding her awesome music from me.

Playlist for October 21st, 2009

If you missed the show this week, you might as well just go to HeroHill, one of our favourite music blogs, because we got almost half of the music from there anyway. Go on, skip the middleman. But if you want to check out what the other half of the show was, behold:

Playlist:

Hannah Georgas - The Deep End
Sprengjuhöllin - Tonight
Kings of Convenience - Boat Behind
Loch Lomond - Wax & Wire
Friendo - Counter/Time
Evening Hymns - Dead Deer
The Balconies - Serious Bedtime [i♥music]
Pony Up - The Truth About Cats and Dogs
Dinosaur Bones - Royalty
The Sorrys - Achievement Races [herohill]
YSP!WSD! - Laura Palmer's Prom
FM Belfast - Synthia
Nathan Lawr - Put Your Money [CBCR3]
Octoberman - The Backlash [CBCR3]
Cloud Control - Gold Canary
The Voluntary Butler Scheme - The Eiffel Tower & The BT Tower
Metric - Don't Think Twice, It's Alright [herohill]
Dan Mangan - Sold

---

By far, the most exciting release this week has to be the new Kings of Convenience album Declaration of Dependence. Here's the music video for "Boat Behind."

Playlist for Oct 14, 2009

Hello again. This week we went back into the depths of the Internet to bring you some music. We also featured some artists who will soon come through town: One Hundred Dollars, Said the Whale, Amy Millan, Dan Mangan and Will Currie.

Playlist:
Noah and the Whale - You Can Call Me Al
Amy Millan - I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Share Maybe Always
Sprengjuhöllin - Worry till Spring [chromewaves]
Erin McKeown - The Foxes
The Raveonettes - Last Dance
The Riff Randells - When He Looks at Me
The Danks - Die Young
Finn Riggins - Wake (Keep This Town Alive)
Fanfarlo - I'm A Pilot [yellowtereo]
Grant-Lee Phillips - It Ain't The Same Old Cold War, Harry
Acres and Acres - Money [herohill]
Dan Mangan - Road Regrets
Will Currie and the Country French - Push Pins
Mew - Introducing Palace Players
Rain Machine - Give Blood [chromewaves]
Said the Whale - False Creek Change [i♥music]
One Hundred Dollars - No Great Leap

Playlist for October 7th, 2009

This week we're returning to new content after our prolonged begging spree. Thanks a bunch to everyone who donated to our show, or any show during FM-Phasis this year. The station depends on its loyal listeners to stay alive and without those donations, Ishmael and I would be forced to just trade music with each other.

The playlist:
Giant Hand - I'm coming down from the mountains
Patrick Brealey - A little on the side
Hannah Georgas - The Deep End [i♥music]
Julie Doiron - Nice to come home
Golden Isles - You Look Good
Black Hat Brigade - Lost Boys [i♥music]
Heavy Get Go - Finding My Way [myspace]
Washington Social Club - Charlie the Russian
Oh No Forest Fires - Fighting Heidi
Leif Vollebekk - Don't Go To Klaksvik
Taken By Trees - My Boys [yellowstereo]
The Balconies - 300 Pages
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Failure
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Young Adult Friction
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - Know Better Learn Faster [yellowstereo]
The Depreciation Guild - Butterfly Kisses

Kind of a playlist, Sept 30, 2009

Hey everyone. It's the second week of our FM-Phasis push. We're still looking for pledges/donations so call us in studio tonight at 242-5002 or call during business hours in the next few days at 664-6678.

You can pledge $10 or more and you'll get to walk away with a bunch of free stuff when you pay. If you don't want any swag though and you still want to support us, click on the PayPal button on the right. Please.

Here are a few songs from tonight's Pants!Pants!Pants!

Songs:
Elliott Brood - Woodward Ave
Culture Reject - Inside the Cinema
The Burning Hell - Last Will and Testament

Thanks for listening, visiting the blog, and supporting CFCR in any other way you can. You are awesome.

Kind of a playlist, September 23, 2009

I don't know exactly what we will have played on the show tonight, since we will be taking requests and talking more than we usually do, so here are few songs that I will try to get to no matter what.

Entire Cities - Cop Song [mp3]

Pale Young Gentleman - Clap Your Hands [mp3]

The Burning Hell - Little Seagull [mp3]

And remember, if you would like to donate to community radio, just call into the station at any old time of day and the fine people manning the phones would be glad to take piles of money out of your generous hands. You don't even have to donate to us. A good way to show us how little you think of the show would be to call while we're on the air (242-5002) and donate to someone else's show. Every penny counts, and this way you can support local radio and give us a big fuck you at the same time.

Ishmael has also set up a Paypal button in the post just previous to this one, so if you're felling generous, but also don't give a rat's ass about getting free stuff in return, why not throw a couple bucks our way?

Give us money! Please.

Hello all. Normally we post the playlists here along with some MP3s for you to download. Today, however, we seek your help.

As you might know, CFCR is holding its annual fundraiser FM-Phasis and we are seeking donations.

If you want to get swag like gift certificates, t-shirts, CDs, comic books, etc. please call the station during business hours within the next two weeks and pledge any amount you want to our show Pants!Pants!Pants!
Remember, this is just a pledge and you don't have to pay immediately. Just call 664-6678 and tell them you like us enough to donate some cash later.

Any pledge over $10 gets you swag in return, but if you don't care about that or are too lazy to go down to the station, you can also donate to us over the Internet. (Click button below.)

This PayPal account was set up for the express purpose of fundraising. You can donate as little as a dollar and every last dime will go toward the station. Each show needs to raise hundreds of dollars in order for the station to run smoothly, so any amount is appreciated.

Please support Saskatoon's only decent radio station, CFCR.

And the winner is...

The Polaris Prize gala took place tonight. Matthew had predicted a win for Hey Rosetta! while I (Ishmael) predicted Elliott Brood. Turns out we were both wrong.

The winner was Fucked Up.

Matthew's finest - overkill makeup edition

This week, since I put the show together for the first time in months, I was actually able to put some songs on that I was really jazzed about. Not that I don't get jazzed about Ishmael's selections, they're just not mine to claim.

First off, I have a song from the compilation album of Clash covers, The Sandinista Project. I stumbled upon the album by happenstance, luckily catching it in the one day window where it was free to download, and have spent the time between then and now weeding out the good from the bad.There are 37 tracks on the album by 37 different bands, including the noteworthy version of The Crooked Beat, covered by Wreckless Eric. The stand out best contribution, however, belongs to Stew, the New York funk/soul/jazz/experimental electronica outfit.
Their version of Broadway is so different from the source material that it takes off in a completely different direction. And that's the great thing about a good cover, it's not a faultless reproduction of the original, it's supposed to be a fun interpretation. Stew does this very well.


Stew
The Sandinista Project
Broadway [mp3]

Next up we have another cover. This time from a Canadian group, Metric, and a cover of a Bob Dylan song. Unlike Broadway, this version of Don't Think Twice It's Alright doesn't stray too far from the original. The tempo is nearly identical, but that's not why it's getting a post here.
The reason is that this song reminds you just how good Emily Haines' voice is. It's easy to overlook when you're distracted by Metric's typical powerpop noise and Haines' depressing solo music, but this song is sung with such simple joy. With only a guitar to accompany her, Haines' voice really comes through and that's why the song deserves more exposure.

Metric
Session recording
Don't Think Twice It's Alright (Bob Dylan Cover) [mp3]

Finally I'm going to give to you the standout best song to appear on the show this week. I hope I Become a Ghost is a song that I got from the ever-dejected John Campbell's blog, which is hilarious and full of good stuff.
The song, ably performed by L.A.s The Deadly Syndrome, is much more akin to the type of thing I normally post on this blog — if I would ever actually posted to this blog. And it's also the one that I have the least to say about. It's a wonderful rock tune. Driving vocals, adorable themes and just a hint of piany music. Enjoy.


The Deadly Syndrome
The Ortolan
I Hope I Become A Ghost [mp3]

Playlist for September 16th

We're back for another week of quality radio. This week I (Matthew) have put the show together which is a rare occurence so I shall try not to eff it up too badly.

Playlist

Said the Whale - Upset Her

The Deep Dark Woods - Banks of the Leopold Canal [hearya.com]

Metric - Don't Think Twice It's Alright

Joel Plaskett - You Let Me Down
Wreckless Eric - The Crooked Beat

The Mountain & The Trees - Up & Down

Julie Fader - Flights [herohill]

The 1900's - Age of Metals

Jack & Jeffery Lewis - Anxiety Attack

The Regards - Horse Turns Blue [i ♥ music]

Racoon Bandit - Hat

Chad VanGaalen - I Wish I Was A Dog

The Deadly Syndrome - I Hope I Become A Ghost

So Cow - Casablanca

Minto - New Bones [herohill]

Bibio - Jealous of Roses

Stew - Broadway

Playlist for Sept 9, 2009

After yet another lapse, we are back and blogging. This week's playlist featured a great song by Kings of Convenience who are working on a new album. Make sure to check them out.

Playlist:
Maclean - When I Saw Her Twirl
Fleet Foxes - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer
Vandaveer - Turpentine
The Wooden Sky - Something Hiding for Us in the Night [myspace]
The Cave Singers - At the Cut
Jack Penate - Tonight's Today
Young Buffalo - Catapilah [igif]
Secret Broadcast - I Am Sound
Bahamas - Already Yours [link]
The Paper Cranes - Black Centipedes
The Wheat Pool - This Is It
Sea Wolf - Wicked Blood [igif]
Kings of Convenience - Mrs. Cold [yellowstereo]
The Magic - No Sound
Immaculate Machine - Sound The Alarms
Datarock - True Stories

Playlist for Aug 26, 2009

This week, we're having a good ol' fashioned dance party! Whooo! Well, there's some slow ones in there as well but it's mostly a dance playlist. Happy Women's Equality Day!

Playlist:
Sally Shapiro - Dying in Africa [yellowstereo]
Pony Up - A Crutch or a Cradle
Islands - No You Don't [mysace]
Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory [yellowstereo]
Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor
Numero# - Tonton Klaxonne
La Patere Rose - La Marelle [myspace]
The Framework - Always Left Behind [herohill]
Nutrition on Tape - Fire Dog Wax Apple
Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
Hot Panda - It's Worth Eight Dollars
Of Montreal - Id Engager
Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook
Little Dragon - Looking Glass
Shout Out Out Out Out - Self-Loathing Rulz
Copacabana Club - Just Do It [iguessimfloating]
Rod Stewart - Young Turks

Playlist for Aug 12, 2009

Greetings. Last week we had some technical difficulties and couldn't post the playlist but we will make up for that this week. (By the way, is it weird that most spellcheckers still flag the word playlist?)

Playlist:
Kate Maki - White Noise [myspace]
Jane Vain and the Dark Matter - Moving Notes
Two Hours Traffic - Territory [web]
The Hospital Bombers - The Devil's Music
Hot Panda - Gold Star Swimmer
Language-Arts - Tuck It In
The Fiery Furnaces - The End is Near [yellowstereo]
Deastro - Shield Whip [full EP here]
Monogold - Traps/Offerings [iguessimfloating]
The Most Serene Republic - Heavens to Purgatory [yellowstereo]
Immaculate Machine - Primary Colours [i♥music]
The Rurual Alberta Advantage - Rush Apart
Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You
Patrick Brealey - I Don't Want to Hear Another Love Song [herohill]
Monogrenade - Les collines d'Ambord
The Balconies - Ghost Fever
The Black Hat Brigade - Castlevania
Zeus - Marching Through Your Head [pastaprima]
Phoenix - Lisztomania [myspace]


— —
Remember to check the blogs that we scour for music. The sidebar includes links to our favourites.

Playlist for July 29, 2009

I went to the Amigos Cantina myspace today and — hot damn! — there are some good shows coming up, including the ones for CFCR's annual fundraiser FM-Phasis.
A couple of the bands coming to Amigos were featured in this week's show. Here's this week's track order and a few useful links.

Playlist:
Iron & Wine - Peace Beneath the City
They Shoot Horses Don't They - Apple
Los Campesinos! - It Started With A Mixx
Dinosaur Jr - I Want You To Know
The Dodos - Fables
Apostle of Hustle - Blackberry
Fun - Be Calm
The Crepes - What Else?
The Avett Brothers - Laundry Room
Tom Fun Orchestra - Throw Me To The Rats
Timber Timbre - Demon Host [cbcR3]
Dan Mangan - Road Regrets
Immaculate Machine - Sound the Alarms
Volcanoless in Canada - Mexican Circus
Burn Planetarium - Death Death Death
Woolfy - Odyssey

Playlist for July 15th, 2009 - SOCAN special

Welcome back. This week we're playing old favourites because it's been brought to our attention that SOCAN is paying out. Check out the links to the blogs hosting these songs. They do good work.

The playlist is as follows...

The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt This Place

Andrew Vincent - Going Out Tonight [herohill]

Sunparlour Players - Battle of '77

Entire Cities - Coffee

The Burning Hell - Little Seagull

Kathleen Edwards - In State

The Deep Dark Woods - Downtown

Howie Beck - Don't Put Your Arms Around Me No More

Boxer The Horse - Rock'n'Roll Band

Said The Whale - Love Is Art

Rah Rah - Tentacles [wolves]

Hooded Fang - Land of Giants

Gonzales - Working Together

Winter Gloves - Let Me Drive [sxsw]

Winter Mitts - DANS

The Bicycles - Roland [wolves]

Sleepless Nights - Allyson Got Robbed

The Lovely Feathers - In The Valley

Forest City Lovers - At The Border

YSP!WSD! - Machine Legs [myspace]

Matthew's Finest, July 8th, 2009 - Polaris Pix edition

This week we played a number of selections from albums, or bands, that have been placed on the Polaris short list. I first became aware of the award 3 years ago on a CBC Radio 3 podcast and I treated it like everything that Grant Lawrence puts in front of me, important, but annoying and dripping with irresponsible amounts of self congratulatory Candiana. And then I watched the Junos. Seeing the state of mainstream Canadian music makes you realize that indie music is almost, and in some cases more important and wonderful than even its sappiest proponents make it seem.

It's this exact same sentiment that I have for Hey, Rosetta!

When I first heard them they simply didn't get to me. I had heard from some very reliable sources that they were an absolutely fabulous band but it took me a long time to see it myself. For the show I listen to so much prospective music that it's hard to ever remember the good ones over the amazing ones. Probably one in ten songs I look at while compiling my playlist get lost in the mess that is my iTunes library. This was the case with Hey Rosetta! it took a live show and a serious examination of their album Into Your Lungs to fully appreciate the depth of their sound. They are a great fucking band and after a live show that left me more satisfied than 80% of my sexual experiences, I was completely won over. This St. John's group has a lot to offer and they are my absolute pick for the lofty Polaris Prize and it's cash reward.

Hey Rosetta

Into Your Lungs [buy it at amazon, zunior]

There's An Arc [mp3]

Playlist for July 8, 2009

Hey all! The Polaris Prize Shortlist just came out and it looks like a great year. Our picks are Elliott Brood's Mountain Meadows (Ishmael's pick) and Hey Rosetta's Into Your Lungs (Matthew's pick, though he actually wants Chand VanGaalen to win).
But since Polaris related themes are hardly original, we've avoided building an entire show around it. Instead, here's a Pants!Pants!Pants! playlist which is tastier, and less filling.

Playlist:
Rock Plaza Central - How Shall I To Heaven Aspire?
Bruce Peninsula - Steamroller [cavacool]
The Deep Dark Woods - The Sun Never Shines [myspace]
Said The Whale - My Government Heart
Hey Rosetta - There's An Arc
Rah Rah - Tentacles
Chad VanGaalen - Molten Light [myspace]
Elliott Brood - Woodward Ave
Eagles of Death Metal - Speaking in Tongues
The Lovely Feathers - Lowiza [free download]
The Burning Hell - When The World Ends [i♥music]
Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning [iguessimfloating]
Modernboys Moderngirls - Missmybabygirl
Broken Records - If The News Makes You Sad, Don't Watch It [yellowstereo]
Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game [iguessimfloating]
Arrah and the Ferns - Emo Philips

Pants Playlist for June 24, 2009

Another week, another show. Also, the Transformers sequel came out today. Let's all see how badly Michael Bay destroys a cherished childhood institution in this installment.

Playlist:
Wax Mannequin - End of Me [herohill]
The Gertrudes - The Gertrudes
The Burning Hell - The Berlin Conference
Think About Life - Johanna [herohill]
Bloodsport - Photos From My Last Trip to Salem
The Black Keys - So He Won't Break [web]
The Golden Dogs - Force of Nature
Ruth Minnikin - Nanny Jones
Elliott Brood - Miss You Now
The Builders and the Butchers - Barcelona [yellowstereo]
Illinois - Kid Catastrophe
Bruce Peninsula - Crabapples
Cassettes Won't Listen - Into the Hillside [yellowstereo]
Busdriver - Me - Time (With the Pulmonary Palimpset)
Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
Andrew Bird - See the Enemy
Spreepark - What Don't Eat You Whole [myspace]

Pants Playlist for June 17, 2009

After a long absence, I have decided to pitch into this "blog" thing Matthew's been running. After all, my name is attached to the blog and I need some quality control.
Here's this week's playlist, with links included. Please visit some of the blogs we link to.

Playlist
Modest Mouse - Autumn Beds
Carbon Dating Service - Time in Control
Wildlife - Sea Dreamer [i♥music]
TV Off - Car Is On Fire
Phoenix - 1901
Doctors & Dealers - Summertime Love [myspace]
The Billionaires - The End of Summer Song
Apostle of Hustle - Blackberry [wolves,hawks,kites]
Gregory Pepper - I Was A John
Elliott Brood - Write It All Down For You

The Rural Alberta Advantage - The Deathbridge in Lethbridge [web]

Coeur de Pirate - Corbeau

Hayden - Let's Break Up [i♥music]

The Unsettlers - Jerome

Still Life Still - 80s on TV

Parlovr - Hiccup! [myspace]

Dappled Cities - The Price

My Awesome Mixtape - Me & The Washing Machine [web]

Playlist for June 10th, 2009

Hey, we're back! for what is hopefully going to be a more frequent update schedule, and that means you can once again know what we are playing despite our mumbling incoherence. I can't speak for Ishmael's involvement, since he is lazy and unreliable, but I'll try to update more often.

This week we've got a pretty good show. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to write an angry letters to the CFCR brass about either. The playlist is as follows and you are only getting one link because hunting them down is a pain in my ass and it's 11 o'clock. Google them or check out hype machine.

The Golden Dogs - Saints At The Gates

The Avett Brothers - Paranoia in Bb Major

STARS - Midnight Coward

Aphid Ant Constructions - Rest Assured [mp3]

Regina Spektor - Folding Chair

Laura Barrett - Robot Ponies

Amy Milan - Skinny Boy

Josh Ritter - Blame It On The Tetons [mp3]

The Deep Dark Woods - River In The Pines

$100 - No Great Leap

Zeus - How Does It Feel

Fanfarlo - Harold T. Wilkins

The Wind Whistles - Turtle

Hooray For Earth - Take Care

Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

You Say Party! We Say Die! - Machine Legs

Ted Leo/Rx - Where Was My Brain?

Matthew's Finest - May 14th , 2009

This week (or month, or however long it's been since I last posted anything) I'm putting up two songs by bands or artists from Portland, Oregon. The city puts out massive amounts of music (Modest Mouse, the Decemberists, Everclear!) despite the fact that it's in Oregon, the Manitoba of the United States.

The first is by Grey Anne, formerly known as Per Se. The singer has a nice voice and a unique enough sounding background to lay it over that her songs don't get lost in the typical indie traps. The song is Riddle and it's vaguely activist lyrics are both challenging and entertaining.

Grey Anne [myspace]

Facts N Figurines [buy it here]

Riddle [mp3]

The next is a song from Eat Skull, a delightful, de-tuned band who I must say is much more my style. I can respect Grey Anne's artistry, but I love this raw, poorly produced sound. Calling it poorly produced might be a skosh unfair actually. The sound that they achieve is so obviously intentional that the production can't be a mistake and for that reason, the technical merits of the album should be celebrated just as much as those of any band with clear harmonies and wonderful sound quality. 

Eat Skull produces the kind of music that I, and I alone, enjoy immensely. Not being a musician myself, I don't think I appreciate the same things in music as most people I know (people who play instruments). I look for hooks, emotion and most of all, sincerity. When I am able to feel like a band is having as much fun playing their music as I am listening to it [Here, Here, Here, and Here(song 2)] despite its flaws, that's when i truly love them. I look forward to hearing more from these guys.

Eat Skull [myspace]

Wild and Inside [buy it here]

Stick To The Formula [mp3]

Matthew's Finest

*Important Note: This post was written over a week ago but i was unable to poste the songs due to techinical issues. I do try to be good to you people.

This week I'm going to give you a song that we didn't play on the show, that has nothing to do with our spring theme and that I just heard for the first time today. The song, two songs actually, are from a collective project headlined by Los Angeles emcee, N.A.S.A. His new album, The Spirit of Apollo is a showcase of a great many impressive talents. Among his collaborators are the lovely and sometimes annoying M.I.A., the staggeringly talented Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, and the deep-as-all-get-out vocal stylings of Chali 2na formerly of Jurassic 5. Also several lightweight music biz personalities like Method Man, Tom Waits, and Mr. David Byrne.

The album is an amazing hip-hop experience. I have been carrying it around in my bag afraid to open it lest my good opinion of N.A.S.A. be tarnished by a subpar album. All of my expectations were destroyed when the opening noted pf the first song transitioned into the vocals of Davd Byrne. David frekaing Byrne, the man so eccentric he needs his own criminal code. It's a brilliant record and there is not a single song on it that is disappointing to listen to.

These are the songs, love them like you would have to if they came out of your body.


N.A.S.A. [myspace]
The Spirit of Apollo [Buy it on Amazon]
The People Tree (Feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab & Z-Trip) [mp3]
Whatchadoin? (Feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold & Nick Zinner) [mp3

Anonymous post '09

Seeing as how this was our last show, I didn't feel right about not posting anything. 

Here is a song by The Stolen Minks.

The Stolen Minks [myspace]

Bring It [mp3]

Goodbye forever.

Matthew's Finest

This week I'm going against the grain of our usual blog posts and abandoning the actual playlist. The keen observer will note that the playlist wasn't entirely accurate anyway and since Ishmael put the whole thing together, I really don't' feel qualified to pick one of his songs. I do, however, feel qualified to endorse a band, and specifically a song, that I have been listening to ad nauseum lately.

Entire Cities is a band from Toronto that is made up of an ever changing number of members. The membership of the bad is huge, and their instruments and vocal ranges reflect this. They have mandolins, banjos, saxophones, singing saws, gravelly-voiced mountain men and angelic women whom you could absolutely fall in love with. Similarly, the type of songs on the first full length album, Deep River, is diverse and extremely entertaining. Some songs, like The Woods, for example, are so haunting and gorgeous that I usually have to stop what I'm doing when they come on my iPod. Others, like Dancing With My Brother, which we have never been able to play on morning radio due to the prevalence of a certain swear word, cause me to thrash about like a jackass in a fit of spasmodic glee. They are a wonderfully diverse band.

The song, Cop Song, spans the territory of both the ballad and the rock song. Its loose narrative rides seamlessly along the rich vocals of Simon Borer. Also, I'll be posting their song, Dancing With My Brother, because it has bewitched and it will not let me do any less. Check out their myspace and their website for a glance at what the rest of the album sounds like.

 

Entire Cities [myspace] [website]

Deep River [buy it at zunior]

Cop Song [mp3]

Dancing With My Brother [mp3]

SotW for March 25, 2009

The Burning Hell is a band made of 13+ people whose quirky lyrics and playful melodies, featuring lots of ukulele playing, have stolen my heart. (Matthew has previously posted about them.)

Their 2006 album Happy Birthday was a treat to listen to. Singer Mathias Kom's baritone contrasts well with the silly songs, and it would all fall apart if one couldn't be sure that the band has a lot of fun doing it.

The Burning Hell's new album Baby came out in late February. Fittingly, the first song on the album recounts an idealistic baby (fetus?) planning his entry into the world.

"I made all kinds of plans for when I got out
The things that I would do, the things I'd talk about
For when I learned to walk, I planned the places I would go to
Like New Brunswick and the mall, and the Toronto Zoo"

However, when the baby is born, he learns the world isn't all it's cracked up to be, at which point he decides he was much happier in the womb. He sings, "Take us back to the old world..."

The Burning Hell - Old World [mp3]

<website>
<myspace>
<CBCR3>

We need some help

Hello all. Matthew and I were going to do a show wit a couple theme soon. Basically, if members of a band are dating or married, let us know. Or if different artists from different acts are dating, that works too. Here's a short list we have right now.

Mates of State
Matt + Kim
Feist* and Kevin Drew* (from Broken Social Scene*)
Christine Fellows* and John K. Sampson (from Weakerthans*)
The Arcade Fire *

*We need as many Canadian couples as anyone can think of. CFCR's rules say our show has to be 50% Canadian, which is a good thing usually, but it may be tough to do the couple theme...

SotW for March 11, 2009

Amos the Transparent sounds like a rapper to me. But instead of spitting fresh verse — which is what I think rappers do — Amos the Transparent is a beautiful indie band from Ottawa.

Our nation's capital is home to many good bands such as Hilotrons and The Acorn. Adding to the city's already impressive roster, this four-piece band led by singer Jonathan Chandler creates intricate, soothing pop gems that are perfect to listen to on a chilly afternoon, bundled up in a sweater. That said, Amos the Transparent does have its harder moments, too.

Their new EP My, What Big Teeth You Have... has, so far, received nothing but positive reviews. This week's song is Lemons, aka (BigFishLittlePond) and comes from that EP. Please listen, buy, support.


Amos the Transparent - Lemons, aka (BigFishLittlePond)

Matthew's Finest

It's rare that I get to showcase any local talent on the blog. I think it may only have happened once, and that was mainly by accident, but this time, it's well worth it. Maybe Smith has been playing music in the Saskatoon area, and in many other parts of the world, for the last 6 or 7 years. In that time his music has evolved. From simple beginnings - which I confess I did not entirely enjoy, but in my defense I was sixteen and wore a backwards cap - his music has evolved.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the new album, Another Murder In The Morning, and I regret to say that it hasn't all been good. Some of my acquaintances have been extremely vocal about their distaste for this album, and oddly enough they were so even before it came out, but I was determined to give it a fair shake.

I've recently become enamoured with some forgotten tracks that had fallen out of my iPod rotation. Maybe Smith's seminal classics, like Bloody Nose (which was lucky enough to be #1 on the CBC Radio 3 R3-30 for a week in '07) or Open War have been looping in my musical wheelhouse for a few weeks now.

My first glimpse of Another Murder In The Morning was anything but a disappointment, and in the last year I've been disappointed by a lot of follow ups that just fell flat. I was growing concerned that my excitement for this new album was being inflated by the fondness I had for his old hits, but it lived up to my expectations entirely.
More Blood Than Sleep (After B.C.) is an incredible track. It starts out with a rhythmic chanting – one of three things that make a song great – and only gets better from there.

Maybe Smith: A man apart.


Maybe Smith [myspace] [website]
Another Murder In The Morning
More Blood Than Sleep (After B.C.) [mp3]