Alright … this song has been stuck in my head for the past forty-eight hours. Usually that would be an absolutely awful and maddening situation but I gotta be honest: this song is amazing. I’m such a suck for catchy, well written pop songs that’s got you got you toe-tapping immediately. In the grand tradition of ABBA, Sweden has produced some well produced and intelligent pop music is recent years. And Robyn is no exception. Releasing an album in three parts this year, Body Talk Pt. 1+2 have proven to be a breath of fresh air in the electro-pop landscape. Her first single from Part 1, “Dancing on My Own”, was released two months ago to critical aplomb. With Part 2 on the horizon (released in the US on September 7 on Cherrytree) Robyn’s released “Hang With Me” and well … if you haven’t listened yet please do! Enjoy.
On the heals of the Toronto Fringe Festival that took over the fair Canadian city earlier this July, comes yet another deluge of home-grown original theatre works this time with an awesome music series. That’s right folks, it’s time for the Summer Works Theatre Festival! (I know all of you have been marking down the days on your wall calendar) In its twentieth summer the festival boasts a roster of up and coming performers. But it’s not just for thespians. As I mentioned before there’s also some pretty swell musical stylings courtesy of local musicians. The festival kicks off August 5th and runs until the 14th down in Toronto’s west-end.
Every night of the festival there are scheduled musical performances at the Lower Ossington Playhouse. With two stages (upstairs and downstairs) Summer Works promises some pretty diverse and exciting sounds. From The Hidden Cameras to Bocce to Kamau. Shows at the Mainstage are only $10 and the Performance Bar is a pay-what-you can deal. So, I ask you…what’s stopping you from checking out some fab summer jams? The answer: Nothing at all.
Below is the entire festival line-up with links to artist’s bios. You can find info on the fesitval right over here.
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Summer, for me, is rarely a time for musical exploration. I love putting on an album that has made me smile a million and a half times. Something that can make me shimmy the afternoon away and get me through a heat wave. Most of the time I am tempted to listen to music that is considered in most circles as campy, kitschy or ridiculous (Len’s “Steal My Sunshine” comes to mind). Treacly sweet one hit wonders and #1 hits of yore make wary appearances on the radio at this time of year, and their cheesy earnestness is undeniably fitting. A summer playlist shouldn’t be too pretentious. There is simply no room for perfectly coifed personas when it feels like 40 degrees in the shade. So in hopes to alleviate the stress of properly DJ-ing the season here are a few classic and not so classic tracks that’ll brighten your day.
And You Can Download this loverly Podcast at your leisure right…over…here
The Polaris Prize Short List was announced yesterday … and it’s a lovely list. A lovely very Canadian, very enjoyable list. The brouhaha upset win that was Fucked Up’s hardcore opus “Chemistry of Modern Life” last year has inevitably given way to a darling collection of the best in Canadian independent music. A number of artists on the list such as Shad (TSOL), Owen Pallet (Heartland), Broken Social Scene (Forgiveness Rock Record), Caribou (Swim) and The Besnard Lakes (…Are The Roaring Night) have all been short-listed for the prize in recent years. With both Owen Pallet and Caribou being previous winners. Not that that is a problem, because they, and the others nominated, have created wonderful, lush music and should be recognized … but there’s a sense of disconnect with the ever growing and shifting artistic landscape within Canada.
The other lucky few include: Tegan and Sara (Sainthood), Karkwa (Les Chemins De Verre), Dan Mangan (Nice Nice, Very Nice), Radio Radio (Belmundo Regal), The Sadies (Darker Circles).
Chosen by music critics across the country, the short list (more so then the long-list) is plagued by the same issues of regionalism that have taken root in critical reception as well as artistic creation across the country. There is music and art everywhere but those who have been anointed with the task of choosing the best of the best insist on playing it safe. Playing to what they know, and trying to please everyone in one fell swoop. But they end up looking shallow and predictable. The short-list politely acknowledges as many genres as possible and roughly every geographic region of the country, as well as a nod to the francophone contingent … but ultimately favours the three main metropolises and the comfortable brand of slightly experimental rock. Last year they rocked the boat a lil’ too much it seems so they’re ready to calm back down.
This formula resembles the same reasoning at the CBC when it comes to broadcasting locally produced Radio and Television Programming, news and entertainment alike. Every now and then they’ll strike a caustic, ironic nerve that gives way to intelligent and insightful relevant productions — Like the early years of 22 Minutes, The Passionate Eye, Da Vinci’s Inquest or more recently Being Erica. But for every This Is Wonderland there are a dozen Little Mosques and hours of the ever paltry Vinyl Cafe.
Unlike the state of the Canadian Broadcast world … the independent music scene is a far more lush and plentiful pasture with every genre under the sun represented. From garage to hip-hop to blue grass to electro. As I said before all of the albums are deserving of praise but wouldn’t it have been a breath of fresh air to see no past winners? Ushering in the new guard of critically lauded CanRock? Maybe next year they’ll risk it and give the big money to a deserving underexposed poet laureate to be … like Justin Bieber or somethin?
Last week was The North by North East Music and Film Festival. This year NXNE played host to forty-three different films and premiered a number of new Canadian pictures, one of which was the hotly anticipated Bruce McDonald film This Movie is Broken. McDonald set out to film the free Broken Social Scene concert last July at Harbourfront and as he said during the introduction of the film, “they went into pre-production after shooting the film,”. The accompanying narrative component is a simple, albeit cliched, love story. The romance centers around Bruno, played by Greg Calderone, who has finally acted on a fifteen year crush that he’s had on his childhood sweetheart Caroline, played by Georgina Reilly. Their fledgling romance is a tentative one as we quickly learn Caroline is only in town for one more night before she heads off to Paris for school. How on earth can Bruno impress Caroline enough on their bittersweet last night together? Go to a Broken Social Scene concert OF COURSE! With that they head off to Harbourfront, with Bruno’s charismatic friend Blake in tow (played by Kerr Hewitt) to take in the city’s “hometown band”. The requisite romantic trials and tribulations occur, following the tried and true romantic narrative trajectory; infatuation, ambivalence, fight, regret, analysis, make-up etc. This is a story, however, that is accompanied by a pitch-perfect live music soundtrack.
The flimsy narrative that often employs some heavy handed dialogue is not what people are going to see this movie for though. This Movie is Broken is one of the best concert films I’ve had the chance to see. Everytime the film cut-away from the trite back and forth of Bruno and Caroline it soared. The film plays like a greatest hits record and is a more then satisfactory romp through the BSS’s back catologue and newer recordings. With a jagged, energetic opening of “Almost Crimes” (featuring Feist, Emily Haines and Amy Millain) they continue to tear through favourites; “Fire Eye’d Boy”, “Swimmers”, “Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl” and ended with the soaring “Meet Me In The Basement”. They also throw in some pretty darn cool featured songs from Feist and Jason Collet. Their scenes were euphoric and shot with incredibly subtle hand that didn’t disrupt the organic charisma and connection between the band and their attentice audience. Their appreciation for one another on stage didn’t go unnoticed either with multiple members throughout the show citing how important it is or how much they’ve missed their friends. It sounds cheesy but in the end the band’s energy and joy lends itself to being completely genuine. For those who have never seen Broken Social Scene live, this gives them a chance to see a performance that they consider one of their best.
It’s fairly obvious that this movie, beyond being about young ephemeral love and live music, is a love letter to Toronto. Despite being set during the height of last summer’s city strike, with mountains of garbage accumulating throughout the city parks, there was an unaffected lightness and spirit to the entire film. Due entirely to the long meandering shots of Trinity Bell-Woods, Kennsington Market, College and Bloor streets, The Exhibition Grounds, Chinatown and the Waterfront. McDonald washed his film in a palette of glowing, dewy pastels that evoke Chungking Express and The Virgin Suicides. There’s a genuine warmth in every frame, despite the shortcomings of the “meet-cute” archetype , the music and and the clear vision of the film is as powerful and resonant as seeing a perfectly performed concert by your favourite band. With that in mind it hardly seems broken at all.
