Last Two Weeks. Fuck it!

S'up everybody? How y'all doing? I'm doing great at this instant. School is busy but "Last two weeks. Fuck it!"

Have I told you about my crush on Tegan Quinn? No? Well, I have one and it's large. If only she wasn't a lesbian... She's the kind of lesbian I would contemplate a sex change for. Is that weird? That's weird. Nevermind. No sex change. Ever. How about some music to alleviate this awkward moment. This is "Living Room" off of If It Was You (great album).

Gaslight Anthem... they're pretty good. I like them. This is "Red At Night" from Sink or Swim which is their first album and equally as amazing as their new stuff. If you haven't listened to it, do. I have it and will burn you a copy. The harmonica in this song is top notch. I think T. Milne should learn it.

This song was recently used for some Lyrics of the Moment. The first verse in this song blows me away every time I listen to it. And on top of that the little guitar riffs just make it a surreal moment. This is The National's "All the Wine" from Alligator... and it might be on Cherry too, I can't remember.

Over the long weekend in May I've decided to take a road trip with Robbie Watson and his buddies down to Louisville for Krazy Fest. Its a 3 day punk rock extravaganza featuring too many bands to name. Rob is particularly pumped for Hot Water Music (he just got a sick new tat to showcase his love for them, right on!), his friend Todd is stoked for Chamberlain, and me, I'm pumped for The Bouncing Souls. But there's also a shit ton bands playing that I've never heard of before so I decided to give them a listen on grooveshark. That's when I discovered Tigers Jaw. I haven't listened to all their stuff yet but I'm digging it so far. Here is "I Was Never Your Boyfriend". Listen to it! DO IT! I'm watching you. I'll know if you don't!

Boom! There it is. Later days people.

C Dot

Four Track Look Back

Hey y'all, 

Rob J comin' at you with four songs that crept all up on me and found a place in my life this year.  For me 2010 was a long one.  Lots of celebrations and frustration this year, and the songs that I'm gonna post this week have a little bita both of those sentiments in them.  

Let's start out in February shall we?  I don't know if I've mentioned it yet but I'm a runner, and in the winter that means lots of shitty runs in the ice/slush/snow which in turn means a lotta time spent grumpy as hell as you get pushed around by the winter winds.  Fortunately I like to take this time to discover new music.  Listen to the albums and really get to know them.  Well, this first tune is from Gil Scott Heron's release "I'm New Here." Of course Scott Heron is not new.  He's been around doing amazing work for 40 years.  He's influenced Mos Def, Kanye, Common, Talib heavily and on "I'm New Here" he allows them to help him out.  "New York is Killing Me" is a track with the simplicity of a Blind Lemon Jefferson tune and the production value of a Kanye jam.  I love it. It marks my 2010 journey into the world of hip hop:

The second tune I've got for you today is from a band my good buddie Rob Watson showed me: The Gaslight Anthem.  This band loves Springsteen. I don't know how else to put it but they really get after a sound and a style that seems to be largely forgotten in this hypemachine era of remixes and experimentation.  Nothing wrong with that stuff. I like it, but every now and then I fucking love listening to something that just punches you straight in the jaw.  I saw these guys with DST, Courtney, and Destroyer one of my first nights in the U.K.  It was one of the best show's I've ever seen.  Ladies and Gentlemen "American Slang"...

I really love Canadian music. My favourite thing is to listen to Grant Lawrence's CBC Radio 3 podcast (check it out in our links section) and go for a long run.  There are maybe a few things in the world that beat that.  Dan Mangan is no exception.  He's a great songwriter who gets the humour and the tenderness  of this great country.  His songs aren't sappy but they're heartfelt.  Toward the end of my euro tour I was getting homesick.  I wasn't running well and I was pissed off.  I plugged myself into my Ipod and threw on the CBC podcast.  This tune struck a chord with me that day:

My final song is by Sufjan Stevens.  To set the record straight I don't love Sufjan.  I never understood his zodiac album. I find his long titles irritating. I think he's kind of a dick in interviews and I think there are a lot of people who would jump off a musical bridge if he told them to.  Maybe I'm not on a high enough wave length to dig all of his songs.  However, there are some ones I couldn't live without.  This tune is the title track from his "All Delighted People" EP.  I love the vocals.  I love the crescendos. I love the allusions to Simon and Garfunkel. I love the cover. I love that it has a classic rock version.  All 11 minutes and 38 seconds of this song blow my mind (sorry this video stinks):

   

So there you have it.  The most difficult post I could imagine.  There were a shit ton o' good albums released this year and I can't wait for the year to come!

Cheers!

Rob J

Marathon Mix

Hi! You may not know me, I'm a guest to this little blog.  My name is rob and I'm gonna give ya'll my top10 marathon songs. These songs actually have nothing to do with the marathon, I just happen to be training for a marathon and I run with my mp3 player blasting the tunes most days. Some people say that real runners don't run with music. Those people are stupid. Another note I should make here, I'm old and lame and have no interest in new music. All this stuff is from back when I was younger and not quite as lame. Oldies but goodies folks, remember that.  Alright, so lets get at it. My music tastes are not very mind blowing or profound. I like my music the same way I like my love making; loud, fast and hard. okay go!



1. Lets get this started with a little number from my favourite band of all time; Hot Water Music. So many good songs, I think I'll go with this one.

2. Elliot, Lousiville Kentucky. These guys don't record to hard but they go off at their shows. To bad they broke up in 03'. The scene out of Lousiville in the 90's and early 2000's was awesome. I get sentimental listening to them.

3. When I was in 6th grade I had a paper route with my brother, I would always listen to the same cassette on my walkman when I did my route. It was Lagwagon on one side and Nofx on the other side. Then we just started dumping our papers in the garbage and not delivering them anymore...we were fired.

4. so many good bands from Jersey.  Lifetime pumps me up, and when I'm pumped I run faster, that's just the way I work.

5. Sometimes when I get to pumped I have to calm down. To do this I always turn to Chamberlain and their  album The Moon My Saddle.  I have listened to this album before almost every race I have run...ever.  Couldn't really find a good internet based sound bit. Take my word for it, it's quite good.

6. This picture was taken after I saw Avail in 9th grade (I'm the kid with my hand on my face for some reason). Such a good song, such a good band, such a good show. Fuck, thinking of this makes me run fast.

7. Also when I was in 9th grade a bunch of my friends and myself took a bus Toronto to see Strife. I was like 5'6 and 115 lbs and almost got my head kicked in in the mosh, it was rad. Hardcore is awesome, sick chants and breakdown in this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5Vg-GG91TE&feature=related

8. Now for something a little newer, The Gaslight Anthem.  Saw these guys in England with Jackson from the Mixtape Collektive crew. We went to England to run fast, neither of us did, but this show made the trip worth while.

9.  Sometimes out there on the roads I need a little hip hop. Actually that's a lie, I don't like hip hop at all. But I really like the Flobots, I went to school in Colorado and these guys were very popular there so I kinda got into them. This song also reminds me of Taylor Milne day up in North Bay.

10. This last song is by the most badass guy in music, Chuck Ragan.  Chuck was in HWM (#1) and since  they broke up he has released two amazing albums.  I have listened to more Chuck than anything else during my marathon buildup. http://www.myspace.com/chuckragan/music/songs/california-burritos-30703626
Also check him out just ripping up a solo version of song #1

Well, that had pretty much nothing to do with running, but keep in mind. I have listened to all of these songs dozens of times as I'm out there on the roads. There are songs that I skip over and only listen to occasionally, but I never skip over these ones. They just rock to hard. Bye.

-rob-