Sunday, January 30, 2011

Enjoy Your Pumas Want You to Enjoy a Fly. In MP3 Form.


Enjoy Your Pumas. I don't get the name. Is it like, Have fun with your Nikes? Or is it a waiter at a strange restaurant? Or is it a cougar reference? As far as I know, we call them mountain lions around here. At any rate, Winnipeg indie pop/rock band Enjoy your Pumas is releasing their new album Commonality on Tuesday, February 1st. Right now and up until Feb. 3 you can snatch an mp3 of He Was a Fly from Manitoba Music. I haven't heard the whole new album, but this band looks like one to watch.



Weight Of The Circles by Enjoy Your Pumas by greenlightgo





The next one contains some nice guitar interplay and controlled wailing vox, I like it.



Friday, January 21, 2011

MortönTed and Motörhead: Life is Good



One of my favourite musicologists of all time, Andy Morton was dormant for alot of years, slowly gathering more ammunition for a new musical onslaught. But with the most fun band in winnipeg, The Wind-Ups, he's entertained and educated thousands of untold 'Peggers in the last few years. A recent reunion with Lousiana Cockfight brought him further into our musical conciousness. Now a cancer benefit for Vicki Banner brings us MortönTed, a Motörhead tribute not to be missed, hitting the Royal Albert Saturday, January 22. Joined by Ted Simm (Trousermouth, SNFU, DOA, Ted) Norm Simm (Unwanted), Brendon Ehinger (The VaGiants), and Jason Whelpton (Multiple Partners), as well as Jill Lynott jumping in to sing some Girlschool/Motorhead tunes, it promises some loud fun. Ehinger and Norm Simm are both playing bass, 'cause one person can't rumble ya like Lemmy.



Of course, a documentary on lemmy appropriately called Lemmy is also coming out on dvd any day now, here's a few trailers.








Ace Of Spades - Motörhead by Itubaina Radio Retro

Motörhead - Another Perfect Day by fabriziopb

Motörhead - (We Are) The Road Crew by fabriziopb

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Pixies To Hit Canada Again, Ticket Presales Blow Up Band's Site


Remember when Scruffy relayed the hint from Pixies' website that the band would come back to the Great White North? Well, it's now reality, as a cross-country tour has now been announced as a continuation of the band's Doolittle tour. Expect the entire Doolittle album plus all of the b-sides. Tickets will be available starting Friday, January 28th, but a fan pre-sale also started (and ended, in towns like mine) on the band’s website today. Unfortunately, there was a four-hour delay in the timing of the pre-sale, and the website was overloaded by the time it started. Scruffy did not get tix, ain't that a kick in the pants?

Pixies 2011 Tour Dates:
04/09 – Halifax, NS @ Metro Centre
04/10 – Moncton, NB @ Casino Moncton
04/12 – Quebec City, QC @ Salle Albert-Rousseau
04/13 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
04/16 – Ottawa, ON @ Civic Centre
04/17 – Kitchener, ON @ The Center in the Square
04/18 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hal
04/20 – Hamilton, ON @ Wentworth Room
04/22 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
04/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
04/24 – St. Paul, MN @ Roy Wilkins Auditorium
04/27 – Winnipeg, MB @ Centennial Concert Hall
04/29 – Saskatoon, SK @ TCU Place
04/30 – Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
05/01 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Center
05/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre

THE PIXIES - Monkey Gone to Heaven (KRUSHA Remix) by krusha

Pixies - Hey by fixintothrill

Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven (Roundtable Discussion Remix) by Roundtable Discussion





Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What Scruffy Loved Listening to This Year, Pt. 4


Everyone's got a best of the year list. Sorry, not here. But you do get a bunch of music that I loved in the past year (some of which may have been released prior to 2010, I don't care), some of which I've blogged about already, and some of which I didn't get around to sharing with you. So here it is, Part Four (and of course by This Year I mean last year).


One thing I listened to a lot is various stuff from captains dead. The guy who blogs under the psychedelic skull with the vinyl halo doesn't try to dazzle with words, just speaks his mind briefly and lets the music do the talking. And singing, whispering, screaming, humming, crying, and so on. Guided by Voices, Twilight Singers, The Replacements, Matthew Sweet are mixed with newer acts I've come to love like Ox. No hipper-than-thou vibe here, the same tunes and artists hyped on every other blog won't be found here, but oftimes a rock combo you don't expect shows up.

The Dodos' Fables is not a new song, in fact their new album will be out March 15, but it's still rattling around my head.



The Dodos - Fables by elysse

Gord Downie & the Country of Miracles' The East Wind threw quickly-strummed percussive acoustics at us, added snappy drums, topped it with a tasty twangy guitar line, then layered on some more shimmery, shaky sounds (I know not what, exactly), covered it with a short, sharp chorus that may be the catchiest in Downie's repertoire, and ended up with a shivery, danceable radio hit. Or a drunken sea shanty for landlubbers and pirates alike. Huh.




Adam Franklin and Bolts of Melody gave us the sublime Yesterday Has Gone Forever (from the album I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years), which nods back to his days fronting shoegazers Swervedriver, but also winks at Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque era, too. Get it free by going to his site. Beauty.



Yesterday Has Gone Forever - Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody by scruffy the yak



'Nother cool blog Herohill put together Herohill and Oates, which ain't Christmasy at all but is all about artists (mostly Canadian?) covering Hall and Oates. Scruffy faves Brian Dunn and Ox contributed tracks.

Imaginary Cities did not put out an official release yet, but the Hummingbird EP will be out on Grand Hotel Van Cleef Records on January 14th, and the full length album will be out February 22 in Canada on Hidden Pony records.



Imaginary Cities - Temporary Resident by goodsouldept

Japandroids' Art Czars single starts so abrasive, yet hooked me in with bare bones rock and roll. "Here's yer money back, here's yer punk rock back!"



Japandroids - Art Czars by Somethingfortheweekend

Winnipeg's Les Jupes' tune Myth # 3 (The Mountain) was a late addition, with dramatic vocals over a careening carnival keyboard ride



01 Myth #3 (The Mountain) by Les Jupes

Saw some lukewarm reviews for the Freedy Johnston single Don't Fall in Love With a Lonely Girl, but it's prime powerpop to me. Get it free by going here.












La Roux might be the artist most unlikely to be suggested by Scruffy, but that chorus is the catchiest thing going, acoustic or not.



La Roux - Bulletproof by rodeoclown



La Roux "Bulletproof (Acoustic Version)" by OnTheRecord



Music Ruined My Life is a meticulously-researched, impassioned blog, mostly about artists of yesteryore, but sometimes featuring newer troubadours. More punk than you can shake a stick at, more power-pop than you can eat at once, still managing to unearth hard to find boots or rare treats from Springsteen, Dylan, Strummer, Graham Parker, Billy Bragg, DOA, Jerry Jerry, Jason & the Scorchers, Elvis Costello, and so on. Consistently one of the best blogs out there.



The fine Muzzle of Bees blog dropped Wisco, a Wisconsin tribute to Wilco's Summerteeth album. Strange and amazing.

Ottawan Chris Page gave the world a joyous ode in Two Twenty Twos.



Chris Page-Two Twenty Twos by scruffy the yak



The Rowdymen released a fine record, Gas, Liquor and Fireworks, and didn't get the kudos. No one should write songs this good and not get recognized.

The Rowdymen - Ode to Possum




The Rowdymen - Rode Hard




The Shins didn't put out an album this year, but this wistful take on Squeeze's Goodbye Girl turned my crank.



Goodbye Girl - The Shins (Levi's Pioneer Sessions Revival Recordings) by nealroscoe

The Soft Pack. C'mon! I still haven't decided if I like the band name The Soft Pack, but I definitely enjoy the hurry-up-and-get-down vibe, and the chorus says it all. Two minutes thirteen seconds of fuzzy energy and crashing cymbals bliss, who needs Red Bull?



The Soft Pack by The Soft Pack

Call Superchunk's Digging For Something a comeback if you want, it's even more hooky, well-produced angsty lovable yelps. Dancin' on the propane tank, indeed. Oh oh oh!



SUPERCHUNK- Digging for Something by goripack

Teenage Fanclub are still sweet. Baby Lee proves it, chiming guitars, easy harmonies, done.



Teenage Fanclub - Baby Lee by dtamba

Young Rival are still putting out the indie guitar rock Scruffy is a sucker for, and they know it.



Young Rival - Got What You Need by Alexandre Diogo

So there you have it. Honourable mentions go to Hanson for their cover of Radiohead's Optimistic, Jason & the Scorchers return with Moonshine Guy, The Afterbeat's Unity, Alex Gruenberg's Hey Katy Hey, and Luke Doucet's The Ballad of Ian Curtis. If you didn't like anything Scruffy recommended in this series of four posts, you are in the wrong place. Go print out the yak at the top of the post and get your crayons out, there won't be anything for you here. If there was anything for you, feel free to leave a comment, that's what the comments section is for, and my dogs appreciate it.

For 2011, Scruffy's looking forward to (or hoping for) new R.E.M., Sons of York, The Cars, Scott Nolan, Urge Overkill, Apex Manor, Crooked Fingers, Buffalo Tom, Quinzy, Robyn Hitchcock, Rupert Hine, Wilco, Matt Epp, Ox, JP Hoe, Pixies, and The Watchmen. Okay, so we'll probably never see the last two, but I can still hope.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Jon Cohen Experimental is Buzzing


Montreal's Jon Cohen Experimental put out an unusual album called Behold, and it's been circling around in my head like a magical bee for the past few weeks. Featuring members of The Dears, The Stars, and The Stills, among others, the record often seems dreamlike, oweing in part to layered, hushed vocals. Although parts of the album may faintly recall the whimsy of The Flaming Lips, mores cues seem to be taken from early to mid-period Pink Floyd (more David Gilmour vocally than Syd Barrett or Roger Waters), but overall, it sounds like when seventies rock musicians began to expand their conciousness. You get the feeling that any instrument could find its way into the mix, and in fact 17 different players lend their expertise. Lyrically, I detect a wicked anti-corporate stance, personal politics of choice against a dehumanizing society, a crafty vote for going against the grain while utilizing a musical palette that is catchy yet still slightly going against the grain - not too far from what The Dears or The Stars do in their own way. My favourite so far is Hold the Fire, featuring sold in-your-face drums, melodic fuzzy bass, shimmery and spiky guitar, and smooth, warm vocals. Jon Cohen Experimental will play in Winnipeg at the Cavern Club January 14.

Hold the Fire - Jon Cohen Experimental

1. Hold The Fire by Jon Cohen Experimental

Don't Be the Cloud - Jon Cohen Experimental

10. Don't Be The Cloud by Jon Cohen Experimental

Brain Pollution - Jon Cohen Experimental

2. Brain Pollution by Jon Cohen Experimental

I Won't Mind - Jon Cohen Experimental

I won't mind mp3 by Jon Cohen Experimental




Tour Dates

Jan 9 Behold Tour Windsor, CA
Jan 10 Behold tour Hamilton, ON, CANADA
Jan 11 Behold tour St. Catherines, Ontario, CANADA
Jan 12 Behold tour Sudbury, Ontario, CANADA
Jan 13 Behold Tour Thunder Bay, Ontario, CANADA
Jan 14 Behold Tour Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA
Jan 15 Behold tour Edmonton, Alberta, CA
Jan 18 Behold Tour Regina, Saskatchewan, CA
Jan 20 Behold Tour Calgary, Alberta, CA
Jan 22 Behold Tour Golden, British Co, CANADA
Jan 25 Behold tour Penticton, British Co, CA
Jan 26 Behold tour Kelowna, British Co, CA
Jan 29 Behold tour Victoria, British Co, CA
Feb 17 Behold Tour Vancouver, British Co, CA
Feb 18 Behold Tour Burnaby, British Co, CA
Feb 24 Behold Tour Duncan, British Co, CA
Mar 7 Behold Tour San Francisco, California
Mar 9 Behold Tour San Diego, California
Mar 9 Behold San Diego, California
Mar 17 SXSW Austin, Texas

Buy Jon Cohen Experimental at Zunior.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

What Scruffy Loved Listening to This Year, Pt. 3


Everyone's got a best of the year list. Sorry, not here. But you do get a bunch of music that I loved in the past year (some of which may have been released prior to 2010, I don't care), some of which I've blogged about already, and some of which I didn't get to sharing. So here it is, Part Three (and of course by This Year I mean last year), come on back for the next parts.

Crocodiles: a perfect mix of psychedelia, Jesus & Mary Chain, and shoegaze euphoria still gets me stoked.

Crocodiles - Sleep Forever

Crocodiles - Sleep Forever by Paduta










Cut Copy's name has come up in my endless search for fine music, but I ignored 'em, because with a name like that I stupidly guessed I was gonna hear techno or industrial-type sounds. I still don't know anything about the band, but this song sounds like a joyous celebration of something; the future? the road right in front of you? Re-claiming Gary Glitter's stomping beats for a pretty possibility party? For an email address, Cut Copy will give you this song for free.

Cut Copy - Where I'm Going

Cut Copy -- Where I m Going by F M

Old 97's The Grand Theatre Vol. 1 contains this raucous, raw stomper, proving that not only can the band ace alt country and sweet pop, garagey rock is also in the arsenal.

Old 97's - Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)

Old 97's - Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You) by MMMusic

Winnipeg's Telepathic Butterflies seem to have skipped the last three decades in their quest to make sounds less fleeting than disposable pop. Reverb-drenched guitars, thick harmonies, literate lyrics and well-crafted tunes are a good start, and since thousands of people like you listened to their songs in previous posts on this blog, many of you agree.

Telepathic Butterflies - Circle Man

The Telepathic Butterflies-Circle Man by scruffy the yak

The Thermals released their new album Personal Life and continued their fine tradition of short, hook-filled, rocky-road-flavoured gems. The band members have a sense of humour. They have conveniently provided useful terms such as mid-fi, post-pop-punk, and post-power-pop, among others, which you may apply or not as you see fit. Near as I can figure, The Thermals are a power trio from the future. And they wrote a song called Canada.

The Thermals - I Don't Believe You

The Thermals - I Don't Believe You by The Drift Record Shop

The Thermals - Canada

The Thermals - Canada by killrockstars

The Thermals - Never Listen To Me

The Thermals - Never Listen To Me by halfchannel



Urge Overkill came back to ready their first album in more than a decade, performed on Yo Gabba Gabba, and gave a away a new song, Effigy. Bring back the swingin' medallions and they will come, boys.

Urge Overkill - Effigy

Effigy by Urge Overkill by scruffy the yak


Come on back for the next installment and final round up of last year's faves, leave a comment, tell me what I missed.

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Cars Continue Tease With Free


The Cars have released another teaser, Free, on their Facebook page, with the added note, "Spring 2011" at the end of the video clip. Maybe the album will also be called Free? Wish I had time to break into The Cars so I could post the song or video, but it's my b-day, I'm busy. Do you think The Raveonettes ever listened to The Cars, maybe tried to stick some new wave pop genius into the chorus of Breaking Into Cars?

The Raveonettes - Breaking Into Cars by SEANCE



The Cars - Dangerous Type by wild_heart

The Cars - Magic by CreepCove

The Cars - Moving in Stereo (YRD edit by Mr Mac HD) by yacht rock disko

This remix freaked me out about halfway. I'll never be the same.

The Cars - Just What I Needed (Bowelhaµs Jukin The Ride) by Bowelhaus

Feel free to leave a comment, they make the world go round.