Record Store Day Saturday, April 20 - Whitehorse, Robyn Hitchcock, Michelle McAdorey, Public Enemy, R.E.M.!

Tomorrow is Record Store Day, a day to celebrate stores where you can buy music, talk to other people that like music, listen to music, buy some music - you know. In Canada go here to find your partipating stores, in the U.S. or other countries go here, where you can also find more videos and extra info on RSD extravaganzas. In Winnipeg, you can go to:

Argy's Collectables

Into The Music

Music Trader

Planet of Sound

War On Music Workers Cooperative

Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store

This year there are some Canadian artists getting RSD love treatments:

Michelle McAdorey - Leave The Main Road / Line Across My Heart 7" Vinyl


Whitehorse - Devils Got A Gun (live)/ Lipstick (unreleased track) 7" Vinyl (not the live version below - go get the 7"!)


Buck 65 - Wicked and Weird from Talkin‘ Honkey Blues Double LP


Gordon Lightfoot's Sit Down Stranger, LP
Handsome Ned - In Spite Of The Danger 7" Vinyl
Serena Ryder - Harmony LP
Daniel Lanois - Acadie LP
Billy Talent's Stand Up And Run/ Sudden Movements 7“
OLP - Curve LP
Austra + GINA X - Mayan Drums


Of course, there's even more joy for music collectors out there this year, RSD keeps getting bigger and better. Here are some items I am drooling about:

Robyn Hitchcock - There Goes The Ice
The Thermals - Desperate Ground Demos 7" Vinyl
David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight) 7" Vinyl
Soundgarden - King Animal Demos Vinyl
R.E.M. - Live In Greensboro CD EP
Public Enemy - Planet Earth: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Greatest Rap Hits LP
Phoenix - Entertainment 7"
Mercury Rev - Deserted Songs LP
JD MCPHERSON - Fire Bug 7"
Built To Spill - Live LP
Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me Vinyl
Brendan Benson - Diamond / Good To Me (Demo Version) 7"
THE THREE O‘CLOCK - Live At The Old Waldorf Feb. 1982 LP

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.

The Thermals Do Canada

It's not patriotic Olympic jingoism, the The Thermals are from Portland. The band just really digs the land to the North. As the band's label, Kill Rock Stars, eloquently explains, "CANADA! Where everyone is funny, friendly and ready to have a beer or seven with you. CANADA!" Now available on iTunes.

The Thermals - Canada by killrockstars

In case you've forgotten, here's some older stuff you should love too. Hooky, rockin', melodic-as-hell, very nutritious, and warm to boot.