Tired Pony? Tired Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey, Probably

I've been missing for a awhile, I know. Been busy with my new child, birthdays, the return of hockey, dealing with near-poverty, unnecessary drama, family get-togethers, pumpkin pie and too much coffee. Life is full, I guess. I can't keep up with everything.

And I wonder about those who seem to accomplish so much. You know who plays in more projects than I can keep track of? R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, that's who. Besides still making records with R.E.M., Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three, and The Baseball Project, he's also now involved with Tired Pony, which also features Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol, The Reindeer Section), Iain Archer, Richard Colburn (Belle & Sebastian), Jacknife Lee, and Scott McCaughey (Minus 3, Young Fresh Fellows, The Baseball Project, Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus Three, R.E.M.). Tired Pony's album, The Place We Ran From, came out July 12 in the UK and September 28 in North America, and it also features Tom Smith (Editors), M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel. It contains some of the smooth pop I associate with Snow Patrol, which I confess I never mooned over, but it also includes touches of alt country, slightly Waterboys-flavoured rootsy pop (I Am a Landslide), and folky melancholia.

I am a Landslide

Tired Pony - I Am A Landslide by k7fm

Dead American Writers



Get on the Road



Point Me at Lost Islands



You can buy Tired Pony in lots of places, here's one.

Miesha & the Spanks - Dirty Words, Dirtier Rock 'n' Roll

Miesha & the Spanks have hit some charts with their new 45, Mean/Fuck. The Calgary guitar/drums duo are offering up their usual raw, dirty rawk on vinyl, which make sense to me.

Miesha & the Spanks - Mean by scruffy the yak

Miesha & the Spanks - Fuck by scruffy the yak





Tour Dates:

Oct 8 The Atria Oshawa, ON, CANADA

Oct 9 Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

Oct 10 This Ain't Hollywood Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA

Oct 12 The Mansion House St Catharines, Ontario, CANADA

Oct 14 nIXne (Rock N Roll Pizza Party)Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA

Oct 15 The Barfly Montreal, Quebec, CANADA

Oct 16 Bovine Sex Club Toronto

Buy Miesha and the Spanks from Transistor 66 Record Co.

Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans: The Falcon Lake Incident and Winter Cottage Goodness

Painting Over Silence reminded me that Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans are releasing their collaborative effort, The Falcon Lake Incident, on October 19th. They will celebrate that release with a free show at the Horseshoe Tavern on the same day. I really like the album cover, which reminds me of a Jim Bryson photo from awhile back that caused someone to comment, "Looks like a good album cover." Guess Bryson took that response to heart. The first officially-released song from the album, Metal Girls, includes great lyrics, happy pop hooks, warm keyboards, nicely-understated back-ups from John K.Samson, and and bap-bap-ba's. A guy from Ottawa recording at a cottage in the middle of winter in Manitoba with Winnipeg's favourite sons is an unusual (gutsy? crazy? inspired?) move, but the results sound good so far.



Here's a little video captured by The Weakerthans' Jason Tait of Bryson and John K. Samson singing Raised All Wrong "in front of the Kwik-E-Mart in Kitchener", according to jimbryson.org.



The Falcon Lake Incident cd and digital album will be available through MapleMusic Recordings, the vinyl will come out on Kelp Records.

Here's some other lovely Bryson tunes.

Jim Bryson - Anything and All (demo)

Anything and All - Jim Bryson by kidwave

Jim Bryson - Flowers

Flowers by kelprecords

Jim Bryson - Death by Vibration (Live)

Death by Vibration (live) by kelprecords

Bryson with Sarah Harmer doing Skyway (The Replacements):



Bryson, Sarah Harmer & Kathleen Edwards doing Fisherman's Blues (The Waterboys):