Tommy Keene - I Get Excitement At His Feet, How About You?

I first discovered Tommy Keene when an older and wiser music fan walked up with one of his records. He was so excited to have picked up what he termed a hard to find classic, and I was the ignoramus who had to ask, Who is Tommy Keene? My friend looked down at me (he was a much taller fellow) and intoned, "If you can ever find Songs From the Film, pick it up". I did, and I've been a fan ever since. Keene seems to have remained a cult hero, despite making cool moves like putting out an album with Robert Pollard as The Keene Brothers (after Touring with Guided By Voices), getting folks like Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett on some of his songs, . If you would like to give a few of his songs a spin for free, he will give you some mp3s if you go here.

Keene's new album, Excitement At Your Feet (you Who fans know where the title comes from) consists of 11 covers. It might be the first cover album I have heard where every version is a gem.

1. Have You Seen My Baby? - The Flamin' Groovies
2. The Puppet - Echo & The Bunnymen
3. Much Too Much - The Who
4. I Laugh In Your Face - The Bee Gees
5. Let Me Dream If I Want To - Mink DeVille
6. Catch The Wind - Donovan
7. Guiding Light - Television
8. Ride On Baby - The Rolling Stones
9. Choking Tara - Guided By Voices
10. Nighttime - Big Star
11. Out Of The Blue - Roxy Music

Have You Seen My Baby



Puppet



Choking Tara



Out of the Blue




Nighttime

Much Too Fun

Laugh In Your Face

Let Me Dream If I Want To

Ride On Baby

Catch the Wind


One of his own tunes from a previous album for ya.

I Can't See You Anymore


Deep Six Saturday

Tommy Keene : Deep Six Saturday from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

Places That Are Gone


Buy Excitement At Your Feet and other great records here.

Haunter - Rivers & Rust and Haunter Origins, Coupla Free mp3s

Haunter is a band from Winnipeg. Haunter is not frightened about launching a tune into the stratosphere by marrying a deep emotional wellspring with sublime shoegazer pop a la Swervedriver (Blood and Thunder). Haunter is unafraid of starting a song with unadulterated guitar fuzz (see Transcanada, Bring Us Home). Haunter is never terrified with the idea of allowing a heavyweight like Nathan's Keri Latimer sing on one of their tunes (Where I'm Calling From). Haunter has no fear about letting an intensely distorted guitar wail away through most of a song like Dinosaur Jr. (01 July, 2005). Haunter is not scared to begin a tune with sharp edged bass and a cymbal-riding climax (see Delilah Dreams of...). Haunter is fearless about giving listeners free mp3s of their tunes (demos? Early versions? - see Haunter Origin, Tiny Ghosts and Where Ièm Calling From)).


Blood and Thunder




Transcanada, Bring Us Home


Delilah Dreams of...


01 July, 2005


Where I'm Calling From


Anthen For a Broken City
Coyote


Assiniboine River Song


Rust


All Winter Long


Our War


HAUNTER ORIGINS: Where I'm Calling From feat. Keri Latimer


HAUNTER ORIGINS: Tiny Ghosts






Buy at iTunes
Buy at Bandcamp

54-40 - Best Canadian Songs of All Time No. 6

This series of posts will be offering the definitive list of the best Canuck tunes ever recorded, scientifically tabulated, collated and obfuscated by the Brain of Scruff, in absolutely-not numerical order.


54-40 seem to be one of Canada's longest running bands, since 1981, but the only song that ever had a monumental impact on me was Baby Ran. The rhythm section moves the song, the bassline being exceptionally musical (lots of early 54-40 stuff contained faint references to Joy Division/early New Order to my ears). Neil Osborne's vocals are especially impassioned, but when Phil Comparelli's backing vox kick in for the wordless WOAH-OH-OHHHHHHHHHHH, the tune is elevated. Hints of Neil Young guitar sqwawk near the end adds to the energy level, and points to one of the reasons I remember the song blowing listeners' ears back in small rooms back in the eighties.



Buy 54-40 music here.