March

Wavelog

News - March 2005

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

Ninja High School have a new 7'? released on Germany's Tomlab label. It features two songs and there are only 500 being pressed worldwide, but the songs are available for free online at www.ninjahighschool.info.

The soft-spoken and always kind Tony Decker, frontman for the Great Lake Swimmers, has a new album being released this month on Weewerk. It's also being released on Misra Records in Europe.

The Meligrove Band, who have achieved some sort of Lost in Translation success in Japan, are just about done their new album and are looking for a good label fit. Many are predicting them to be Toronto's new breakout band and Japan's new icons.

The Diskettes have delayed the release of their new album because of some packaging problems. It should be out on Blocks Recording Club 'œreal soon now.'? In the meantime, if you're looking for a Blocks fix, the new, still-untitled-at-press-time Barcelona Pavilion EP is being released by the Club this month.

Speaking of Blocks, one of its recent releases became the first ever on the Club to be reviewed by Pitchfork. Final Fantasy's Has A Good Home received a lackluster 6.6 'œscore.'? Owen was unfazed by the number, as 'œrad albums'? by the likes of US Maple, The Organ, Nervous Cop, Kid 606 and Bogdan Raczinski are all 6.6ers, according to internet music nerd giants.

Congratulations to Wavelength alumni, Jim Guthrie and Feist for their Juno nominations! Guthrie's Now, More Than Ever and Feist's Let It Die are up for Best Alternative Album. Rounding out the competition are AC Newman's The Slow Wonder, Stars' Set Yourself On Fire and Arcade Fire's Funeral (Arcade Fire also have a nod for CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year). You can watch the Junos April 3rd at 8pm on CTV if that's your sort of thing.

In other Arcade Fire news, the band is booked to play Danforth Music Hall in late April. The first announced show, on the 27th, sold out in four hours. Due to popular demand, shows were added the night before and the night after. Get tickets while you can, or face the wrath of creepy guys in Maple Leafs jackets and acid wash on the night of each show.

If all the artists from Toronto and other nearby areas played NXNE instead of SXSW, we'd actually have a good festival. If you're going down to Austin, expect to see just tons of local bands that you've seen at Wavelength before, such as The Parkas, Death From Above 1979, Aaron Booth, and Elliott Brood. The music festival and conference runs through March 11 to 20.

Republic of Safety are ready to release their debut EP this month. The CD release will be at Hey Ladeez March 19 at Stones Place with DJs Barbi and KP Regina. RoS will also be guest band at Matt Blair and Nemo Burbank's new dance party night, Dynamite Soul, March 11 at the El Mo.

Dan Burke is gonna shit on your head if you don't go check out the Zoobombs early this month. The Japanese band is headlining all three of his CMW shows with a stellar lineup of locals who make the nights worth it anyway. Check the March show listings for all lineups and venues.

The Dufferin Hotel will be hosting what's being called an 'œAnti-CMW'? show March 5. This will be Frank FB_A's release party for their new CD/DVD, I Pity Da Fool and a recoding session with Greg Collins. Also playing are Matias Rozenberg and Awesome. Hopefully, the cops won't have to break up the party this time.

Finally, Davy Love's longstanding Saturday night dance party, Blow Up, is coming to an end. In celebration, one final hurrah will be thrown at original Blow Up HQ, The Elmocambo on March 26. The main floor will be taken over by bands such as The Two Koreas, Boy Ballz and The Diableros, while the top floor will feature almost every DJ that's spun at Blow Up during its past ten years. Thanks for the fuzzy memories, Blow Up!

By Steven Himmelfarb; with files from Shaunna Bednarek and Greg Collins

The Way I See It

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

There's something remarkable about the sunlight in California. It's not so much the constancy or the intensity, though it is of course both constant and intense. Somehow the light pitches sideways, highlighting in its rotation all manner of natural and artificial So-Cal phenomena '” it winds sultry-like around the curves of Porsches and outlandishly large breasts, and slinks through cracks in palm fronds. The very best time for the light isn't the swell of midday, but when the sun rises and sets '” every visible edge is smudged and dreamy, which is just how it should be. It's truly strange to live and work and sleep somewhere like this, where my life becomes so feeble and tiny when contextualized by epic California. Seriously: CALIFORNIA. Say it with me.

Figuring I'd try my hand in an industry I have no real training for, expertise in, or business being involved with, I decided it would be preferable to do so where it was not only warm but free (merci, expatriate Eldest Sister). For now and a short while longer, I live in Laguna Beach, a veritable emerald on what is generally and aptly known as the American Riviera, the southern Californian chain of moneyed coastal towns.

A few months ago in this space, Kate McGee wrote a love letter to Toronto music from the choir trenches of Germany. My dispatch is surely rooted in the same sentiment. Nonetheless, what I feel most jacked out of isn't these things specifically, but the general sense of camaraderie found amid masses of people just as young, earnest, stupid and pretentious as me. What I've noticed whilebeing away is the absence of what had come to seem like my elemental place in the world. It is odd to have left behind this sense of purpose and steadfastness before I knew it existed. It seems that all the hackneyed guidance counselor idealism about the merits of side-stepping out of your life for a while have proven true. I mean, while I realize that dicking around in Cali is hardly challenging, especially while my comrades at home curse their soakers and wind-chapped cheeks, my trip has been thus far enormously edifying, even in the familiar North American environment.

Certainly, the darlings of the office in East L.A. where I spend my days, and the denizens of the far-flung bars of Orange County where I spend my nights, are inspiring, convivial and appropriately idiosyncratic in their own rights. (Most bizarrely, they collectively think nothing of driving forty-five minutes across the county for shows every night. I will never complain about the Opera House ever again.) It's not with them that I feel like an imposter, except when they talk about congressmen and preferred freeway routes. It's the rest of my time, when I exist in a fucked-up binary of the very poorest citizens of the county and the very richest.

My long-ass commute to work on the bus consumes my waking consciousness. California is ultra-obsessed with cars, and only those on the very lowest, most cracked rung of the social ladder don't have them. Not being insured here equals not driving on the freeway, so every day I join the legions of men and women characterized by either well-justified scowls or doleful inertia. I'm usually the only whitey. I'm often asked by my co-passengers if I live on the streets, as if being a runaway is the only possible explanation for my use of public transit. When I answer in the negative, they look genuinely confused. The bus meanders through parts of Orange County that Seth and Summer likely don't check out too often, cities that are a whole five minutes away from the affluent coast and as such are composed of mostly slums, stucco gun shops, cash advance joints, and liquor stores. I try to talk to everyone who sits with me, but I don't speak much Spanish and they don't speak much English, and I sometimes get blasting mental images of my imperialist forebearers and how condescending the 'œCanadian Girl Reporter'? thing must come off, so I mostly just look out the window.

I roll to another extreme every night and weekend like so many games of pinball. I live in what is meant to be the nanny's quarters in the basement of my Eldest Sister (also her nickname, as I am younger and mean) and brother-in-law's home. Eldest Sister lives well, dresses well, drives a luxe car, employs maybe four or five people part-time, and will likely never work for money again. My sister enjoys the things she has, but remains (thankfully) the quirky and whip-smart girl who sees through me with exacting and frightening precision. Because we're two bananas in a bunch and she is very kind, E.S. has totally ingratiated me into her social and economic life. I have found myself on an overwhelming number of occasions with an overwhelmingly unoriginal Starbucks latte in hand and cellphone in ear, wheeling a Saab all kamikaze-style to overwhelmingly pricey clothing stores, organic food shops, and celebrity-dotted cafés.

Sometimes, when I'm lolling around on a bajillion-dollar couch after my third (eighth?) Gatsby-ish gimlet, I come to my senses and consider how, for the haves, the have-nots, and the have-somes, money is a constant and inescapable fixture here. Not just money, big money. Someone once said that who we are is a matter of our desires '” we're defined by what we want, not by what we do or what we like. I used to really subscribe to this definition, because in my estimation, it concluded that I was remarkably interesting and fun and smart. And, I think, so it would about the whole of our community in the Toronto I was digging before entering the U.S. I like it here, definitely, but all the mental energy spent being so far out of one's element can really make a girl crave some Sneaky's specials.

Love y'all '” xoxo.
By Kate Carraway

Top 4-T

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

STEVEN HIMMELFARB
1. Stiches in the nose
2. Celino & Barnes
3. Jim 'The Hammer' Shapiro
4. Murray 'mother fuckin' Te-catch.


SHAUNNA BEDNAREK
1. Emailing Adam Levine
2. LiLo's answering machine
3. Egplant Dike Ass
4. Paris Made Me Change My Number

RYAN MCLAREN
1. www.boingboing.net
2. www.foundmagazine.com
3. www.justconcerts.com
4. www.rottentomatoes.com

DAPS
1."Dying of falling in love."
2.'Mandarinki.' (concept not person)
3. Guests
4. Nov. 22nd, and conversely, March 10th.

MATT FUCKING COLLINS
1. Operation Ivy
2. Hedgecore
3. Take Warning
4. The extended version of Healthy Body

KAT G
1. The Complaint Department
2. The Barcelona Pavilion for breakfast
3. Republic of Safety for dinner
4. Torontopia

RYAN HARDY
1. Keshia Chant
2. torontocreamteam.blogspot.com
3. North York
4. DJ Grillville

ESP
1. King Geedorah
2. King Clancy
3. King Tubby
4. King Kong Bundy

WESLEY J RAMOS
1. Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
2. Jailbreak by Andy Dufresne
3. Jailbreak by Everett, Pete and Delmar
4. Jailbreak by AC/DC

KEVIN SHUTTERBUG
1. The idea of traveling.
2. Making DVDs.
3. The Blow
4. Avocados: two for $1.50

HOW GAUCHE
1. Positive'¦
2. Vibration'¦
3. Positive'¦
4. Laser

DON SCOTT
1. 'œSadie'?
2. Binny
3. Methuselah
4. Buffy

Sexy

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

Sexy
Sexy by Matt Fucking Collins

Zunior

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

Zunior is a record label and cool idea by former Inbreds drummer Dave Ullrich. The gimmick, if you will, is that albums are sold online directly at Zunior.com, and only in MP3 form (although you can get some albums in CD format too), while only taking a small percentage of sale price, which means that the bands get more money while the albums cost less and the 'œrecord industry'? is bypassed, leaving the artists in full control. Ryan McLaren and Ullrich talked about the site, the politics, and the hope of a new paradigm in the music industry.

What was your motivation to start Zunior?

To prove it could be done.

The site seems to be somewhat more independent and D.I.Y. than a regular record label, but more ordered and strict than something like Cafe Press. How exactly do you put a finger on this? Aside from the obvious focus on MP3's, how does this function differently?

It is totally independent, totally D.I.Y. From the business side, it is a one man show. My friend Terry helps out with the technology, but I run everything else myself and I still keep my day job. The day job is key because it keeps me from getting sucked into the usual record industry vortex. The sense in which it is strict generates from the focus on technology. This facilitates the low cost framework, and high efficiency distribution method. The order comes from a business approach and philosophy that is intended to build on the technology to provide a very new way to sell music. The theory here is to create a new music-selling framework outside of the well-worn tracks of the old one. Artists that are motivated will see the power of digital distribution more and more as buying and listening digitally becomes truly commonplace. Digital distribution levels the playing field.

It seems like more of a tool than a business. How D.I.Y. is it? Can anyone upload music to sell, or does this function just like any other record label, except in a more virtual form?

It is like a record label and distribution method rolled up into one. We have our own technology for distribution, so we don't need to go through iTunes fees and restrictions. My goal with Zunior is focus on a selection of bands that have the right attitude, and the right music. You'll see some really cool artists putting out music this year on Zunior. Some that will surprise you.

Ron Hawkins (of Lowest of the Low and Rusty Nails) has www.victimlesscapitalism.com which is along the same lines, except that he's not selling MP3's, and there's iTunes and PureTracks, but what they're selling is a more limited format that you can only use with certain players etc., and they aren't selling much in the way of independent music.' Is Zunior just the next logical step in buying music? Do you see more people taking this idea and expanding on it? It's very cool to be able to download and listen to your music right away, and that's what we have with Zunior.

I came up with the idea of 'double delivery' that means you pay one price ($14.88) and you get to download the MP3 right away, but you can still get a CD in the mail.

DRM (Digital Rights Media) is bullshit. We keep music open (no-DRM), but it's not free. The idea is to sell convenience, not restrictions. More people will expand on the idea of selling direct, digitally. It is ripe for major exploration. The smarter the artist (ie. Ron) the more cool things you will see.

Is Zunior a political statement?

Not really. I'm mostly trying to prove that it can be done. Artists that are motivated by fame should sign with major labels... knock yourself out. Artists that are motivated by music know it is important to keep your master recording, which is a political statement about how much you believe in your music.

You've said in the past that you're trying to break down the barriers between musicians and their fans. Isn't the internet creating a space where bands can deal with their fans directly? A band can burn their own CDs, or offer their music for download off of their personal site. Is Zunior even necessary?

Very awesome question! Generally no, Zunior is not necessary. The vision is this: I've said before that a single artist will come along with their own digital distribution system, and a music as compelling as Nirvana, Beck, or Prince. They'll record, release, promote, and sell millions of units on their own without ever touching the 'real' record business. Only when this happens will everyone really get what the power of digital is. It will happen.

Some people think just because they have a website the world will come to them. It ain't happening. You have to give people a compelling reason to come to your music. My strengths with Zunior are the technology, the business model, and more and more I'm realizing it is my relationships with artists and people like yourself. This is what will allow us to grow, learn and get better. Anyone can set up a site like Zunior, but you have to work hard to build and grow those relationships.

Do you ever feel like someone was going to come up with this idea eventually?

Oh yeah. I feel like people have been talking about this for years. The technology just needed to catch up. To be honest, the technology still could improve quite a bit because a computer is still pretty complicated machine for most people. Turn on a TV, now that's easy. We are limited by the skill set and understanding of computers.

I've heard one person call you "visionary". So you have to tell us, what does the future look like?

Record labels will become even better at what they have always been good at...marketing. But they've lost their lunch on distribution; hello iTunes, Apple is the new Microsoft. ' Distribution will continue to move away from CDs to digital formats including streaming. CDs however will be big for a long time...certainly as nostalgia (i.e. records), and primarily as storage. How many people do you know already that burn their CDs onto their iPods and never look at them again? CDs are like backup.

Selling music digitally means artwork will get better, not worse. A CD is terrible for the display and presentation of art. Digital 'album bundles' will get better and better with rich media including images, video, and animation. We've already started this on Zunior with the new Rheostatics album that includes a super high-res copy of the album artwork that you can print and frame for your wall. Nick Zubeck's single includes a short story. The options are endless. Albums can once again represent all sides of art; music, images, stories. One thing that will not change anytime soon is the feeling you get when you get up on a Saturday morning, grab a fresh coffee/tea, and then head down to Soundscapes to browse the shop, meet the people, and buy some music. We can never replace that feeling, and I hope good independent music sellers like Soundscapes thrive for years to come. And yes, you can buy some Zunior discs there.

By Ryan McLaren

Reviews

By wavelength ~ Posted Monday, March 7th 2005

GARY WILSON
Mary had Brown Hair (Stone's Throw)
Any decent record collection has at least one magically annoying album in it. One with irritating vocals, half-songs with creepy subject matter, and like ten pounds of stupid keyboards. If you don't already have a Residents album or a tape of Wesley Willis songs whose titles fall into the 'œcombination of the words hell, ride, and bus'? family, now's about the time to think about getting into this one, and make a new hobby out of wondering just what the fuck 'œLinda wants to sleep alone all into the night'? means. --MFC
File next to: Music defended by 'œit took 20 years to finish!'?
Mia
MIA
Arular (XL Recordings)
I love the way the British will just pass off anything as 'œflowing'?. I also love how they're into, like, the most emotionless, undanceable Grace-Jones-on-meth robot beats imaginable- but how can you hate a music culture that first posited that you could dance to Roni Size? Anyway, this is supposed to be political, and it kind of is, but probably not in the way 'œBanned in the USA'? was- that is, the verse-to-chorus ratio is a bit light in the verse department. --MFC
File next to: I really hope she turns what she says in interviews into songs.

THE UN
Ain't no thang/Get yo XXXXX/What They Want
Pretty much the best hip hop 12'? anyone could ask for. The Large Professor beat for What They Want was designed for listening to on big headphones on a bus at night. A perfect halfway point between street (remember Smif-N-Wessun?) toughness and underground ingenuity in the rhymes means no bullshit 'œfuturistic'? nonsense, no 'œexpand your mind'? shit, and no 'œthug'? signifiers. Plus it's a single so there's no fiuller (see my Mm'¦Food review). --MFC
File next to: Go buy a turntable then go buy this.

MF DOOM
Mm'¦ Food (Rhymesayers)
There's like three good songs on this (you'll get sick of that 'œsuper'? track REAL quick) and then a ton of filler. Plus, all the filler is either about Dr. Doom (surprise) or food (surprise), so it reminds me of this joke:
Have you heard about the new Chinese/German restaurant?
You eat dinner and a half hour later you're hungry for power.
Only in this case, put this record on and a half hour later you're hungry for your money back to go buy a better record. --MFC
File next to: Guy with funny mask makes records; hip hop wannabes fall for it.

THE GAME ft. 50 CENT
Westside Story
You totally heard the version of this with Snoop Dogg, right? WHAT? You only know 'œHow We Do?'? That's dope, too, I guess. But what about the chorus on this one where Fiddy's like, 'œIf you take a look in my eyes, you see I'll be a gangsta til I die, (something mumbled) California sunshine, Game tell '˜em where you from.'? And Game goes, 'œNigga, Westside!'?
You're gonna have that in your head so hard you'll be throwing up W's on the bus and old people next to you will think you're going to meet your gang to do crime. --MFC
FNT: Rad gangsta rap comeback in full effect.

Flossin
Lead Singer (Ache)
I like this record a lot. It's funny, because I don't really like Kid606, and he is an integral part of what makes this record sound as interesting as it does. Hard panned digital noise textures are lain over the incomparable drumming of Hella's Zach Hill (whose drumming here sounds just great) and Christopher Willit's equally jarring laptop noise. It's got an unstoppable vibe - - each track dovetails into the next with clattering percussion and, let's face it, like I'm saying, hard noise. It's a jarring record that isn't really meant for all moods, but when you're after that squiggly noise and insane drum skillz, this is where you want to go. It's like Hella without the guitars, if Spencer Seim made industrial scraping on his keyboard instead of Nintendo sounds. Like Black Dice if they'd chosen to
deconstruct hardcore in a different way, with emphasis on the drums instead of ambience;
basically it's like your brain going to soup while you seizure on the floor after trying to dance to this. What I'm saying here is: this is great, check it out, the folks at Ache are doing right by me. --AG

By the End of Tonight
A Tribute to Tigers (Temporary Residence)
Mining the same gold as such post (or, post-post?) rock groups as the Arco Flute Foundation and Howard Hello, creating a distinctive sound of loss and power, with minimal vocals all up in the background, and guitars making lovely, crystalline arpeggios overtop of long-bass'd and snapping snare drums, the artwork I'm not sure what it all means, but there is a litho of a face looking skyward on the sleeve and disc, and man, this is the next wave of post-rock, this is the next wave of post-rock, post-rock is dead and this is what is crawling from the wreckage, or, wait a second, let me say it, okay, this is proof positive that Mogwai suck, because they could have been doing this and they chose not to, and it's that choosing, on the part of By the End of Tonight, which makes this so great. I mean, as well as all of those things I just said. --AG

Low
The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop)
Here we are with another Low album, the third in a series of press-verified "dramatic departures". Again, Low are trying to hit it with something aside from their wall-of reverb slowcore sound. Some of the time it works, some of the time it doesn't, but it's always interesting. "Broadway (So Many People)" recalls the regret-filled pop of "Dinosaur Act", yet darker, the regret that comes from the original regret. The real shame of this, though, is that it doesn't touch the stuff they were doing around 1999 or so. There's nothing as creepy as "I Remember", or as spiritual(ly weird) as "Will the Night", or as buoyant as "Starfire". You've probably guessed that Secret Name is my favourite Low record. Yeah... Anyway, this is good, but not as good as it could've been. --AG

Panoply Academy
Everything Here Was Built to Break (Secretly Canadian)
Spazz rockers Panoply Academy have finally released a collection of those hard-to-find compilation appearances and seven-inchers. My problem: I'd be a lot happier if I knew what to expect. Having never heard a Panoply record, I didn't know what to expect. So my advice: never start with a singles collection, or, odds n' sods, because there is no point of comparison. Anyway. It really comes and goes with this, because on the one hand you've got great tracks that point to the weirdo genius of these guys ("Us" or the first song), but at the same time you have some clunkers that turn you off. Now feeling like I can't really recommend or bash this because I haven't heard their other stuff, I'll say this: pick up some of their albums, see if you like them. If you do, you'll dig this greatly. The liner notes alone are worth the price of entry. --AG

Black Mountain
s/t (Scratch)
Holy jam, y'all. Not knowing what to expect, I bought this on an impulse. I was not in any sense disappointed. Kind of like the Go! Team if reimagined by hillbillies with a yen for Jackie-O Motherfucker and the NNCK. Leadoff track "Modern Music" is all of these excellent qualities combined in the poppiest song I've loved in a long time. The call and response vocal quality of "One Two Three, Another Pop Explosion" followed by "4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!" is bizarre and fun at the same time. My only problem with the song is that it doesn't go on long enough. It also bugs me a little that this album doesn't ever really match the joyous bump of that song. On the second track things turn inward, into downbeat introspective psychedelia. Only with a little time and distance from "Modern Music" is it apparent how great the rest of the album is. Dual guy/girl vocals play about overtop Fender Rhodes and Blue Cheer-esque guitars; saxophone blasts like a long lost Stooges riff on some songs, and the drums, interestingly, awesomely, are kept minimal and distinct. This is the jank, right here. --AG

Art Bears
Art Box (Recommended)
Bob Drake is into some weird shit. Besides writing some of the best horror-pop ever, he has produced some of the most interesting outrock shit out there lately. Sadly, he seems to have had his Waterloo with the Art Box. See, because the Art Bears, they're not so good. Lydia Lunch style vocals overtop industrial cabaret pop... it doesn't work. And long periods of listening to this, for me, anyhow, has resulted in frustration and headaches. Don't get me wrong - - it's interesting, if only in an archival sense. I mean, this sounds like Rollerball but was made a decade previous. And it has traces of "freak-folk" (whatever that is) all over it. But no matter how important the music is, it still has to be listenable. And this... isn't. Not really. Maybe I haven't spent enough time with it. Maybe it'll just never quit. It's interesting, though, to see how much better the Art Bears: Revisted discs are. Contemporary bands remixing and reinterpreting the Art Bears. And it works. But no matter how much it works, that still doesn't excuse the source material. Or the price! If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hang myself. --AG

Pauly Shore is Dead
Pauly Shore Is Dead
(dir. Pauly Shore)

Pauly Shore is attempting to make a comeback with a new DVD; a mockumentary about him trying to make a comeback, via faking his own death. If you're not sure who Pauly Shore is, the following phrases may bring back repressed memories: Son-In-Law, Jury Duty, and, of course, 'œWiezin' the jui-uuuiiiice!'? The movie is a parody of his life-- from the moment his 1997 Fox sitcom, Pauly, was cancelled (quicker as you can say "Buuuuudddd-y") to "present day." In on the joke include a bunch of no-name actors, actual celebrities (Ben Stiller, Britney Spears, Dr. Dre), and a who's who of the next few seasons of The Surreal Life (Kato Kaelin, the Hilton sisters and evil clown, Scott "Carrot Top" Thompson) in brilliantly WTF cameos. Despite its CFNY-centric soundtrack, featuring the likes of Nickelback and Limp Bizkit (while Fred Durst makes a turn as a hyper-macho-pussy "parody" of himself) and, well, the fact that it's a movie centred around Pauly Fucking Shore, all in all, it's really'¦ not bad. The only thing that would make it even better would be a Shannen Doherty cameo during the jail scene. Be sure to watch the commentary, where we learn that BeyoncÈ's personal bodyguard is named "Big Shorty" and that Corey Feldman is a whiny baby. Sadly, though, we may never learn what it took to get Gerardo to holler "Rrrico Suave oranjes!" '“SB
File next to: Stuff that should suck, but, surprisingly, doesn't. Y'know, like that Mario song.

Theresa's Sound-World
One String Band (TS Records; www.onestringband.com)
Theresa's Sound-World have been kicking around town in some form or another since 1996, and One String Band is their first proper album; what sets it apart from the band's previous release, Rain Falls Down on Summer Trees, is that this album is an actual collection of songs, rather than soundscapes, jams and field recordings. As the band's name indicates, (early 90s) Sonic Youth are an obvious influence, but Theresa's Sound-World aren't entirely Alternative Nation. The band has a unique spacey stoner rock sound with elements of punk, shoegazer, classic rock and, on closing ballad 'œRest of My Life,'? a little bit of folk. Though the eight tracks clock in at just over 52 minutes, the jamming surprisingly never seems excessively wanky, or even jammy. One String Band brings back the fond nostalgic feeling from the 90s that can be better found in dusty old 6-hour VHS recordings from City Limits back in the day rather than Much More Music's Back In'¦-- SB
File next to: Doc Martens, a bong and a basement.

FrankFB_A
I Pity Da Fool (www.geocities.com/frankfb_a) Franchise Records
In relaying the title, I'd like to say, 'œI Pity Da Fool,'? that doesn't buy this album! Or wait, correction, this Toronto-based quartet now has a DVD! That's right, FrankFB_A has now created a DVD to go along with their CD. With this you can hear them recorded, and while watching a live acoustic performance of them at the Art Gallery of Ontario, learn a little about their history. After viewing both, it seemed as though this band is about making songs that have as much creative freedom as desired. With the muffled vocals of Charlie singing, 'œI am your pizza-man, I deliver to your hand,'? the comical lyrics show that they're not about being pretentious; hence Chris (Charlie's older brother) wearing a bunny-suit in the DVD (yep...a bunny-suit!). With songs such as 'œRock '˜n' Roll Casino,'? and Couch Prancing,'? Frank creates songs with content that will make you laugh, and guitar, keyboard and drum playing that make for quite likable melodies. --JB
File next to: Your swanky DVD collection!!

Minus Story
The Captain is Dead let the Drum Corpse Dance (http://countrycore.com/minusstory/main.html) Jagjaguwar
This album is like reflecting upon a really good day; it just keeps getting better, and when it's done you wish it never had to end. Every song had its own great quality, from the room-filling keyboards on 'œYou were on my Side,'? to the drumming on 'œthe Children's Army,'? Minus Story is, in my opinion, able to perfect the usage of all their instruments by filling in each spot to create a mollifying sound that is beautifully crafted. From the beginning through to the end, each song seemed to demonstrate their ability to create enticing songs that would take on various kinds of sounds and grow in intensity. It's one of those CDs where you seem to be in love with a different song everyday, finding a new part in each, where the intricacy of the rhythms make you want to hear the album over and over again. --JB
File next to: Greatest, sheer greatness!

DUB TRINITY & CHET SINGH
Dub Trinity & Chet Singh (Independent, www.dubtrinity.com)
Peterborough natives Beau Dixon and Gregory Roy are here joined by lyricist Chet Singh for this Dub Trinity release. In true dub tradition, the nine songs on this disc often return to the same musical themes and lyrical content. Half the record was recorded with Pete Hudson in Toronto at Halla Music, while the other half was recorded in Peterborough. Pete Hudson remixes one of the songs, as does Bobby O'Luge. The lyrics are politically charged, with criticism of failing world and Canadian political '˜systems' being front & centre. The music & lyrical content does occasionally veer toward paint-by-numbers simplicity, yet there is often enough going on throughout this disc to make it a worthwhile listen. '“ PO'D
File next to: Socially-conscious Resinators-like dub.

BROKEN TREE FORT
'00-04 Compilation (Independent)
Malton-based Broken Tree Fort has been making music (as evidenced here) for roughly half a decade now. This compilation is extremely limited (mine's copy three of nine) and aims to provide a survey of various projects BTF has had in the works over the past four years. Selections from '˜Excuse Me Doctor', '˜Klanks On Parade', '˜Reform The Deformed' and '˜Caught In The Devil's Fence' all find their way onto the disc, as do several unreleased tracks. The music is self-recorded, passionate & charming. Even the novelty of covering 'œShimmy Shimmy Ya'? is thankfully not exploited to its most ironic effect. Rather, the song is given an earnest, haunting/melancholic arrangement that seems to suit it perfectly. Broken Tree Fort continue to make uncompromising music that is worth seeking out at all costs. '“ PO'D
File next to: Skitterish rhythms, deadpan vocal delivery, squiggly guitars and carefully placed keyboards.

The Go! Team
Thunder, Lightning, Strike (Memphis Industries, www.thegoteam.co.uk)
Man, I dig this disc. This six piece from Brighton appear to have grown up on American TV adventure shows and The Electric Co. because their vision is distinctly 70s. There is a mix here of samples ('¡ la The Avalanches) and lo-fi funk with live instrumentation. Apparently recorded in a basement, this release is heavy with distorted beats and messy sounds rendering things a bit unpolished, but I think in that lies some of its charm. It's direct and funky, man! With some nods to late 70's California, double-dutch skipping and Grandmaster Flash-era scratches and raps, this thing just kicks. This album is like one spontaneous pep rally complete with cheerleaders. Totally unique and totally addictive.
File next to: Mike Post tv themes and Saturday mornings circa 1977.
--SV

Code 46 (DVD, directed by Michael Winterbottom)
Winterbottom's vision of a not too distant future in which genetics, in-vitro fertilization and cloning determine a person's worth and class serves as a moral tale here. This is a 21st Century spin to the Oedipus tale. Tim Robbins is a detective who seeks out people who violate their genetic restriction by using falsified technology to gain 'œcover'? to travel from one zone to another. In his search he falls for violator Maria played by Samantha Morton. Of course, things are doomed for these two. Code 46 refers to a statute that makes it forbidden to have sexual relations with someone who shares your genetic makeup. Any memory or pregnancies from that union are terminated for genetic purity. I found that this film was generally interesting but slightly flawed in places. But it would not be out of place alongside Blade Runner or THX 1138 for your sci-fi video collection.
File next to: Who you come from will determine where you will go.
--SV

Marissa Nadler
Ballads of Living and Dying (Eclipse Records, www.marissanadler.com)
Ballads are songs that often tell a moral lesson by often graphic and unrelenting means. Old country music
and southern gothic literature are littered with such tales. So is Nadler's song poetry. She seems to channel the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe through a singing voice that reminds me of Hope Sandoval or Kendra Smith. Poe's Annabel Lee is interpreted towards the end as an interesting coda to all this darkness. This stuff is very captivating and distinctly haunting from start to finish. The simple finger-picked guitar and banjo feel like a dark cold winter wind blowing straight through your bones. Added to this Nadler's velvety and melancholy voice portend some disaster for her song subjects in the form of suicide or murder. This album seems rooted in a weird realm where Leonard Cohen meets Alan Lomax. Make sure to listen to it with the lights on.
File next to: Spooky gothic folksongs with art direction by Edward Gorey.
--SV

MFC = Matt Fucking Collins, AG = Anthony Gerace, SB = Shaunna Bednarek, JB = Jasmyn Burke, PO'D = Paddy O'Donnell, SV = Steven Venn

FIELD GUIDE TO WORDS AND MUSIC

By wavelength ~ Posted Tuesday, March 1st 2005

Despite Wallowstarr's name change and a slew of band mates made victim of spontaneous combustion, four boys residing in Toronto's west side extension (Hamilton), have congregated, made an album and branded themselves 'œField Guide to Words and Music.'? Through a series of rigorous questions via the Internet, Eve Tobolka has exposed details of their debut album, the complexities of a name and most importantly, the members' preferred pastimes.

YOUR NAMES AND WHAT YOU DO.
Drew Smith '“ vocals, guitar and teach E.S.L to adults.
Adam Alfano '“ guitar and a steel salesman, that's the awful truth,
Brad Schumacher '“ bass and currently completing the longest undergrad in Canadian history.
Mike Morris '“ drums, percussion and work long hours for a construction company, specializing in taking bricks from one pile, moving them to a new pile, and then moving them back to the original pile.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM?
Drew: It's a collection of ten songs which have been written over the last couple of years '“ they are our favorites and the songs we feel the most confident about.

Brad: The album is called The Ones You Love and will be released in the late spring/early summer. The musically gifted and airplane-obsessed Andy Magoffin, who is the man behind early records by the Constantines and the Hidden Cameras, produced it. Not in alphabetical order, some of the instruments appearing on the album include: electric and acoustic guitars, tambourines, cowbells, alto horns, drums, euphoniums, keyboards, banjoes, pianos, trumpets, and bass guitars. Everything else is a secret. There are no handclaps on the album.
Adam: It's like losing a street fight to a string quartet.
UPCOMING TOUR?
Adam: Heck yes.
Brad: There's a tentative East Coast tour in the works and we will be playing all over Ontario within the next four months.
Mike: We're touring the East side because traveling all the way to Vancouver seems really scary. There's just so much land to cover!
IT'S JUST SO SIMPLE TO SAY THAT ONE'S BAND NAME "ADDRESSES THE DIVIDE BETWEEN THE CEREBRAL AND THE ESOTERIC'¦BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE COGNITIVE AND THE EMOTIONAL". WHAT DOES 'œFIELD GUIDE TO WORDS AND MUSIC'? REALLY MEAN?
Brad: Actually it's not simple to say that at all. If you're being literal, saying the words esoteric, cerebral, and cognitive in one sentence is kind of difficult and needlessly ostentatious. If you're being figurative, it's somewhat vague and needlessly ostentatious. The part about the "divide between the cerebral..." is supposed to address the two somewhat opposing ways people listen to music. The cognitive would be music that appeals to your brain (clever lyrics, interesting arrangements/instruments), and the emotional would be music that hits you on more of a gut level. It isn't necessarily complicated or trying something new but it still grabs you and makes you want to, as the kids say, rock out. As a band we try to do both, it is important to us to try different song structures or to use interesting sounds without losing the aspects of the song that initially grabbed us.
Adam: I thought we just took the 'œField Guide to North American Birds'? and changed the last three words. I guess I'm out of the loop... esoteric?

A FRIEND HAD MENTIONED THAT SHE THOUGHT OF 'œTHE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY'? WHEN SHE HEARD THE NAME 'œFIELD GUIDE TO WORDS AND MUSIC.'? ANY ANECDOTAL RELATION BETWEEN THE TWO?
Adam: We're a fairly well read lot but I don't think any of us have read those books. I will say this: Mos Def is in the upcoming movie version and I have huge faith in that guy as an actor.
EATING CARAMELS AND SWAYING TO THE AWESOME SOUNDS OF EARLY '˜90S WORKOUT TAPES IS ONE HELL OF A GOOD TIME. WHAT DO YOU GUYS LIKE TO DO ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS?
Drew: Sleeping or bird watching'¦ or both at the same time '“ it happens sometimes.
Adam: Horizontal all day (as a rule) watching redundant sports like curling and equestrian or embarrassingly cheesy movies (the titles of which I'd rather not mention).
Mike: On Saturday's, I strive to perfect my physique. Twenty-k runs are usually scheduled (rain, snow, shine'¦whatever.)

March, 2005

By wavelength ~ Posted Tuesday, March 1st 2005

Sunday March 6 '“ WL 253 (it's post-CMW madness!)

Sunday March 13 '“ WL 254

  • JENS LEKMAN '“ from Gothenburg, Sweden! Secretly Canadian/Sonic Unyon's pure-pop heartthrob --www.jenslekman.tk
  • DATING SERVICE '“ critical synth-pop from members of The Hidden Cameras and Republic of Safety
  • + DJ Joel Gibb

Sunday March 20 -- WL 255 -- aMyleigh's xhardcorex birthday

Sunday March 27 '“ WL 256

  • KEPLER '“ Ottawa's soulful post-rockers unveil new five-piece line-up (after losing drummer to The Arcade Fire) [how's that for a headline?]
    -- www.keplertheband.com
  • DRUMHELLER '“ formerly Bourbon Leaves -- Eric Chenaux, Nick Fraser, Rob Clutton, Doug Tielli + Brodie West play dino-tastic improv jazz
  • RECOILERS '“ Ottawa/Kelp Records -- classic indie fuzz rock --
    www.kelprecords.com
  • + DJ safety_matches

Sunday April 3 '“ WL 257

Sunday April 10 '“ WL 258

Sunday April 17 '“ WL 259

Sunday April 24 '“ WL 260

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