My new fave T-shirt

Turn on the Lights

It would be a terrible oversight on my part if I didn't post Interpol's new video, Lights, especially since the name of this blog is taken from some of the lyrics in one of their previous songs.

Joy!

What a coinkydink!

Very interesting. A day after I ramble on about Modest Mouse's Isaac Brook et al, what should appear in my inbox? An e-mail about his latest project, Mimicking Birds. He's not in the band ... but he co-produced their new self-titled album in his home studio. It's now available on his label, Glacial Pace Recordings.

I'll be yours

Here's another song of the day ... (that's three today, if anyone's keeping count) ... Ellie Goulding and Erik Hassle's acoustic cover of Robyn's exquisite Be Mine. Uh oh, now I have to find the original video ... which always makes me feel like I'm 15 and in throes of unrequited love. Yuck.

OK, here's another song of the day ...

Two tracks in less than eight hours? Absolutely, considering I've neglected this blog for months, I'm allowed to fudge the rules. (What rules, I'm not exactly sure.)

Anyhow ... I don't know much about Man/Miracle, but this song is a definite keeper. I haven't had a chance to listen to their full album ... my stacks of CDs and invisible piles of digital downloads seem to keep growing and growing. How can anyone keep up with 'em all?

Rourke 'n' roll

Here's another segue from The Shins ... James Mercer is good friends with Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Guitarist Johnny Marr was a temporary Mouse ... but, of course, he's better known for his work with The Smiths ... which also featured bassist Andy Rourke, who now works as a DJ for Xfm in Manchester, England.

He'll be spinning tonight at Brixx Bar & Grill, 10030 102nd Street. Doors open at 8 p.m. Upstairs, Champion will be performing in The Starlite Room.

One of my fave Rourke bassline (and Smiths song):

Song of the day: Australia

This isn't a new track, but thanks to a recent Twitterlogue with Jason Konoza, I was reminded of this song by The Shins. (Long story short ... you can download it from the Rock Band Network Music Store.) It's one of my faves from 2007's Wincing The Night Away, but I haven't listened to the song (or the album) in awhile ... so I found the track on YouTube ... and realized I had never seen the official video. I still haven't seen most of it ... my mind tends to wander when I listen to Australia ... and frankly, I can't resist the urge to snap my fingers or do jazz hands. Yup, still a fabulous track.

This all segues nicely into my next subject ... Broken Bells, which features James Mercer of The Shins and producer Danger Mouse. Their first collaboration is in stores on Tuesday, March 9. You can listen to a stream of it on Spinner ... one of the best sites ever! ... and here's a cute-as-a-button clip of the Bells testing their tunes on a panel of children:

Some Panda lovin'

Edmonton's Hot Panda is coming out of hibernation. The indie-pop foursome, complete with a new bassist, will perform on Sunday, Feb. 14 -- awww, Valentine's Day -- at The Pawn Shop. Tickets are $8 at Blackbyrd and Megatunes (or you can wait and get them at the door). Rah Rah and Sans Aids will open.

Lost vs. Battlestar

Hmm ... is every TV show in its final season required to use imagery of The Last Supper?

More than Satisfied

Thick, white smoke hangs in the air of a west Edmonton warehouse. Eight vertical rows of dim light bulbs cast an eerie glow across the set of what feels like a serial killer film. “Playback!” yells director Colin Minihan as he crouches on the wet cement floor, ready to shoot another take of Social Code’s new video, Satisfied.

Dirty guitars and squeals of feedback fill the room. Frontman Travis Nesbitt grips his microphone and lunges toward the camera as his bandmates casually bounce beside him in the shadows. Ninety seconds later, the St. Albert rockers and the tune stop. Nesbitt strolls to the back of the warehouse, where a makeup artist, a few journalists and video crew members wait around. “No lunging in any future videos,” smiles the singer, rubbing his thighs and eyeing the makeshift stripper pole next to him, waiting to be used by one of the video’s actresses.

“It’s pretty much your standard rock n’ roll video,” says Nesbitt. “The song is about a sexually expressive woman so we’re trying to illustrate that with strippers and models.”

Satisfied is the first single from Social Code’s new album, Rock ‘N’ Roll. It’s also the band’s most successful single — it’s No. 11 on the Canadian rock charts — and it’s starting to break in the U.S. The video for the single, shot less than two weeks ago, is now posted on YouTube.

Nesbitt is excited by Social Code’s reversal of fortunes. After five years and two albums on a major record label, the band left Universal Music Canada last year and released Rock ‘N’ Roll on their own. (The disc will make its U.S. debut in March.) “I’m super, super pumped,” he says. “It took us a number of years to get here but now we’re doing it all ourselves.”

Well, not entirely. Staff from AXE Productions and students from NAIT are helping with the making of Satisfied. Social Code initially wanted to shoot the video in — grr! — Vancouver, but then decided to shoot in Edmonton. “Being a hometown band, people chipped in,” says Nesbitt. He came up with the concept of the video — along with Colin Minihan, who won director of the year at last June’s MuchMusic Video Awards. The Vancouver lensman has a soft spot for YEG bands — he’s shot at least four Ten Second Epic clips (Life Times, Avenue Days, Old Habits Die Hard, Count Yourself In) and five for Social Code, including He Said She Said, Everyday (Late November), and Bomb Hands. “He’s blowing up,” says Nesbitt. “He’s just easy to work with.”

A few minutes later, the musicians are back in front of Minihan’s camera. “Quiet please, everyone,” he shouts, silencing a few of the noisier guests. “Last minute of song.”

B.C. takes over YEG

We might as well proclaim Friday, Feb. 5 as B.C. Invasion Day in Edmonton. That's when we’ll be overrun with some of the province’s hottest up ‘n’ comers at two different venues.

Singer-songwriter Dan Mangan (Vancouver) and moody popster Aidan Knight (Victoria) will perform at Haven Social Club, while pop duo The Zolas (Vancouver) and We Are The City (Kelowna) will be at Brixx Bar & Grill.

Decisions, decisions … actually, you can make both. Mangan/Knight’s 9 p.m. show is sold out, so they’ll play a second, earlier gig – starting at 6:30 p.m. at Haven. (Tix are $15 plus service charges at Ticketmaster.) The Brixx gig, which also features Edmonton's Call Before You Dig (awesome name!), starts around 9 p.m. Tix are $15 at the door.

No Pemberton (and I don't mean Rollie)

While Coachella unveiled its lineup earlier today -- Pavement! PiL! Gorillaz! FAITH NO MORE! -- Pemberton Festival announced it WILL NOT be happening for a second straight year.

Drops of goodness

Toronto singer-songwriter Laura Barrett, who also happens to be one of the Hidden Cameras, plays a mean kalimba. (Well, sorta ... how can a kalimba possibly sound mean?) Here's her new video for an "old" song, The Wood Between Worlds. (Well, old by today's standards ... it was featured on her album, Victory Garden, released in 2008.) Delicious ... and slightly creepy.

Speedy butterfly

Gotta ... catch ... my ... breath ... this ... video ... tires ... me ... out ...

Song of the day

This is the first single and video from Retribution Gospel Choir's debut, 2, featuring Alan Sparhawk of Low. Is it just me or does the intro sound like it could be a TV on the Radio tune?

2 is in stores on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

R.I.P. Kate McGarrigle

Eleven years ago, Edmonton music fans were lucky to see folk singers Kate and Anna McGarrigle, plus Kate's children -- Rufus and Martha Wainwright -- perform at the Folk Fest.

Kate, 63 , died on Monday, Jan. 18 after a battle with cancer.

Here is an interview with Martha, from 1999, about her mom, music and family:

Martha dips her toes into Folk Fest limelight with an open heart
Edmonton Journal
Mon Aug 9 1999
Page: C2
Section: Entertainment
Byline: Sandra Sperounes, Journal Music Writer
Dateline: Edmonton
Source: The Edmonton Journal

Martha Wainwright thinks the Folk Fest is a great place to fall in love.

The singer remembers going ga-ga for an accordion player in 1992 and she's been looking out for prospects this weekend.

Love and broken hearts are two of Martha's favourite song-writing topics. Then again, her mom and aunt, Kate and Anna McGarrigle also tread over those subjects in their tunes. So does Martha's older brother, Rufus. (As for their father ... well, let's just say Loudon Wainwright III is too cynical to sing traditional love songs.)

Until recently, Martha has been content to keep her toes out of the limelight. But after years of singing back-up for the McGarrigles and Rufus, Martha is slowly coming into her own. Rufus even wrote a song encouraging her to step out of the shadows.

Don't expect Martha to be a carbon copy of the McGarrigles, though. The 23-year-old sounds more like a cross between Billie Holliday and Edie Brickell than a pair of folkies.

Martha almost didn't make it to this year's festival. Minutes out of Toronto, the airplane she was flying in started losing fuel. The plane then had to make an emergency landing after dumping more fuel in Lake Ontario.

Thankfully, Martha arrived in time to perform solo and with her family on Saturday. The Journal managed to lure her away for a few minutes.

Q: When did you know that music was going to be your life?

A: I think in the back of my mind it was always a given. But as a teenager, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to be an actress. I studied art history. But I think I had to take a shot at it and if I didn't, I think I would've felt like an idiot.

Q: What was it like growing up in such a musical family?

A: I had a great time. It was really a happy, happy life. Kids love going backstage, staying up late and going to clubs to see musicians. And it was very exciting to have a mom that worked and was so strong.

Q: What do you remember from your childhood?

A: A lot of memories of being in the house (in Montreal) and being around music and being around adults. My mom had a four-track in the basement and her boyfriend was her bass player, so they'd do these crazy recordings.

Q: Does your heritage make it easier for your career?

A: It definitely makes it easier to get your foot in the door and people know who you are and take you somewhat seriously right off the bat. Although they expect something a lot folkier and I think some are pleasantly surprised.

But that's okay, because I'm not looking for the same type of career. It's a different time.

Q: Your songs seem very autobiographical.

A: They're all really autobiographical, mostly about love. What else does a 23-year-old girl think about?

Q: That subject seems to be a trend in the family. Why?

A: I think because we all have broken hearts. We're all really emotional, guided by some sort of mystical vision of true love.

Q: What's your idea of true love?

A: Maybe it comes from all those crazy love songs where they're killing each other because they can't be together. But I'm definitely getting more realistic about the whole thing. I've already gone through two or three heartbreaks.

Q: Are you going to fall in love this weekend?

A: I hope so. These are the times when you get to spend three days with other musicians, so love can flourish in three days. But then they usually end up living half-way across the world -- so it doesn't make for very good relationships.

Love, love, love ...

You Say Party! We Say Die! will play a free show on Monday, Jan. 18 at Megatunes. Time: 4 p.m. (A gig at Sonic 102.9 FM is also in the works.)

The Vancouver dance-punks are making up for one of the previous cancellations, according to the Whyte Avenue store's website. The show is part of YSP!WSD!'s quick loop of AB/BC ... before they head south for their first tour of the U.S. in four years. (They were stymied by a silly little legal issue, which was recently cleared up. Congrats!)

I HAVE to see this film!

If you've followed me over the years, you'll know that I'm an unabashed fan of Blur and by extension, any of Damon Albarn's subsequent projects. Lately, I've been listening (and yes, grooving) to Blur's 1994 single, Girls & Boys, thanks to Wii's new gaming sensation, Just Dance.

The Brit-pop act reunited last year, but the foursome won't be touring through Canada. Fans can catch a glimpse of Blur's 2009 shows at Glastonbury and Hyde Park in the new film, No Distance Left To Run, which will screen on Thursday, Jan. 21 at Cineplex South Edmonton Common. Tickets are available this Friday via Cineplex's website.

In the '90s, Blur was even bigger than Oasis -- in Britain. Not so in the rest of the world, where Oasis ruled the charts and Blur was best known for its two minute of chaos, Song 2. In 2003, the band disintegrated and Albarn went on start a cartoon urban-pop group, Gorillaz, who were nominated for four Grammys in 2005. Their next album, Plastic Beach, is due in March.

Gigs: Wale, Collett, Zeus

* Rapper Wale will headline his first Edmonton show on Friday, Feb. 26 at Tonic, according to Pollstar.com. The D.C. native was one of Jay-Z’s openers last October at Rexall Place. Wale’s debut, Attention Deficit, was released in November.

Singer-songwritert Jason Collett and two of his label mates, Bahamas and Zeus, will perform Wednesday, March 31 at The Pawn Shop. The three acts, who are signed to Toronto’s Arts & Crafts, will play “together and alone during a night-long set of incredible music,” reads the label’s newsletter.

Collett, who sometimes performs with Broken Social Scene, is releasing his fifth album Rat A Tat Tat, on March 9. Zeus will be releasing their first, Say Us, on Feb. 23.

Ticket details to both shows have yet to be announced.