Sounds Like Walking or Running

The Crystals, many years after recording Da Doo Ron Ron

The Crystals Da Doo Ron Ron
The Rolling Stones (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City
The Mighty Avengers (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City
The Supremes Run, Run, Run
The Velvet Underground Run, Run, Run

There are certain songs that, owing to that bizarre alchemical process known as "record production" produce in me a physical desire to not dance, but to move forward somehow - usually run, sometimes just walk and skip a bit - but propel my body forward. In the case of these two songs, I've managed to narrow it down to two elements - piano arpeggios and tympani. Although none of Philip Glass' compositions produce the same effect, so maybe I'm off-base. Or is it just that one song mentions walking specifically, and in the other, "ron ron" could be misheard as "run run?"

The Crystals' Da Doo Ron Ron is a lovely bit of nonsense written by song-writing duo Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich and produced by Phil Spector. You know it, no doubt.

I first heard (Walkin' Thru The) Sleepy City on Metamorphosis, a spectacular collection of Rolling Stones' singles, demos and b-sides from their early career under the tutulage of Andrew Loog Oldham that's frequently spotted at used record stores and well worth the $3 or so one has to put down to own it. Some of the songs on the collection recorded as demos to be shopped around to other groups, and such is the case with this one. The Mighty Avengers (or their producer) foolishly decided to bury the piano in the mix, and there's a naivety in the vocals that pales in comparison to the y'know, transcendent snarl & knowingness of Mr. Jagger in the Rolling Stones' version. (Another similar sounding song worth your time in the collection is I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys)

So, is it just the title then that compels me to walk or run? Let's see. Here we have two songs with the same title that are vastly different in terms of subject matter. The Supremes' Run, Run, Run is a strangely off song written for the group by Motown's sweetest song-writing trio Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1964 that resulted in a dismal chart-showing. The Velvet Underground's Run, Run, Run performed even more dismally on the charts, of course, although at this juncture it's the more well-known of the two. Neither of these songs make me want to move much.

Your step-father, before he met your mother...

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Night Moves

There's an unrepeatable story that explains the ubiquitous use of the term "Night Moves" amongst my friends, but like most inside jokes and small infants in the wild, it wouldn't last very long out of the watchful eyes of its creators. And it's not that much easier to speak about one of Detroit's many favourite journeyman musicians Bob Seger, either. His name brings up images of an earnest and bearded man who was never as cool as Bruce Springsteen nor as unbearable as John Cougar Mellancamp, but occupied a similar niche for men of a certain age, of a certain class, and probably a certain type of beer, too. (Is that why his backing band is called the Silver Bullet Band?) Step-father rock, but not Steve Earle.

So, I'll talk about the song, despite the salacious and entirely unwholesome imagery and memories the phrase conjurs up in my mind, this song is a soft and endearing bit of roots rock with piano that recalls The Band or alternately predicts Bruce Hornsby's playing on The Way It Is, more than the honky tonking it was probably intended to recall. So, for all of you working men & working men's offspring, who will be finishing their work late this evening, after hoisting bails of hay or tool-boxes or hefty grant applications, this is an appropriate song for which to end the working day, allowing you to segue into more ironic and rocking territory before hoisting bottles of beers to your weary, bearded faces. Oh shit, this is a song about one night stands? Weird.

Cut Copy's I Thought of Numbers EP (2001)

Cut Copy Rendesvouz
Cut Copy Drop The Bomb
Cut Copy Standing Up Sitting Down

The other day, I was thinking that there should be another Cut Copy album coming down the pipeline, and lo and behold, no word of anything yet. Alas. The Australians are easily one of my favourite electro groups around today, managing to penetrate my low-level hostility and antipathy towards that continent. To tide myself over, I returned to their 2001 debut EP, I Thought of Numbers, from which the songs above are taken. Rendezvous best bears the Cut Copy sonic stamp of the three songs here - the rolling synth-lines, disaffected vocals, and chopped vocal samples: not quite ready for the dancefloor yet, though. Drop the Bomb sounds a bit like the Avalanches, or the Bumblebeez or the hybrid edits that Jacques Renault specializes in - certainly more of a UK break influence being felt at this time, while Standing Up Sitting Down is a faux-Teutonic head-nodder that eventually morphs into a sample-fueled disco mid-tempo work-out.

You can still buy a 12" from Modular that has four of the songs on it.

Fleetwood Mac Never Forget (Cut Copy Lifelife Remix)

As an addenda to yesterday's Fleetwood Mac post, here's Australia's favourite Golden Boys re-mixing another Christine McVie song from the So Cosmic mixtape that they put out last year. The layers of jet-propelled melancholy are perfect if you find yourself biking up a mountain an hour before sunset or so.

Slinging Summer Sounds

Roy Ayers Everybody Loves the Sunshine (1976)
Brand Nubian Wake Up (Reprise in the Sunshine) (1990)
Mary J. Blige My Life (1995)
Naughty by Nature Sunshine (1995)
Lucy Pearl Don't Mess With My Man (2000)
A.Skillz vs. Beat Vandals Sunshine (2007)

I remember playing the hell out of the A. Skillz vs. Beat Vandals mashup a couple of years ago, and only being vaguely conscious of the sample. Didn't give it much thought. It took the fine aural instincts of my friend Mauricio to tie it back to Lucy Pearl at first, and Roy Ayers later. As you can see, the song's been many things to many people in the 30 plus years since it was first released: popping up to nod heads with Brand Nubian; providing credentials for Mary J. Blige's snoozeworthy My Life, with production reminscient of Gospel-pop; with the creases ironed out in Naughty by Nature's libidinal labial lyric, and done the best way, I believe, by Lucy Pearl, that oft-missed super-group comprised of the ever-dapper Raphael Saadiq*, Dawn Robinson of En Vogue, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest.

Souls of Mischief '93 'Til Infinity

2 Live Crew Hoochie Mama

First, here's the classic title track from the debut album by Oakland's Souls of Mischief, which includes a sample from the song Stratus from fusion drummer Billy Cobham, who kept musical company with Mr. Ayers.

Who knew the Friday soundtrack would be so popular and strike such a chord well into the 21st century? Ice Cube? I still get at least a couple of search referrals every day from people looking for an mp3 of 2 Live Crew's Hoochie Mama that I posted years ago, so I figured I'd satisfy at least 100 of them until the Yousendit link runs out. Probably familiar with the song, but if not, listen & sing along "Hood Rat, Hood Rat, Hoochie Mama!"

* He just released a fun video for "Let's Take A Walk" last month.

It was all a Mirage, I used to read West Coast Magazine...

Paranoia, Jealousy, Hand-Tinted Photographs

The Talking Heads This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Fleetwood Mac Everywhere

When it comes to Fleetwood Mac, there are a couple of idées fixes that I tend to harp on about when the topic inevitably arrives. First, there's my suspicion that when Lindsey Buckingham wrote 1986's Everywhere, he was either directly or indirectly paying homage to the Talking Heads' This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), which was released in 1983 (and with the intro, possibly the sound logo of Disney's Buena Vista). Both of these songs are passable as hipster mating calls, which would explain the following videos.

MGMT cover The Talking Heads

Vampire Weekend cover Fleetwood Mac

Secondly, that a couple of years ago, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album was the album that allowed people of my age and generation the chance to re-evaluate Fleetwood Mac, primarily because the strange excess and weirdness of the album itself and the recording process gave us permission to. That was followed by an embracing of Tango In The Night (I'm thinking now of CFCF's great re-working as evidence), and that we'll shortly be in the age of Mirage, after which there will be a Photian Schism for a couple of years while various sects develop around The Cult of Peter Green, The Gospel of Christine McVie (née Perfect), The Doctrine of Stevie Nicks, & maybe even The Decrees of Mick Fleetwood's Zoo (that's least likely, I think.)

Fleetwood Mac Love In Store

So, what's going to give us all permission to delve into Mirage? Truthfully, the nasally voice of Stevie Nicks has always rubbed me slightly the wrong way, to say little of her neo-gypsy art school teacher outfits (I hate free spirits), so it's going to be a Christine McVie song first, Love In Store, which is awesome in much the same way that the Grateful Dead's Touch of Grey is awesome, and has given me great results as a late-night dancefloor closer.

Fleetwood Mac Hold Me

After Love In Store, my next pick on the album is the 9th track. The opening piano roll of Hold Me is a compelling dance-floor shuffler that eventually picks up steam & becomes a near-perfect expression of desire and the anticipated satisfaction of that desire.

Christine McVie back when her last name was Perfect

Fleetwood Mac Wish You Were Here

Finally, there's the album closer, Christine McVie's ballad Wish You Were Here, reportedly about her deceased lover Dennis Wilson (of The Beach Boys). Incidentally and (by now) obviously, I love Christine McVie's voice, and how much does Victoria Legrand of Beach House's voice sound similar? Just prior to Christine McVie joining Fleetwood Mac, she recorded and released a solo album called Christine Perfect that I would highly recommend to anyone else enamored with her voice. Here she sings noticeably deeper, and the music is bluesier than her later solo work, especially on a cover of Etta James' I'd Rather Go Blind and my personal favourite, No Road is The Right Road, which is the stylistic forerunner of Holly Golightly's There Is An End.

This could all be moot, though. It's been a long time since I've mp3 blogged, and maybe now we've all got rid of our musical hang-ups, which would go a long way to explain the widespread enthusiasm for the Italo Disco Bike-In this weekend.

Lindsey Buckingham pays tribute to Adam Ant & the Nouveau Pirate Movement

Kano's "Don't Try To Stop Me" & Ring My Bell: Pop Montreal Italo Disco Bike-In

Kano Don't Try to Stop Me

A sleeper Italo Disco Funk hit from Kano from their 1981 album New York Cake. It's a super fun boogie vocoder-laced workout, similar to their dance-floor slayer I'm Ready.

I'll be DJing (as Jay Watts III, natch) the 3rd Annual Pop Montreal Bike-In this weekend, along with the ever-talented Why Alex, Why?, David Shaw (Loose Joints), and Bethany Benzur (New York City) at Terrace McAuslan. In previous years, the themes have been R. Kelly & Bollywood, (I'm hoping next year it'll be a Hip-House Bike-In) while this year we'll be celebrating the artistic heights that the greats of Italo Disco managed to scale. If the names Kano, Jimmy Ross, Scotch, Carmen, & Pineapples mean anything to you, or you consider the ouevre of Ken Laszlo to be beyond compare, then I'm sure you'll appreciate the night.

There's also a screening of Michaelangelo Antonioni's dubious masterwork Blow Up happening at dusk. All free, just pay for your drinks & food!

The Hour's Brendan Murphy wrestles the zeitgeist to the ground and steps on its throat, describing Bixis as "the new fanny packs," but being okay with Italodisco.

Jack Oatmon loves anything on two-wheels and calls me an 'inimitable pop sophist.' Thanks?

Art Garfunkel's "Break Away" & Non-Canonical Yacht Rock

Art Garfunkel Break Away

Discovering non-canonical yacht rock songs is one of the true and distinct pleasures of searching for music. While it's always interesting to re-discover the familiar songs of the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and the rest of the giants of the 70's soft rock pantheon, it's a far rarer and more delightful treat to come across a song that, given my age, has passed me by or never even got the chance to. The titular track from Art Garfunkel's second solo album, Break Away is just such a song. Penned by Gallagher & Lyle, the Scottish songwriting duo who also wrote A Heart in New York, which Simon & Garfunkel sang at their concert in Central Park. (Garfunkel's version sounds like Chicago, incidentally.)

Art Garfunkel's voice doesn't crack here or warble, an affectation that served him well in his songs with Paul Simon, but marred some of his solo work. I'm thinking specifically of the verses in I Believe (When I Fall in Love it Will be Forever), which is far too insistent a song to fall under the rubric of yacht rock. More a raft caught in a squall, than the pleasurecrafting of Break Away.

Guests on Garfunkel's "Break Away" album include Paul Simon, Toni Tennille of Captain & Tennille, Graham Nash & David Crosby, & Beatles-friend & former Manfred Mann member Klaus Voorman.

What are the qualities of a yacht rock song, good or bad? Obviously, from the great television show of the same name, we can find out that it's the smoothness of the sound and generally written and performed by a group of associated musicians in Southern California during the 70's, but this song doesn't fit that description and yet it's definitely yacht rock. The jazz-inflection, the presence of a Rhodes piano, vocal harmonies, an easy and gentle tempo: these are a few of the obvious signifiers.

The Black Ghosts It's Your Touch

Does The Black Ghosts It's Your Touch count as a contemporary yacht-rock song? I'd generally say not, though it's certainly smoother. Closer to Sade and Zima commercials, though. The Black Ghosts is a bizarre Hammer Horror British Noirist recording project from Simon Lord of Simian Mobile Disco and Theo Keaitng of The Wiseguy. I don't know how I feel about this song, really. I liked the sound and the production (it certainly reminds me of Phoenix) but the vocals lag and commit the familiar British crime of the Pitch Shift Whine that annoys me about Muse, Radiohead, and Elbow, to cite a few of the major offenders.

Soundalikes

Jens LekmanThe Opposite of Hallelujah (MP3)
The Chairmen of the Board Give Me Just a Little More Time (MP3)

Jens, meet The Chairmen of the Board. Gentlemen, meet Jens. Oh, wait, it appears you've already met. Our Swedish friend Jens is, of course, no stranger to the curious desire and pull that influences, conscious or not, can exert on one's work. In previous songs, he's graciously lifted from The Left Banke, Belle and Sebastian, and The Mamas & The Papas, and in deference to our esteemed corporate friends above, Mr. Lekman has often launched into a cover of Give Me Just A Little More Time during his performances. Pop!




Sinbad Richardson directs a new video for Think About Life's Sweet Sixteen.

The Friends & Fellow Travelers at Pop Montreal are putting on the Passion Pit show this Thursday at Sala Rosa. It's all sold out online, and I imagine the last 10 tickets available at Casa del Popolo will be gone by the time it opens its doors in 45 minutes.

Nice Day for a Bixi

Richmond Lam, photographer & general nice fellow, had his first taste of the Garden of Earthly Delights yesterday when he rode Bixi for the first time. Citing a broken bicycle (he's going to get it fixed soon, he says) as the impetus for his first foray into Bixi land, the young man took to it like Icarus to his wax-wings, but without the melting and crashing. Remarkably solid things, those Bixis, and as our hero demonstrates above, mocassin-friendly.

(Yes, Eve, the Ganakoo is real.)

Get To Know Your Bixi Rider

Nevermind about dogs you can ride, let's talk Bixi. Montreal's own bicycle-taxi system, The Bixi, has been keeping me laughing since I first saw one of those things, and recently, I've become a bit obsessed with the Bixi Lifestyle. So much so, that I'm about to go all Midnight Poutine and develop a new feature called Get To Know Your Bixi Rider, in which I adopt the traditional man-on-the-street approach and interview Bixi lovers, novices and afficianados alike about the Bixi: its culture and history, and the impact of the Bixi on the lives of those who ride Bixi.

Who is your typical Bixi rider? Is there even an average Bixi rider, or does the convenience and spirit of the Bixi transcend all barriers between people?

If Arrested Development were around today, Jeb would not ride a Segway. No. He would zoom around Orange County in comfort and style astride his Bixi.

Ex-patriate Frenchman cultural critic and blogger Fabien Loszach (of the Almost As Cool As Fighting blog) and I were taking the air, as it were, biking to see the MSO perform a number of crowd-pleasing favourites in Parc Ahuntsic on an overcast Thursday (that turned foul hours later), when he told me of the seminal indie-rock band, The Bixies and their sleeper-classic, Where is my Bike? A week later to the day, my bicycle would be gone - stolen from outside of my house, not 50 feet from a Bixi docking station. If it were a particularly slow newsweek, I imagine my conversion from 10-speed Plateau-ish cyclist to a full-on Bixi rider would earn me a place in the Montreal Gazette's lifestyle section - a wide-angle photograph of me crossing my arms by the spot where my bicycle was stolen under the headline, "Bike Bandits have this Boy Whistlin' Bixi."

From now on, whenever you think about Bixi (and trust me, you will), visit Goldkicks. In the coming weeks, we'll be talking to the people that make Bixi what it is, representatives of the Bixi subculture, Bixi detractors, and get to the bottom of the painfully unsuccessful and bizarre Bixi thefts. Bixi Branding - what is it, and does it work? Do you find the Bixi is compelling enough as a concept? Does it emotionally resonate with you, or is the Bixi Identity too utilitarian? Can a Bixi be sexy? All these questions will be answered, and new ones will undoubtedly arise, as we chart the exciting life and times of the Bixi.

Other Notes

Ali Rahman vs. Bobcat Goldthwait.

Chris Clark is King of the Contests, King of Christian Comedy, and Montreal's stealthiest publicist.

Bixi Buzz: Bixi Stations, Bixi THIS!, You're on a Bixi right now, Bixit iPhone App, Bixi Me iPhone App, Up-to-date Bixi Map, Bixi & Twitter: So 2009, Should Bixis Come With Helmets?, Bixi Video, Maclean's Magazine Does A Bixi Audio Tour, Are Bixis Bad For Small Business?.

Just For Laughs Rumour Mill

Confirmed by the warble-voiced Hollywood mentor of Charlyne Yi, the Reigning Queen of Mixed Media Mumblecore Comedy Performance: that fumbled smooch in the film Paper Heart wasn't just acting. The 23 year old Angeleno is dating her co-star, Michael Cera.

Just For Laughs Film Festival Jury Announcement & Paper Heart

I went out last night to catch Paper Heart, the mixed-format documentary (and stop-animation!) film from Nicholas Jasenovec & Charlyne Yi (you'll probably remember her from Knocked Up), documenting Charlyne's aw-shucks search for love, its meaning, and so forth. Jake Johnson (as Nick Jasenovec) as the slightly manipulative, but ultimately well-meaning director, was pretty funny, and while all-in-all the film depended on a certain mannered awkwardness, the essential charm of the cast and their own personalities stopped it from devolving into the unbearable twee-fest it could have been.

Michael Cera, for all his corduroy-clad stammering is a funny guy, and a lot of him in this film reminded me of his short-lived series Clark and Michael. Same apartment, too, I guess. Cameos by Seth Rogen, Demetri Martin, and a number of alt-comedy also-rans. Music production by Montreal's own Alden Penner (lately of Clues, formerly of the Unicorns).

Also on the JFL front, today they announced their jurists for the 13th edition of the film festival. From the press release:

This year's jury will be made up of 5 members of the entertainment industry, including David Greenbaum (Vice President of Production and Development, Miramax Films), Alex Epstein (writer, Bon Cop / Bad Cop), Melissa Auf de Maur (music artist from the band Hole and Smashing Pumpkins), Denis Côté (filmmaker, Carcasses) and Tendo Nagenda (Vice President of Production, Mandate Pictures).

Films are screening from July 16 to 25 at the NFB CineRobotheque on St. Denis, by Berri-UQAM metro.

Evan Dubinsky is still Googling himself, and unfortunately, intrepid searchers, I have no photographs of boys in panties here, just an old post on a Victorian musician named Panty Boy.

Ali Rahman information and whereabouts-seekers, please direct your attention to http://whereisalirahman.tumblr.com/

Who Killed Michael Jackson?

Who killed Michael Jackson? Ian Halperin, in an interview with the Montreal Mirror, thinks it was the vultures that surround him. Who murdered Michael Jackson? Was Michael Jackson murdered? Death by neglect? Overwork? Janet Jackson? Latoya Jackson? Jermaine Jackson? It couldn't be bass-loving Tito Jackson, so humorously portrayed as a best-of hocking envious brother by Tracy Morgan of 30 Rock. Did Scientologists kill Michael Jackson? Could they have saved him from the rampant rumours of homosexuality, anorexia? Was it Cory Feldman? What about Corey Haim? Corey Feldman killed Michael Jackson, by diluting his brand. Certainly Corey Haim did not kill Michael Jackson. Out of the two Corys/the two Coreys, I just don't think he would have it in him. More than likely, in a plot to squash the popular uprising in Tehran and across Iran, the Iranian government killed Michael Jackson. Twitter has changed the world. Eddie Murphy might have killed Michael Jackson by wearing that red jacket so much. Was that in Raw? Those Jakarta bombings, in Indonesia... Michael Jackson was beloved by southern Asians, and the Japanese, of course, but for different reasons. Bollywood loved him. I don't know how the northern Asians felt about The Prince of Pop. Did the Mongolians like Michael Jackson? Maybe, but there was no love. Same with the northern Chinese provinces. Vaguely aware, but, meh, whatever. I don't know if anyone can ever answer these lingering questions, and maybe it's more rhetorical than anything else, like when Jeru the Damaga asked who killed hip-hop. It turned out hip-hop wasn't dead, but that Puff Daddy had just kidnapped him, had him holed up somewhere in New York (not in one of the five boroughs) and maybe Ma$e was around, feeding him and playing poker or whatever. Probably reading the Holy Bible. Death by Jeans Job. A career in denim. The last crime in a world gone mad. New Mexico. Explosions. I get so much traffic for hood rat, it's kind of weird. Hoochie Mama, too. Maybe it's people looking for 2 Live Crew ringtones. I don't know if it's 2 Live Crew diegesis or what. Someone in Hanna, Alberta came here recently from the query "Is there a dog you can ride?" I guess it's a big agricultural area, Hanna, in Alberta. Must be a recession thing. Horses are so expensive. If there was a ridable dog, why, that'd be easier to feed and you wouldn't have to worry too much about them running away. Dogs stick around. They're loyal like that. Michael Jackson in Prada, by Miu Miu. Nice shoes. Sex and the City killed Michael Jackson. Evan Dubinsky of Bad Flirt hasn't Googled himself recently. Maybe I'll write about Greg Ipp's CONTROVERSIAL ARTICLE. I wonder if Jian Ghomeshi has commented yet. I am going to make this blog the first search result for Evan Dubinsky. I bet I can make it to at least #2. I'm #5 right now on Google for Evan Dubinsky. I don't really want to change the name of the blog to Evan Dubinsky Kicks or something, though. Noah Bick Kicks would be funnier. Those rideable dogs, man, I get a lot of hits for that. And pictures of Dean Martin, Sharon Tate and Mia Farrow for some reason. bad flirt is evan dubinsky, jasamine white-gluz, laura lloyd, music, raf de la durantaye. Yoko Ono killed Michael Jackson.british open leaderboard 2009, martellus bennett was a great rapper, loved his rap video, love hip hop videos by martellus bennet, and evan dubinsky hip hop project, too. Lindsay Avner was not on the Tour de france stage 13, or the Tour de France Stage 11, either. Tour de France Stage 14 and Tour de France Stage 15 will be great, as long as Lori Silverbush and Tom Colicchio from that Homecoming Movie with Jared Kushner don't end up in a trailer, and instead Tom and Lori have a baby. Top Chef, never seen that show. Panasonic tc p54z1 is out and Heather Zeo is happy, happy, happy. Taleon Goffney. Where are these names coming from? Myley Cyrus? What a weird first name. The Apollo moon landing hoax is a tired and boring conspiracy theory, and I'm a bit too queasy to read anything about Canada's favourite serial killers, Karla homolka and paul bernardo. Karla Homolka lives in Montreal now, or supposedly lived in the south of Montreal. Apparently there was some ex-convict who loved her and seeked her out. Who knows what Karla Homolka does in Montreal. Maybe Karla Homolka is in Pointe-Claire, or Verdun, or Karla Homolka is in St. Henri. The North bay road castle is quite the amusing Ontario/Ontarian theme park or tourist attraction. Back to that Martellus bennett rap video, starring Julio Lugo, who could show him a thing or two about rhymes and crimes. Adam kimmel. Adam Kimel even. Maybe Adam Kimmell. Miami beach castle is not as cool as that North Bay thing.

Kesha Nichole, Richard's Wedding, Trendifying, and those damn sharks in New York.

Kesha Nicole Nichols is quite a lady, the Richard Jefferson wedding must have been a blast Is it really Ni Cole? Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols, maybe. Nee Cole? Nico! Little Pamela Laverne Long and Wendy Touton pics and pictures, bios and biographies. The uncensored tale. Shameless video. Why do the Russians care? Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a parable for the Obama Age (some say Obama throws like a girl, but that's coming from a fat guy in pleated khakis who tucks in his polo shirts) or just plain racist, Sibylle Szaggars photograph is in high demand, Tu 154M were some doomed Caspians, MTLQQ is the General Motors stock symbol and I hope it's not on your market ticket, Andree McLeod is Alaskan, Swine flu symptoms checker is going to make you paranoid, The People's Pharmacy sounds like something out of Berkley, basking sharks are more common than those that are broiled, Gipper's List sounds like some quasi-religious Reaganite parable, Maria del Carmen Bousada was quite the mother, WJFK format change has people talking, while Tupolev 154 was mentioned above, Trutv is a reality TV station, I guess? Robert Redford's biography makes some mention of Natalie Wood, but not enough. A Today show wedding is more exciting than Larry Bird and his rights (miranda or not). I've never seen the Mike O'Meara show, but the BAA half marathon, well, not that either. But people run, boy, do they run in the Boston half marathon. 2009 or 1979, when a lot more people were smoking. Ben Mezrich did not win the all star game 2009, and the Jimmy V foundation might not be as generous as you imagined. Sheriff David Morgan is in Escambia County, in Florida, someone got murdered there. Who woulda thought? The Tour de France is in stage 11. Riley Fox was a 3 year old, and, unfortunately, not a bit character in the beloved Wind in the Willows novel. Huddle House is a gross-out diner in the United States that to some might mark a symbol of the end of the American empire, but is really just gross. Lola Redford (nee von Wagenen) and Robert are now married. Congraulations, say James Rafe Mitchell and Ty Strickland. Probably not a coupling that that ol' stalwart broad Ayn Rand would have approved of. So many sports events like the British Open Golf just pass me by. Back to those basking sharks - they seem to be popping up everywhere - even Long Island, whereas the Tupolev plane isn't going anywhere. Jim Valvano, what a coach and what a foundation head. The late great probably would have appreciated the Ann Arbor art fair, as would have Sotomayor paramour Kevin Edward Noonan. No one's going to take a pet airline - that's pre-Recession nonsense. Caspian airlines, will we remember you a month from now? Or does the New Zealand earthquake story have more legs? Alstrom Syndrome, that rare thing. The Harry Potter box office rides strong. Anthony Randolph is a fine player, Danielle Keller was 29 years old, and will never get the chance to enjoy a drink prepared by the portable frozen drink maker, the Margarator, which will be a frat house staple for years to come. Dave Chappelle, in Pioneer Square or Reef Central, either way, not that funny. Now, when a giant shark washes ashore, people take notice. Penelope Cruz pregnant? Oh, woah, despicable me. Evan Dubinsky's star-turn. Dubinsky is moving to Los Angeles, they say.

Q&A: Matt Silver & Pat Kiely (Kidnapper Films, Who Is K.K. Downey?)

Screenwriters, comedians, and mensches Matt Silver and Pat Kiely took some time to answer my questions about their work on the Showcase Series' The Foundation. 2 episodes of the upcoming series will be screened as part of the Just For Laughs Festival, which opens on Thursday, July 16th and occasionally subjects Montrealers to more street theatre than even they can handle.

How did Mike Dowse approach you to work on this project?

We had known Mike for a little while through our mutual friend Paul Spence. He had seen a few of our sketch shows back in the day and so when it came time to put together a writer's room, he gave us a shout. The room included myself, Pat Kiely, Paul Spence, a hilarious dude named Gord Skillet, Mike Dowse, his producer Jennifer Wilson, and a seasoned T.O. writer named Jackie May. It's really the best way to write comedy in my opinion, because you just sit around all day trying to be the funniest guy or girl in the room. (full disclosure: I was never the funniest guy or girl in the room).

You and Pat play the Tak Brothers in The Foundation: can you describe a bit about your characters and their relation to the series?

Pat plays an ex-Olympian who loses his legs to a drunk driver, and I play his skeevy drug-addict brother. In it's simplest terms, Pat is recruited to wheelchair his way across Canada by the head of a charitable organization and I tag along as his manager and drug dealer. Neither of these brothers are the nicest or healthiest dudes, and essentially they figure out pretty quickly a way to cheat the system by attaching the wheelchair to the back of a tour bus.

Both of you, if IMDB is any indication, appear to have had a rather busy couple of years, even besides working on K.K. Downey. Besides your God-given talent, Protestant work ethic and mounds of charm (etc., etc.), do you find that there's anything community-wise that Montreal has, that has kept you steadily working?

We've been lucky enough to have a bunch of friends who, over the last few years, have gone into production with a bunch of stuff. The anglo production community is pretty tight in Montreal, so if someone decides to shoot something (usually on a limited budget) they know that there's a pool of cheap talent out there. We just happen to be the cheapest of the cheap talent.

When will the series debut on Showcase?

I'm not 100% sure when The Foundation will be on Showcase. I'm thinking sometime in Autumn but again I'm not totally sure about that.

Pat Kiely: The only thing I can add is that "The Foundation" premieres on Sunday nights, starting September 20th at 10pm (after Weeds and before Kenny vs. Spenny).

Are there any plans for anything from Kidnapper Films in the works?

Kidnapper is cooking a few things up. We're hard at work on the script for our next feature, ostensibly a Montreal period piece where three idiots fix a horse race. We're also putting the finishing touches on another script which is being produced by Mike Dowse (FUBAR, Pete Tong) and John Hazlett (Suburbanators, These Girls). Besides that...shit I think that's it.

And... WHERE IS YOUR SERIES?

Where indeed, my friend. Where indeed. I'll keep you posted on that one.

Matt Silver as Mark in the film One-Man Party. Directed and shot by Mark Slutsky for the 2008 Montreal 60 Second Film Festival. This year's edition will be taking place on September 9th through 11th at Sala Rossa.

Thanks for the shout-out, Pardon My Hindi!

The Foundation at the Just For Laughs Film Festival

We're in the final stretch of the Montreal Jazz Fest, and while it was kind of interesting to press myself up against 100,000 other people for Patrick Watson's performance on Sunday night, truthfully, I've neglected my duties as a newly minted Quebecker (I declared my residency last Friday, after five years of living here), which, at this time, include wandering buzzed around the Quartier de Spectacle, fondling produce at a Farmer's Market or two, and playing pétanque in a city park.

Yes, I've been lazy, but now I'm summoning up all the civic pride I can to get involved, even if that means sitting in a dark theatre on a summer evening. (Thankfully, the weather's been mostly miserable...) The Just For Laughs Festival, widely known across the rest of Canada as the place where they film all of the filler stand-up comedy for Saturday night emergency programming on CTV, is here, and truthfully, I can take or leave stand-up comedy and comics. (And circus acts and the tam-tams and many other of Montreal's summer delights. Thank God they don't hold poetry slams outdoors.) But as it goes, there's something very compelling about this year's festival, and that's a screening of two episodes of a new television series on Canada's Showcase network (which re-broadcasts American cable shows, used to show a blue movie or two, and occasionally produces some Canadian shows) which stars two of the principals involved with last year's film, Who is K.K. Downey?, which premiered at Fantasia.

Kidnapper Films' Pat Kiely and Matt Silver make an appearance as the Tak Brothers, in an episode of a new five-part series called The Foundation, which is screening two episodes at the Just For Laughs festival. (Contrary to past years with this blog, I won't delve needlessly and deeply into the arcane details and connections, I'll just say that these are two very talented and very hard-working young men, and their lengthy CVs attest to that.)

From the trailer, it looks like it's just as funny, quick, offensive, and also features just as many questionable hairstyles and incidents of hard-drug use. Mike Wilmot (from It's All Gone, Pete Tong) stars as a morally bankrupt family patriarch, with Mike Dowse (Fubar, It's All Gone, Pete Tong) at the helm.

The Foundation at the Just For Laughs Film Festival
Thursday, July 23rd, 19h
NFB CineRobotheque
1564 rue St. Denis

I'll have a brief Q&A to post with the duo in the next day or so, but in the meantime, to give you a bit of context, here are some audio pieces. The first is a mock college radio show hosted by Terrance and Theo Huxtable that takes place prior to the events in Who Is K.K. Downey, and features an animated and aggravating caller, as well as selections from the film's spectacular soundtrack (Miracle Fortress, CFCF, Duchess Says, and others.). Unfortunately, we weren't able to re-create the smooth reggae sounds that follow on The Natty Dred Show. Production was by Ali Rahman and Martin Horn of Digital Bird Studios, with a little help from yours truly.

Who Is K.K. Downey? K.K. Cast (MP3 format)

Against Film Schools is a 2008 piece produced by Cristal Duhaime, who works on CBC Radio 1's Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein, for the sadly short-lived and ambitious Savfaire magazine. The voice you'll hear is that of Matt Silver, expounding wisdom to the fresh and naive souls who wish to make it as film-makers.

High School Lesbian Poetry Teacher

The shirt of a high school lesbian poetry teacher. Pedagogical Lesbianism. Sapphic poetry, odes of love from Sappho's Island of Lesbos ("What an island." - Burt Lancaster, in The Midnight Man). Is it simply the purview of academia, or does it have deeper resonance, in the creative writing workshops and homoerotic homework sessions of middle America? Across the pond, does the oeuvre of Jeanette Winterson inspire desire? Do daughters

Do nymphet nubilians squat and strong alike gather round to discuss Nubians, Sophie Scholl, Buckingham Nicks, and the near Talmudic levels of meaning in the 2 Live Crew chant of "hood-rat, hoodrat, hoochie Mama!" Poutina or poutine? Is it only adult fun, or young work? Lyrical lines on the elegance of the yellow heron or Yeats' mischievous soul?

Polanski's late-night dalliances with Sharon Tate, squatting in shadows, alone in the apartment, the thick, strange, brooding mood and anchorless violence of "Knife in the Water." How did Dean Martin & Mia Farrow play into this? Did Frank Sinatra (Senior, not Frank Sinatra, Jr., that faked Lindbergh baby) have dark connections to a couple of world famous riflemen, one of which ? Incestuous strands tied together here and there. What's the meaning of the Chinese Walk Into Ocean meme? Racist claptrap not on the level of Konrad's Captain Kurtz? Apocalyptic Christian hysterics from born-again grandmothers? Post-modern paranoia with anti-mercantilist roots, as old as the times of Tutankhamun and his Egyptian tomb? Lupid rhymes with stupid, but lupus rhymes with a couple Latin words, maybe. Shameless video clips. Shamelessly wondering if you can ride a dog. Can you ride a dog? Can I ride a dog? Dogs can be flea-bitten, but can they be ridden? Saddle up to ride, astride, a Labrador or a Pekingese? Who is the most disturbing, kitschy, and perverse? The director of KPax, the director of the film Powder (albindo deer-healing prowess), or outsider artist par excellence Henry Darger, janitor by day who favoured inaccurate depictions of flat-fronted genitalia, like Depression-era dolls done art brut?

Symphony no 6, op 74. Or Symphony Number 6, Opus Number 74. Tchaikovsky, by the Leningrad Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Here we find the light touch and seemingly effortless of a genius. The mood sours, the pace quickens, the strings swell! Proto-Gershwin for Fellow Travelers! A Rhapsody in Red! That's familiar!

I went to a Japandroids show, last night, in Montreal. Never heard the band, but they both went to UVic, guess they shopped at Ditch. Some guy was opening up named Slim Twig, played amped-up looped and sampled post-punk-noise-funk, as if Sunny Kay from the VSS was now fronting Suicide for a reunion tour, instead of Alan Vega, and he wasn't afraid to trade in rockabilly licks for Sly & The Family Stone loops. Never saw Japandroids, but they like Atlas Strategic. Fine. Evan Dubinsky was there, from the pride of NDG, Bad Flirt. Evan, if you're nationalistically Googling yourself right now, Hi. Evan Dubinsky, who will soon move to Los Angeles to seek fame, fortune, and a better quality of t-shirt, made with pride by migrant workers paid a living wage under the watchful eye of Dov. Noah Bick, too. Hi, Noah! (Well, he was there. Noah isn't re-locating to the USA. Not yet...) Really, though, I bet Evan's moving to California to escape the creased-corduroy socialism of his brother, who has ties, deep and pink, to Canada's NDP (New Democratic Party). Evan wants to be more Donald & Keifer Sutherland than Shirley Douglas, daughter of Tommy Douglas.

CFCF & Jay Watts III at The All-Rounder LI at Korova Bar Terroir

Saturday, November 15th

10pm, Free
Korova Bar Terroir
3908 St. Laurent
Montreal, QC

Join our FB group for more information

Korova Bar in Montreal: Tuesdays are <86

Noah Markowicz (Dr. Dreidel) and I are doing a new night at Korova on Tuesdays. The concept is music before 1986, hence <86. Come down to Korova Bar (3908 St. Laurent) and check it out. Rotating guests, free mix-tapes!

Dogs You Can Ride

I was on a casual stroll down Van Horne avenue earlier this afternoon, on the hunt for a coffee, when I came across a giant Saint Bernard tied to a telephone pole outside of a grocery store. This Saint Bernard was at least the size of a pony, and therefore, I would imagine as ride-able as a pony. ("Can I ride a dog?," I thought. "Can I ride that dog?") It struck me that if one could somehow combined the ride-ability of the pony or horse with the love-ability and trustworthiness of the dog, well then, that ambitious breeder or marketer or trainer or what not would really have something. A dog-pony. A dog you can ride. Dogs you can ride. Ride-able dogs. Man's best friend, and man's best ride. Equestrianism has a whiff of hide-bound tradition and the static class society, not suitable for the democratic ethos of The New World, but dog-riding has the potential to be an accessible and affordable form of animal riding, if only someone were to step up and fulfill the need!

The riding animal or mount animal has been a part of civilization since the, er, dawn of civilization, and possibly before - from the Hindu & Buddhist Garuda (or Garula): a winged mythological creature; to ostriches, dromedaries, and elephants.



This sadistic little book cover above is, of course, nothing like what I was imagining in my head, and the image of a maniacal, wild-eyed cat driving a poor hound into the ground by the handle of his switch belongs to a different time, when peace between species was not so close at hand, as it is now, in the year 2008.



For years, clueless Irish Wolfhound owners* have done nothing but stand their Irish Wolfhounds on their hind legs to pose for illustrations, paintings or photographs, trying to prove some inane point about their dog's size, unaware of how much more impressive it would be to come trotting down main street astride their majestic beast. And for the Irish Wolf Hound? No more demeaning parlour tricks, no, the Irish Wolf Hound could hold head high, becoming part of a lineage that includes the mighty stallion and the regal elephant.

Do any of you know of any dogs that might be suitable for riding? Interested breeders, please get in touch. Can you ride a dog? Have you rode a dog before? Are you interested in buying a dog saddle?

I can and will ride a dog. I swear this now. Certain larger canines (Newfoundlanders, Dog of Berdoux, Bull Mastiffs) have been fitted with saddles like majestic mini-horses for the infirm, very young children, and certain elderly people with very frail bones to ride.

* A special thank you to Marion Elissalde, a dog-owner but not dog-rider, for suggesting Wolf Hounds.

hand in handjob

More Square Quotes Episodes

Okay, Alexander, Martin, Ali and myself have been busy since I last posted here. We've got four whole more episodes, and pretty soon, we'll be producing a special episode for Osheaga. The Osheaga podcast you'll be able to get directly from their website, and will include interviews with musicians, artists and other people associated with the festival.

In the meantime, do some catching up with the last couple of episodes... I'll list them in reverse chronological order, or you can go to the main site at www.squarequotes.com or find us on iTunes.

Square Quotes, Episode 6: Bend It Like Beckett

Square Quotes is back with a vengeance, notorious and ever glorious! During our two week hiatus we shuffled off the chains of Suoni per il Popolo and now fly towards the sun like Icarus! This week's episode is packed with summer sounds, summer flicks, and Cancon controversy.

Jordan Robson-Cramer, contributing member of Montreal's Sunset Rubdown and Miracle Fortress visited us and played a song with Rory Seydel (also of Shapes and Sizes) - the newest member of Jordan's long-standing project Magic Weapon.

Tempting fate, we invited Darren Curtis and Matt Silver, two peanut-shelling funny-men partially responsible for Kidnapper Films' debut full-length Who is K.K. Downey? to talk with us. The film premieres in Canada later this week as part of the Fantasia Film Festival.

This episode's musical picks anticipate, welcome, and think about love: its complications, its great bounty. Delegation's Darlin' (I Think About You) appears on their landmark champagne-disco-funk album, 1979's Eau de Vie; ABS dug up Jermaine Jackson's Good for the Gander, which is an unreleased Motown gem produced by Norman Harrison and Ron Tyson; Steely Dan's Dirty Work speaks for itself; Johnny Moped's Darlin' (Let's Have Another Baby) gets straight up paternal; we all love Silver Apples' I Have Known Love (they may be popping up in our city sometime soon - shhh); and Magnum Force speaks to the mood of the moment in Girl, You're Too Cool.

Square Quotes Episode 5: Pansexual Digressions & Nocturnal Omissions

With a turnaround time that would daunt most college radio stations, but is par for the course in the big leagues with major players like Radio Congo, we came up with episode 5. A majestic palace of sophistry, loving communication, and dialogue. Our guests this week were Ken Vandermark, the acclaimed saxophonist whose name you might recognize from Powerhouse Sound and The Flying Luttenbachers; Amber Goodwyn, the publisher of Canada's, nay North America's best smut zine, Lickety Split; and finally, the beloved Claude Bernier, logistics master and jack of all trades with the Suoni per il Popolo festival, who came in to the studio to chat us up, and deliver exclusive Suoni sounds recorded over the course of the festival from Vic Chestnutt and The Sun Ra Arkestra, live at Sala Rossa.

This Episode's Songs...

Leon Ware Rockin' You Eternally, The Velvelettes Je Veux Crier (My Foolish Heart Keeps Hanging on a Memory), Di Melo A vida seus métodos diz calma, The Sun Ra Arkestra Excerpt (Live at Sala Rossa), Vic Chestnutt Excerpt (Live at Sala Rossa), Marcia Hines You Gotta Let Go, Sadina I Want That Boy

Square Quotes Episode 4: Too Much Too Late

Woah. Well, Square Quotes took our sweet, precious time delivering this, a snapshot of a week or so in the life of a gaggle of Montrealers... First, Sasha Kleinplatz, a Montreal dancer, choreographer and organizer who recently put on a dance event called Piss In the Pool at the dilapidated Bain St. Michel went head-to-head with ABS; after that, we spoke to Billy Mavreas, the garrulous and lovable mensch who runs the Monastiraki Curiosity Shop, and is also a cartoonist who's recently published a graphic novel called Inside Outside Overlap, published by Timeless Books. It's all about dream logic, the murk, and a recent experience at the Helen Pitt Gallery in Vancouver, BC, where he participated in their Workaday series; and finally, Jenny Craig, the hostess and curator of the monthly Greasy Goose salon series discussed the business of talking about things here in Montreal, and let us listen in as local cosmologist Mark Slutsky spoke about ESP. Music? Yep, music again - Art Ensemble of Chicago, Manfred Krug, Mavreas' The Fudge, Ben E. King, and The Soft Boys. All for you, by us.

Square Quotes Episode 3: The Sun (Ra) Also Rises

On episode three of Square Quotes we talk with Alex Moskos of electronic-jam-duo Thames / circuit-twisted pop trio the Unireverse. Afterward we enlist his help in channeling the spirit of afro-futurist jazz artist Sun Ra.

Then Jack Oatmon of the Montreal Mirror stops by to give us the lowdown on Ivan Smagghe's health issues and he manages to squeeze in an interview with Andy Butler of NYC's post-disco group Hercules & Love Affair.

Later on we check in with Phil Elverum, of Mt. Eerie, just before his appearance at the Suoni per il Popolo festival. We play some songs too, like "I Comma Zimba" by Abdullah, the militant Motown musician and "Moliendo Cafe" performed by twelve-piece Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocărlia. We also get heavy with Pilooski, who channels the high priestess of soul Nina Simone.

The All Rounder: Saturdays at Korova

Zukunftsmusik, Italo, Soul, R&B, midnight rhythms, New Jack Swing, Hip hop, Miami Bass, Disco, proto-house, new wave, hip house, pop, Afro-beat, Tropicalia, Latin freestyle, Northern Soul, champagne pop, yacht rock.

Always present: proprietor and a true humanitarian, Nicolas Jules Robinson (Nick The Prick); behind-bar reader & bartender Naomi; gentlemen of the door, Stephen or Simon.

For those of you less-inclined to tear up the dancefloor, there are diversions - the Pabst Blue Ribbon vending machine, ol' tyme arcade games, a pool table, a neon light, a fooseball table, and the sparkling wit and genteel conversation of the staff.

Korova received Honourable Mentions in the Best Dance Club and Best Pick Up Club (!!!) category in the Montreal Mirror's Best of 2007 Poll. Nice.

"If that's not your cup of yerba mate, or you're wondering what happened to the rest of the Baile MTL crew, roll around the corner to Korova for a sophisticated evening of Italo, yacht rock, new jack swing and many other esoteric subgenres of pop music you hoped and prayed would be buried under the sands of time until the Internet came along and, well, they started to seem sorta cool again. That's at the AllRounder, with funny guys Jay Watts III and Mark Dufort."
- Jack Oatman, Montreal Mirror, 1/31/08

I~ Dec 8th w/ Insomniak
II~ Dec 15th w/ Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith (ABS)
III~ Dec 22nd
IV~ Dec 29th w/ North (S.L.U.M.)
V~ Jan 5th w/ Khiasma (Baile MTL, Ivory Temple, Pop MTL)
VI~ Jan 12th w/ Molo Bain
VII~ Jan 19th w/ Jonathan AFlyIsOnTheWall, Heidy Pinet
VIII~ Jan 26th
IX~ Feb 2nd
X~ Feb 9th w/ Masala
XI~ Feb 16thw/ E.C.P.
XII~ Feb 23rd
XIII~ Mar 1st
XIV~ Mar 8th w/ Mr. Vain
XV~ Mar 15th IDES OF MARCH w/ DJ Deadbeat Dad
XVI~ Mar 22nd
XVII~ Mar 29th
XVIII~ Apr 5th
XIX~ Apr 12th w/ Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith (ABS)
XX~ Apr 19th w/ 5 hours of Jay Watts III
XXI~ Apr 26th w/ Mark Slutsky
XXII~ May 3rd w/ Justin Time
XXIII~ May 10 Space Dust w/ Deadbeat Dad
XXIV~ May 17 Goodbye Mark D.
XXV~ May 24 Simon Nixon (Royal Mountain Band)
XXVI~ May 31 5 hours of Jay Watts III
XXVII~ June 7 Steven Balogh (Anemones), Joshua Stevenson (Jackie O Motherfucker), Jay Watts III, Michelle Fritzi Adelman

Korova is located at 3908 St. Laurent, all this happens on Saturdays, starting at 10pm, and it's free. Check out the Facebook group for more detail information.

Square Quotes: Montreal Music Podcast

Square Quotes
Episode 2: Naders of the Hart

In Episode 2 of Square Quotes, Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III continue with extended coverage of the Suoni per il Popolo festival, interviewing artist and musician Grant Hart formerly of Husker Du, and Nova Mob, now solo; and local sculptor, musician and the Rum Tum Tiger of the Mile End, Nader Hassan.

Besides those in-depth portraits, there are songs from The Cake, criminally under-rated group The Feelies, Lord Kitchener, and Barcelona's one-man neo-tropicalia explosion El Guincho. We also recorded local author Adam Gollner, at the launch of his new book on fruit obsessives, “The Fruit Hunters” (at Drawn & Quarterly), as he told the crowd about how some time in Borneo led him to chase after the lady fruit, the famed Coco de Mer, lodoicea/a really crazy fruit.

Square Quotes: Montreal Arts, Music & Culture Podcast

Square Quotes Podcast, Episode 1

In this inaugural episode of Square Quotes, hosts Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith and Jay Watts III fumble their way through two interviews, while producer Ali Rahman wonders what exactly it is that he’s got himself in to.

The two guests, gracious and forgiving to a fault, were Montrealer Sam Shalabi and Jon Fall Ryan of Brooklyn’s electronic noise-improv sextet, Excepter, both of which will be performing in Montreal as part of the Suoni per il Popolo festival.

The episode features contributions from both interviewed artists, as well as three selections of music picked by the hosts in their quest for obscurantist internet supremacy. Thrill to the sounds of “Guzar Jaye Din,” a Bollywood song from the film “Annadata;” get girl crazy with Chuck Jackson as he exalts the fairer sex in “Girls, Girls, Girls;” and smother yourself in sentimental kitsch with the Portuguesed-American Jeanette as she runs us through “Porque Te Vas.”

More episodes to come, as ABS and JW3 find their footing, and producer Ali continues fretting.

The All-Rounder: Korova Saturdays in Montreal

Since last fall, I've been DJing on Saturday nights at Korova here in Montreal. Korova is a 2nd floor bar at 3908 St. Laurent, just above the newly renovated Copacabana, and while it's not the best-looking bar in the city - more like a pretty cute friend who knows how to dress well - and that hand-dryer has yet to be fixed, despite numerous promises from the proprietors, it's received nods of approval from such reputable judges of character as The New York Times and uh, Nylon Magazine.

I find the staff awesome and the people who come there, the majority of which I don't know, to be receptive. Anyway, the format's pretty simple - fun selections of dance-oriented music from all genres with an ear towards Italo, disco, and vintage electro and boogie.

In the previous 24 Saturdays we've have had plenty of guests, too: Insomniak, Alexander Buckiewicz-Smith (ABS), Patrick North (S.L.U.M.), Khiasma (Baile MTL), Alexandre Pare, Molo Bain, A Fly Is On The Wall, Heidy Pinet, JP Emond (Masala, CISM), Etienne Cote-Paluck (ECP), Cederic Pilon (Mr. Vain), Chris Hill (Deadbeat Dad), Mark Slutsky, and Justin Time.

If you're interested, there's a Facebook group or just come down. Doors are at 22h and there's no cover.

Such Good Friends

Thursday, May 22
William de Samman
Chanteclair
Jay Watts III
Salon Officiel
351 rue Roy est
Montreal, QC
No cover charge, 22h

Tiring or disquieting?

Just take a look around, do you know that many exceptional human beings? Self-actualized uber-mensch sharing the staircase in your crumbling apartment block? Wise sages bagging your groceries? (If that kid was so wise, you think she’d mix put cans of tuna on top of my hothouse tomatoes?)

Sammy Sandala gets up in Kenneth Brannagh's face when discussing the tiring matter of his reincarnation.

Popth 6th!

Pop Montreal's 6th annual festival is mere weeks away, meaning that, once again, it's time to book off work, stock your cabinet with electrolyte-replenishing goods, and make some serious charts and schedules to ensure you'll be able to see at least a portion of what you want to this year.

The schedule's already up on their main page, and just going through it, there are a couple of stand-out shows... Octogenarian comedian Mort Sahl, the Montreal-born pioneer of intelligent stand-up comedy and an all-around pleasant fellow is one of my personal highlights, but other, less greying figures and groups will receive my attention, as well.

The release of the program this year will lead to another crop of upset band-handlers and confused festival-attendees, like any year, but (full disclosure here: I wrote a couple of them), this writer took particular care not to be as snarky as in years past, attributing his missing the deadline that pulling-many-punches approach.

I'm going to try my hand at some festival coverage this year, rather than ending up in the hospital half-way through (last year), or blindly drinking my way through out it (last year and previous years). There are scores to be settled, bands to mock, and, hey, even some to champion, too! Osheaga presented an opportunity, but any review of that would somehow lack all the extraneous happenings, occurences, mistakes and everything else that go into making Pop the distinctly more enjoyable festival. "I saw Peter, Bjorn & John in a field with a bunch of other people and we were worried about rain, but it was sunny" is as fine a distillation of the experience as any other, no?

One big surprise for me this year is the evident lack of a SLUM showcase, but maybe I'm not looking close enough. First day highlights include Vancouver drone-o-morphic psych outfit Anemones at one venue and Caribou at another, at the same time. (What gives?)

There'll be more within the next couple of days, including a rigorous plan of attack (in that classical Goldkicks style, natch), choose-yr-own-adventure schedules, loads of self-serving blogging and more contributors... In the meantime, a couple of songs kicking around: I'm far too lazy to upload anything else.

Carly Simon Why (12-inch Extended Mix)

Zdar How Do You See Me Now?

Maestro Fresh Wes - Poetry Is Black

I don't care to tackle the lyrical conceit of the good Maestro's Poetry Is Black, primarily because my appreciation of hip hop has little to do with it as a poetic form, and also because it's dated ("1991, son, and that's how I'm livin'"), de-fanged and cliched enough to provoke nothing more than a smirk, but the quick-clipped pace, rolling bass, and trumpet swells of a song like this, so indigenous to the hip-house era of the early 90s, sounds fresher and fresher after a year or so of being assaulted by the unholy union of French Touch house and blog-friendly hip hop.

Dante Decarro (Wolf Parade guitarist and Hot Hot Heat alumni) has put out the last Daddy's Hands album, Welcome Kings on his south-island-based record label, Kill Devil Hills Records. Long-awaited. Order here.

More Baile Montreal stuff coming up... The 9th volume will be on Saturday, March 3rd at Zoobizarre. Usual info & some mixes on the myspace. For previews of what you'll hear, check out what Guillaume & JP have been working on, on the Masalacism blog.

BAILE MTL 6 w/ Paul Devro

Saturday, December 2nd @ Zoobizarre, 6388 St. Hubert (Metro Beaubien)

The 6th volume. Considering how packed it was for the last two volumes, we're encouraging peolpe to show up early and prepared for top level booty bass.

Special guest Paul Devro (Mad Decent, SLUM) will be flying in from Vancouver.

As well, we'll also have copies of the first BAILE MTL mix-tape, "Baboon", with selections from JP, Guillaume and Jay from Ivory Temple; and mixing by Guillaume.



Doors 22h, $5
Zoobizarre - 6388 St. Hubert, Metro Beaubien

Baile Funk Volume 5.

Saturday, August 26th @ Zoobizarre, 6388 St. Hubert (Metro Beaubien)

Back for the fifth installment, Montreal's premiere hi-cut blend of funk carioca, international booty beats and post-tropicalia dancehall nonsense, now in full technicolour and stereophonic sound. DJing by that master of all forms of radio (AM, FM, shortwave, internet) MASALA (masalacism.blogspot.com), and IVORY TEMPLE (myspace.com/ivorytemple), and 21st century video projection magic. Globe-trotting, genre-hopping, and saliva-swapping with: baile funk, desi beats, Miami Bass, d. south, Washington Go Go, soca, reggaeton, electro, soul, funk, hip house, etc.



portes 22h, $3
Zoobizarre - 6388 St. Hubert, Metro Beaubien