It's a bit of a stereotype that if a Canadian musician (or actor, comedian, writer, etc.) wants to make it, they need to move to the U.S. But how much truth is in that?
We decided to look up where some of this country's most recognizable musicians live, and while a good majority of them do still live in Canada, it seems that a lot also live south of the border, whether they have homes in Canada as well or have decided to move to the States permanently.
On the map below, we chart out where some of the most famous Canucks have taken up residency*, with an animated road map designed by Samantha Smith.
(Design by Samantha Smith/CBC Music)
*With Justin Bieber, it's admittedly a bit complicated.
On Thanksgiving Day, CBC Radio 2 is paying homage to Canada's many musical icons by playing songs from them all day long. It's a small token to say thanks, not just for great music, but for great moments in music history.
We look at some of those moments, the ones that stand out above the rest and for which the artists will always be remembered. To see the most iconic moments from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Glenn Gould and more, click through the gallery above.
Don't forget to listen to Radio 2 on Thanksgiving Monday as they look back on some of Canada's most acclaimed artists.
It seems like everything these days in art, fashion, music and even people themselves, has a two-name descriptor, to be a 'pseudo-this' or 'something-core'. Love them or hate them, we live in the era of the sub-genre.
Lately at Radio 3, it seems like we've been seeing more creative sub-genres of music than ever before, from the slacker rock of The Courtneys to the witch house of Grimes to the subtle New Age nuance of Doomsquad and Teen Daze (or any band who uses the words "ambient" or "chill" in their bio for that matter).
Today, we've decided to celebrate this marriage of adjectives by whipping up a guide to the various sub-genres of Canadian indie rock. We've put eight of our favourites in the gallery above for your viewing pleasure.
What are your favourite (or most detested) sub-genres? Let us know on the blog, or tweet us at @cbcradio3.
The chart gets a little tune-up this week: Jeremy Fisher, Carleton Stone, Bryan Ferry, Lorde all debut with new songs, and Bahamas stays on the chart with a second single!
The really big news is who is at number one. The Black Keys! They are back on top for the second time after George Ezra stole the big seat last week. Took me a long time, but I just learned the Black Keys' whole album Turn Blue is based on a break-up.
But things are going well for the rock duo so don't cry! Instead, listen to Paolo Nutini's awesome Scottish accent at the Austin City Limits music festival. His song "Let Me Down Easy" charted at number 12.
Each day, Rich Terfry and Radio 2 Drive wraps up your day with music and stories about the interesting things going on in the world.
RICH'S PICK: "You Can Make It If You Try" by Sly and the Family Stone
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
Let sleeping dogs lie in awkward positions:
Bill Murray does Dylan:
Singer falls, handles it gracefully:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR:
Three times a week, Rich Terfry looks back at a great song from the good ol’ days. Today: Little Eva was on top of the world in 1962 with her number-one hit "The Loco-Motion." But it was all downhill from there.
Little Eva, born Eva Narcissus Boyd, worked as a nanny for legendary songwriter Carole King. King paid her $15 dollars a week for her services. Amused by the way she danced, King wrote a song inspired by Eva called "The Loco-Motion" and asked her to record it as a demo. Although King intended the song for Dee Dee Sharp who had a big hit with the dance-crazy song "Mashed Potato Time," she loved Eva's version and it was released to radio. The rumor is that Eva was paid $50 for her work and was not offered a cut of the royalties in her contract. The song shot to number 1, sold over a million copies and went gold.
Next time Carole King wrote a song inspired by her babysitter, it was for darker reasons. King found out that Little Eva's boyfriend was physically abusive. She asked why Eva put up with it, and was told that by beating her, he was showing her that he loved her. This heartbreaking statement inspired King to write "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)," later recorded by The Crystals.
Little Eva's career didn't survive past the dance-craze years of the early '60s. A single mother of three, she packed the family up and moved to South Carolina where she worked menial jobs and collected welfare. Penniless, she passed away from cervical cancer at age 59 and was laid to rest in an unmarked gravesite. The site has since been restored and now a stone engraved with the image of a steam locomotive reads "Singing with the Angels."
Here's Little Eva's fleeting moment of glory, a number one hit in 1962, this is "The Loco-Motion" on CBC MUSIC.
In this episode of CBC Music Backstage Pass, CBC Radio 3's Grant Lawrence hits the road for a cross-Canada musical journey. Joel Plaskett, Sherman Downey, Paper Lions and David Myles show BSP a little East Coast hospitality while sharing four acoustic songs.
In 2014, CBC Music teamed up with Volkswagen Canada to travel the country and highlight some of its best and brightest musical acts. Here is part one of the three-part special: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions.
Joel Plaskett performs 'Love This Town'
Sherman Downey performs 'The Right Idea'
Paper Lions performs 'My Friend'
David Myles performs 'Don't Drive Through'
CBC Music Backstage Pass airs Friday nights at midnight and Sunday afternoons at 4 p.m. on CBC-TV. Check out the entire episode streaming at the very top.
In 2006, Beck joined George Stroumboulopoulos on The Hour to talk about his then new album, The Information, a record he described as painful to make. They also talked about Beck growing a back catalogue, musical medleys and Scientology.
"My dad's been doing it for about 40 years, so it's part of the landscape of my family," Beck said of Scientology, before mentioning some of the other spiritual influences in his life. "And my grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, my mother was Jewish. She raised us with Passover and all that. My stepfather's Roman Catholic. And I grew up in a Mexican neighbourhood. I spent a lot of time in Japan, going to temples and all that."
For further musical exploration with George Stroumboulopoulos, tune in to The Strombo Show every Sunday night on CBC Radio 2 or CBC Music from 8 to 11 p.m. for three hours of uninterrupted music for music lovers.
Lights has some pretty rabid fans, as evidenced by the reaction of 80 lucky audience members who were treated to her CBC Music First Play Live session. The fans arrived early and stayed late for the short, six-song set that featured the first live performances of songs from Lights' newest release, Little Machines.
As fans entered CBC Music Studio 211, they were startled by the sight of Lights hanging out in the green room. "Is that her in there?" and "Holy shit there she is!" were just a few things I heard fans saying under their breath as they entered the studio.
Lights' kicked off her set with the moody "Portal," then quickly picked up steam with "Running With the Boys," an upbeat song about childhood hijinks, followed by the danceable "Muscle Memory" and "Up We Go."
When the session was over, fans were far from ready to leave. Not because of the short set, but because they simply couldn't get enough of Lights. And it seems that Lights couldn't get enough of her fans, as she spent a great part of the next hour hanging out with them in the hallway of the CBC.
Check out these exclusive performances of Lights' newest songs, performed live for the CBC Music cameras in this First Play Live session.
In late August, the Dimensions Festival, an electronic music festival which takes place in an abandoned 19th Century fort in Croatia, decided to kick off the festivities with a show by Canadian national treasure Caribou. The show was presented in conjunction with inhumanly hip global music series Boiler Room.
Earlier today, Boiler Room uploaded the set to their YouTube channel, so now those of us who couldn't afford to fly to Croatia can see exactly how great it was.
CBC Music has already brought you Frazey Ford's latest solo album, Indian Ocean, recorded with the remarkable Memphis musicians who are also known as members of Al Green's band. Now we up the ante by bringing you five exclusive videos of Ford performing some of her recent material in front of an audience of 400 fans at CBC Vancouver.
This show, recorded in 2012, followed on the heels of Ford's first sojourn to Memphis to record at the now legendary temple of groove, Willie Mitchell's Royal Studios. With a head full of new songs and a heart beating to the pulse of Al Green and Ann Peebles, Ford took the stage to lay down the soul in her characteristic smooth, subtle style. Watch below.
'September Fields' by Frazey Ford
'Three Golden Trees' by Frazey Ford
'Weather Pattern' by Frazey Ford
'Blue Streak Mama' by Frazey Ford
'If You Gonna Go' by Frazey Ford
Related:
Check out other exclusive CBC Music video sessions on our YouTube channel.
The Strombo Show will run the gamut this Sunday night, keeping the spirit of radio alive by delivering the best records in the best order. It's a show for music lovers by music lovers.
We'll be ranging over three hours of commercial-free music to honour both old and new, tripping the fantastic from John Denver to Eazy-E, Husker Du to Crystal Castles, BadBadNotGood to Laurie Anderson.
During that time, George Stroumboulopoulos crank-dials his unknowing mother to check in for Thanksgiving and reminisce about many things that include Willie Nelson and Metallica.
We'll be joined by a few friends throughout the program, which include Joel Plaskett, Lights, Emily Haines of Metric, Halifax's Cousins and British rock hype-builders, Royal Blood.
As always, we'll be tipping our hats to those groundbreakers and game-changers with a Nod to the Gods, spinning the best new tracks, paying tribute to Tom Waits on 10 with Tom and we'll send you into the collective horizontal with the Big Lie Down.
Get on in here! Join the collective.
For further musical exploration with George Stroumboulopoulos, tune in to The Strombo Show every Sunday night on CBC Radio 2 or CBC Music from 8 to 11 p.m. for three hours of uninterrupted music for music lovers.
It's time to reveal the results of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera's recent online vote. CBC Radio 2's Ben Heppner asked you to choose the operas that he will present through the month of November.
"I can't wait to share these recordings with listeners in November," says Heppner. "Some of my favourite singers are featured. It's a dynamite lineup."
We have tallied the results in the broadcast schedule below, counting down your top five picks.
Saturday, Nov. 1
Number five, with 7.03 per cent of the vote:
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess Cynthia Haymon (Bess), Willard White (Porgy) Gregg Baker (Crown), Harolyn Blackwell (Clara), Damon Evans (Sportin' Life) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Festival Chorus Conductor: Simon Rattle Recorded in February 1988, at Abbey Road Studio 1, London
Saturday, Nov. 8
Number four, with 7.76 per cent of the vote:
Beethoven: Fidelio Christa Ludwig (Leonore), Jon Vickers (Florestan) Walter Berry (Don Pizarro), Gottlob Frick (Rocco) Ingeborg Hallstein (Marzelline), Gerhard Unger (Joaquino) Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus Conductor: Otto Klemperer Recorded in 1962
Saturday, Nov. 15
Number three, with 7.9 per cent of the vote:
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde Nina Stemme (Isolde), Placido Domingo (Tristan) Mihoko Fujimura (Brangäne), Olaf Bär (Kurwenal) René Pape (King Mark), Jared Holt (Melot) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Conductor: Antonio Pappano Recorded in 2005 at Abbey Road Studio 1, London
Saturday, Nov. 22
Number two, with 10.35 per cent of the vote:
Bellini: Norma Maria Callas (Norma), Franco Corelli (Pollione) Christa Ludwig (Adalgisa), Nicola Zaccaria (Oroveso) Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala di Milano Conductor: Tulio Serafin Recorded in 1960 at Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Saturday, Nov. 29
Number one, with 12.41 per cent of the vote:
Puccini: Turandot Joan Sutherland (Turandot), Luciano Pavarotti (Calaf) Montserrat Caballé (Liu), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Timur) London Philharmonic Orchestra John Alldis Choir, Wandsworth School Boys' Choir Conductor: Zubin Mehta Recorded in August 1972, at Kingsway Hall, London
Join Ben Heppner each week for Saturday Afternoon at the Opera at 1 p.m. (1:30 in N.L.) on CBC Radio 2.
New Brunswick heartthrob Roch Voisine is back with his first English album in 12 years. Recorded in London, Nashville and Montreal, Movin' On Maybe has Voisine doing what has made him a Canadian favourite for years: his strong songwriting and rich vocals are a deadly combination in either official language.
Movin' On Maybe will be available on Oct. 21 via Sony Records. You can pre-order the album here.
Tracklist
1. "One Singer" 2. "Catch Me" 3. "Something Beautiful" 4. "I Will Remain" 5. "Paula Babe" 6. "As If You Loved Me" 7. "Fatherless Son" 8. "Multiplied" 9. "While I Was Waiting For You" 10. "Jacob and Leila" 11. "Sunday Morning" 12. "The Gift"
Listen to the rest of CBC Music's First Play streams this week, including Jenn Grant, Aretha Franklin, Hey Rosetta and more.
For over half a century, Joni Mitchell has stood out as one of the most distinctive voices in Canadian music, someone who Rolling Stone called“one of the greatest songwriters ever.”
The Canadian icon has been showered with honours and awards, from Grammys to the Order of Canada to a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and her songs have been covered by dozens of musicians, among them Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, k.d. lang, Cee Lo Green and Herbie Hancock. In 2007, Canada Post even featured her on a stamp.
For Thanksgiving, CBC Music and Radio 2 are giving thanks to our Canadian music icons — and to celebrate, here are 20 things you might not know about the beloved Canadian musician. Click on the gallery above to begin.
Ten outstanding young organists from eight countries remain as the 2014 Canadian International Organ Competition continues with its second elimination round. Watch all the action here, with exclusive video coverage direct from Montreal.
Round 2 (Oct. 13-14) takes place at Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste, which boasts a large French romantic organ by famous Canadian firm Casavant Frères. Built in 1915, this electro-pneumatic instrument offers the competitors a wide sound palette (65 stops, 92 ranks) divided among four manuals and a pedal division.
Videos will be posted below following each session, as soon as they are available.
At the conclusion of this round, the competition's distinguished international jury will announce the names of the five organists who will move on to the final round (Oct. 17) at Basilique Notre-Dame.
Elliott Brood is a DIY success story. Ever since hand-crafting the artwork for their first self-released album, Tin Type, the Hamilton-via-Toronto-via-Windsor gritty "death-folk" outfit have done things their own way. And most often within a fairly tight camp. However on this, their fifth album, the trio decided to open things up in the studio, and for the first time hired an outside producer, Ian Blurton (Rheostatics, the Weakerthans).
Work and Love shows the dynamics of the collaboration, with the Brood reaching new heights of musicianship on an album dealing with the pressures of transitioning to — and away from — phases of life.
Work and Love is available Oct. 21. You can pre-order it here.
Jenn Grant’s newest album, Compostela, is a bundle of love notes filled with stories of bombshells and trailer parks and Barcelona. Partly inspired by a trip to Spain following her mother’s death, it’s also filled with voices, featuring at least 10 artists ranging from Doug Paisley to Buck 65 to Rose Cousins and including Halifax up-and-comers Kim Harris and Stewart Legere. It’s an album that gets right to the heart of matters.
“My mom died right before The Beautiful Wild came out … she heard kind of the mix, and she died, and then I postponed it for a bit, put it out, and I wasn't really able to talk about it,” says Grant.
“So when I went to write this new album, it's like these really beautiful things came out about her life and her passing and all the beautiful things I learned about life and death and of all the things she taught me as she was dying. It's a really beautiful experience. And so I feel really proud about how the elements that — you know, I didn't write these angry, rage dark songs about losing my mother.”
Compostela is a true family affair. Grant’s brother, Daniel, plays charango — “my brother, he's never recorded music before, except for on his own maybe with a four-track when we were teenagers?” — and Daniel Ledwell, Grant’s husband, produced the record from the couple’s home studio in Lake Echo, Nova Scotia.
Press play on the stream above for Compostela in full, or follow along below as Grant gives a track-by-track guide, with stories on how she met Rachel Sermanni on a dance floor at 4 a.m., what local artist has perfect R&B pitch as well as her love song to Sixto Rodriguez.
Compostela will be released Oct. 21 via Outside Music. Pre-order it here. The track-by-track guide has been edited down from the original transcript.
“Doug Paisley, one of my favourite voices. And that was another inspiration for this record, there's a song called ‘No One But You’ from his album Constant Companion, and I just love the way it sounds and I love his voice and I feel like he's got this really soulful kind of otherworldly country voice that I really love. And I love the grit. And I love singing with men who have kind of a really gritty lower voice.
“So I didn't know him, but I would email him randomly on tour, in the middle of the night, after hanging out with my band members listening to records and stuff and be like, ‘Doug Paisley, you’re the best,’ send. He always was really sweet and would always respond.
“This one, I don't know what to say about it. I wrote it after a tour [smiles]. What do you think it's about?”
“Well, originally it was called ‘Inspired by the Ladies in the Trailer Park Nearby.’ I had a lot of really long titles for the album first. Narrowed it down eventually.
“When my parents got divorced we moved into a tent. So I kind of have this weird connection with that kind of stuff. More than others, this song is kind of a story that I've created, I guess, with specific characters in mind. So it's about a woman who falls in love with the guy and he travels to Mexico and she wants to follow him.”
“We've collaborated a bunch before, but it always starts with [Rich Terfry/Buck 65] ... I wanted him to be on one of my songs. So that one, it just kind of asked for him I thought. So he wrote something and sent it over and we made a video."
“I met [Rachel Sermanni] when I was dancing at the ECMAs on the dance floor. At four in the morning. With Mo Kenney. And she was in town and I'd heard her album, and I really think her voice is — I think she's spectacular, and she came in and her and Rose [Cousins] came at the same time actually. And we had a fun day, they were going to visit anyway, and I thought before they came, I said, ‘Maybe you could sing something?’
“[‘Stranger in the Night’ is] kind of the same with everything with me, there's moments that are made up and there's moments that are real. This one is kind of about a relationship and there's people who don't understand it, and there's a beauty and a uniqueness to the relationship and something sacred about it.”
“That song reminds me of my mom. A lot of this record, because my mom died right before The Beautiful Wild came out….
"Basically she passed away and I went to Spain. And it was a really hard trip because I was just crying all the time in Spain. And we'd go for dinner and I'd go to the bathroom, I'd be talking to my mom in the bathroom stall and balling my eyes out and stuff, and getting really bad sunburns. But she really wanted me to go there, in the hospital she kept saying to all the nurses, 'My daughter's going to Spain,' I'd be like, 'Oh my god I don't want to go anywhere!' But then I had the whole putting out of that last record and then touring it, and then more time on my own where all of this stuff was kind of percolating, and I dealt with my feelings and the experience and had the whole experience of losing someone that you love so much.
“And my mom absolutely adored Justin [Rutledge]. She really loved Justin so much.”
“That's another one that's got ties to my mother there, too, because walking through Spain and stuff, kind of having my communication process, talking to her and stuff, and then just beautiful parts of Spain. Pretty self-explanatory I think, it's just beautiful, the images of the aqua-coloured water and the white sands and the moon and all that stuff."
7. “No One’s Gonna Love You (Quite Like I Do)” Feat. Stewart Legere
“Oh I love— I mean [Stewart Legere’s] just a beautiful creature. It needed a voice like Stewart’s, and I don’t know how to describe it, what it is about the quality of his voice, but it's almost like if you Auto-Tune something, but it was good. It's got this perfect type of pitch and he can move it around like this R&B singer, and I wanted something just like that.”
“That's another kind of created story, where I just see images of either best friends who are women or maybe a couple, I don't even know.”
[Yeah, it seems hard to tell.]
“It is hard to tell for me, too, I'm not sure. Sometimes in my songs I think Tanya Davis is in there, but I’m not sure ... it's kind of just like this sisterly or woman-to-woman bond through that song where it's kind of about finding your own confidence and shaking your tail feathers and stuff like that. This album, there's a lot of downbeat on the record, and I wanted to make a kind of record like that, but I also wouldn't be satisfied if there wasn't a couple potential live rockers on there.”
“This song is kind of a love song to Sixto Rodriguez. That was the other album that really influenced me, and inspired me to write, Rodriguez and Father John Misty. So yeah, it's just like a total love song for him, and I sent it to him and I didn't hear back [laughs]."
10. “Spanish Moon” With an audience at the Black Sheep Inn
“My creativity for this record came from losing my mom and stuff. So yeah, this one was about singing out to her.
“The whole [Black Sheep Inn] audience sings, that's right, and Kathleen Edwards helped me lead the thing, but she's not featured anywhere on there. But she was there doing that with us, too.”
“Total creation. And I was really, really obsessed with Father John Misty's album, Fear Fun, and wanted to write more storyteller type of songs ... because a lot of my songwriting is very visual, abstract imagery about landscapes and all that stuff, and I wanted to just have more stories in there. That's why ‘Trailer Park’ is more of a story to me and this one's more of a story for sure, like an outlaw. I wanted kind of this outlaw vibe throughout the album in parts, too.
“Kim Harris, besides being one of the nicest people I've ever met, it's so easy to connect with — she's got really great energy I think. Her voice is f--king amazing. She's so incredible and I just think she should be a big star. She's fantastic. So I wanted to have her on there because I wanted to showcase her. Same with Stewart, because he hasn't had a record out yet, and I think he and her are two of the most talented people I've ever met.”
“This one went through a lot of changes as well, like some of the songs went through, for example ‘American Man’ we recorded it seven different ways. I've never worked harder on a record before, it actually drove me crazy. And halfway through the year I was like, ‘I don’t know if I like this anymore.’ I want a f--king dance record. Because I kind of could, like I can switch. But then it kind of came around again.
“So ‘Hummingbird’ went through a lot of transitions and finally it was like, ‘Oh my God I love it.’ But there was a while where it almost got cut for sure. And ‘Hummingbird’ is kind of about where we live, because we live in a beautiful spot and there's lots of wildlife around and a million trees and water.
"Also it's something my cousin said to me about the eye of the hummingbird, and wanting to see the world from that perspective.”
“Someone in my band lost someone as well last year, and there's a song on my last record called ‘Michael,’ which is about my sister-in-law's brother, who passed away. And sometimes in my head songs are part one, part two, and this is kind of like part two to ‘Michael.’ It's just about kind of that beautiful connection that you can have when someone leaves the Earth, that you can still have a connection with them.”
Jenn Grant's Compostela is available Oct.21. Pre-order it here.
We've started a new series, suggesting the songs you need to hear right now. Staff from CBC Music, Radio 2, 3 and Sonica will all chime in with tracks they just can't get out of their heads, be it a catchy number from across the globe or a sad pop gem from a beloved local treasure. Let us know in the comments if anything really catches your ear — or if you have new song suggestions.
Ex Hex, 'Hot and Cold'
The new album from Ex Hex, Rips, is lucky enough to live up to its name. A new band featuring indie mainstay and guitar hero Mary Timony, Ex Hex channels the classic and timeless feel of '70s power-pop from Johnny Thunders to Slade. "Hot and Cold" is a great entry point. The Washington Post calls the track "a neo-glam ditty about a telepathic romance on the fritz." Here's what that sounds like. — Mike Miner
Ria Mae, 'Clothes Off'
Ria Mae’s “Clothes Off” will have you unashamedly bouncing at your work space/home space/life space for weeks (trust me, it has already happened). From an upcoming album produced by Classified, the track has a beat and bassline you won’t be able to turn off. It’s just a shame we have to wait until spring 2015 for the full record. — Holly Gordon
Robin Skouteris, 'The Hideaway Coast'
A good mash-up is elegant and subtle in its transitions and executions. This Robin Skouteris mash-up of heavy-hitters Lana Del Rey, Kiesza, Zhu, Sam Smith and Aaliyah makes it sound like a monster collab with a few samples thrown in. The expertise in mixing is evident here, and it makes for a catchy, danceable track with a chill buildup. — Nicolle Weeks
Sturgill Simpson, 'Life of Sin'
Earlier this year, Sturgill Simpson released an album that will find its way onto lots of people’s year-end lists. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is the Kentucky native’s second album, and it’s been widely praised. Just last month he was honoured by his musical peers with the award for emerging artist of the year at the Americana Music Awards in Nashville. Simpson’s been on the road almost endlessly since the album’s release, criss-crossing North America and even doing a quick run of shows in the U.K. and Europe. Can the year get any better for Simpson? Yes, it can. As he recently tweeted: "All that biz about dreams coming true...believe it. Opening for my all time musical hero in Austin on 12/30." That hero is Willie Nelson.
The video for Sturgill’s “Life of Sin” was released recently, as part of his RCA Session. — Julian Tuck
Pallade Musica, Sonata ottava a 2 by Dario Castello
Since winning the grand prize at the 2012 Early Music America Baroque Performance Competition in New York, Pallade Musica has been on everyone's radar. This track from their debut album, Verso Venezia, shows why they're on fire. They nail the fine balance between precision and sensuality that is key to mastering baroque style. Note also the gorgeous, enveloping sound achieved by the recording team at ATMA Classique. — Robert Rowat
Ryan Hemsworth (feat. Dawn Golden), 'Snow in Newark'
Hemsworth's new single is achingly cool, vulnerable, catchy and evocative in a strangely immersive way. Maybe the title is pure metaphor, but damned if I don't feel the cold on my cheeks and the chill in the air as if I really was surrounded by snow in Newark. I'm totally wearing a scarf while I write this and I love it. — Andrea Warner
Rae Morris, 'Closer'
The U.K. songstress has released the title track off her as yet unreleased EP, Closer. As we always find with Rae Morris, her unique sound goes hand-in-hand with an equally unique video. Although she has yet to have much radio play in North America (currently Sonica is one of the only stations playing her), Morris’s popularity overseas — including having just played the iTunes Festival in London — will no doubt reach our shores soon enough. — Matt Fisher
Lisa LeBlanc, 'You Look Like Trouble (But I Guess I Do Too)?'
Lisa LeBlanc calls from a tiny community in Northumberland County, N.B., and when she sings, you must listen, for her voice is filled with equal parts mischief and grandeur. This song — the first single from her forthcoming second album, Highways, Heartaches and Time Well Wasted— is a slow build, a banjo-first track that starts low and bursts into a Miramichi roar. Press play and join me in trying to figure out how you've gone this long without knowing about this platinum-selling Canadian artist who is yet another example of Canada doing Americana right. — Brad Frenette
Lisa LeBlanc "You Look Like Trouble (But I Guess I Do Too)?"
Jesse Daniel Smith, 'If You Love Me'
The 24-year-old musician, photographer and filmmaker from Montreal somehow found the time to put out a record under the moniker I Am the Sky, amusingly titled The World Doesn't Need Another Record. And that is the only beef I have with Smith: he's dead wrong, we needed this one — if only for the full-throated, finger-picking beauty "If You Love Me." Smith packs a ton of emotion in fewer than three minutes, conveying the sketches of a disintegrated relationship. By no means the only highlight, The World Doesn't Need Another Record is an impressive collection of tunes from someone who appears to only be in the music business part time. For fans of Leif Vollebekk, Evening Hymns, Bon Iver. — Judith Lynch
Touré–Raichel Collective, 'Tidhar'
Improvisation at its best. In 2008, Israeli musician Idan Raichel briefly met Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré in the airport in Berlin. One of Raichel's musical idols is Vieux's father, Ali Farka Touré. Raichel expressed his deep admiration and invited the young Touré to jam with him soon. Two years later, the busy musicians finally found three hours of free time to play together.
Lucky for us, an engineer captured the smouldering grooves and intense charisma of the two musicians, who were joined by a bassist and calabash player. The resulting Tel Aviv Sessions was one of the best discs of 2012. Last week, the subsequently named Touré-Raichel Collective released their second disc of killer jams. You must hear the song “Tidhar.” — Reuben Maan
“You put everything in it, then you let go of it. All that you did, just let go of it,” sings Hey Rosetta! frontman Tim Baker on “Neon Beyond,” a symphonic pop, Paul Simon-esque gem and standout track from the group’s new album, Second Sight. I’d like to think he’s talking about the life of a song, and how an artist puts everything they have into it, only to set it loose. Recording Second Sight apparently took as much time to record as the last two albums combined from Hey Rosetta!, so let’s just be grateful that they finally let it go. — Jesse Kinos-Goodin
Listen to Hey Rosetta!'s new album, one week before its release, right here.
Brooklyn roots-rock trio the Lone Bellow are back with a rich, dramatic, gospel-drenched gem of a single to herald their upcoming sophomore release, Then Came the Morning, due out in January. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner of the National, this title track dives straight into the soaring vocals first heard on the group's 2013 debut and kicks it up about 10 notches with sweeping orchestral arrangements penned by Dessner himself. It was even recorded in an old church sanctuary hall. So yes, your unrelenting desire to raise your hands in the air and shout a little "hallelujah!" when you give this a listen is totally warranted. — Emma Godmere
Drew Howard, 'Uncle Tona'
If you were to ask someone to define what Torontonian rap sounded like circa 2000, they probably would have come up with some combination of golden era boom-bap with dancehall-influenced vocals. A decade and a half later, the city’s rap scene is more diverse, and while that old Toronto sound still exists, a new generation of MCs raised on Tumblr and Drake are doing something radically different. Everything is slow and moody, the drums are skittering, the synths are big and atmospheric and the lyrics are, in the spirit of Drake, half-sung, half-rapped. (You can read more about the changing face of Torontonian hip-hop courtesy of our friends at Noisey Canada.)
The fastest-rising names in this emergent sound include Jimmy Johnson, Tory Lanez and Sean Leon, but we’re keeping an eye on six-man collective Get Home Safe. (An aside: everyone in Get Home Safe seems to have either a name that could be someone’s real name — Drew Howard, Derek Wise — or else a name that is a parody of a rap name — Yung Shrimp Tempura, Happy Boy Tona.)
At any rate, “Uncle Tona” is the latest from Get Home Safe’s Drew Howard. Enjoy. — Chris Dart
Editor's note: the video below contains strong language, and is NSFW.
Amason, 'Duvan'
Ahead of their debut album, Sky City, slated for release in early 2015, Swedish five-piece Amason are planning their first trip to North America later this month. With just a couple of stops in New York and Los Angeles, fans north of the border will have to make do with an olive branch in the form of the single “Duvan” (The Dove), which is available to preview now. Over rolling bass and wandering synths, Amanda Bergman's chilled vocals glide effortlessly. Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight. — Andrew McManus
Amos the Transparent, 'Out the Window'
Remember the good old days when you'd throw on a record and listen through from start to finish? No digital track skipping? The sophomore release from this Ottawa-based indie outfit deserves that kind of attention. This Cold Escape is a perfect, fully formed rock opera, which is why I just picked the first song. That's where you have to begin. Just make sure you have a good box of tissues around for when it's all over. Or a box of wine. OK, don't drink wine out of a box. Just listen to this record. All of it. — Talia Schlanger
Want to check out even more great new music? We've got advance plays of new albums from Hey Rosetta!, Oh Susanna, Jenn Grant, Aretha Franklin andNeil Diamond streaming all week via our First Plays.
Each day, Rich Terfry and Radio 2 Drive wraps up your day with music and stories about the interesting things going on in the world.
RICH'S PICK: "Higgs Boson Blues" by Nick Cave
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
Why tortoises are so slow:
Bunny in a bathtub:
Maymo the beagle follows a laser to the ends of the earth:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR:
Three times a week, Rich Terfry looks back at a great song from the good ol’ days. Today: Little Eva was on top of the world in 1962 with her number-one hit "The Loco-Motion." But it was all downhill from there.
Little Eva, born Eva Narcissus Boyd, worked as a nanny for legendary songwriter Carole King. King paid her $15 dollars a week for her services. Amused by the way she danced, King wrote a song inspired by Eva called "The Loco-Motion" and asked her to record it as a demo. Although King intended the song for Dee Dee Sharp who had a big hit with the dance-crazy song "Mashed Potato Time," she loved Eva's version and it was released to radio. The rumor is that Eva was paid $50 for her work and was not offered a cut of the royalties in her contract. The song shot to number 1, sold over a million copies and went gold.
Next time Carole King wrote a song inspired by her babysitter, it was for darker reasons. King found out that Little Eva's boyfriend was physically abusive. She asked why Eva put up with it, and was told that by beating her, he was showing her that he loved her. This heartbreaking statement inspired King to write "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)," later recorded by The Crystals.
Little Eva's career didn't survive past the dance-craze years of the early '60s. A single mother of three, she packed the family up and moved to South Carolina where she worked menial jobs and collected welfare. Penniless, she passed away from cervical cancer at age 59 and was laid to rest in an unmarked gravesite. The site has since been restored and now a stone engraved with the image of a steam locomotive reads "Singing with the Angels."
Here's Little Eva's fleeting moment of glory, a number one hit in 1962, this is "The Loco-Motion" on CBC MUSIC.
Hey Rosetta! has always circled around the idea of being Canada’s next big band. Going back to at least their 2006 release of Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood), their first of two consecutive Polaris Prize-shortlisted albums, it seemed inevitable that they would pick up where Arcade Fire left off — the Canadian band to take over the world. On Second Sight, their fourth album, the St. John's group steps firmly into the centre of that buzz to confidently claim it with their biggest, boldest and best album to date.
Stream it above for one week before it’s released Oct. 21.
With three years since their last album, 2011’s Seeds, singer-songwriter Tim Baker and co. have been building their sound up from their early indie-folk influence to incorporate the kind of eclectic pop of groups like Vampire Weekend, with due credit going to multi-instrumentalist Romesh Thavanathan, who engineered the pre-production. And they’ve not only grown their sound, but also their membership, adding Mara Pellerin on French horn to the existing lineup, which also includes Adam Hogan (guitar), Phil Maloney (drums), Josh Ward (bass) and Kinley Dowling (violin).
Written in St. John’s and San Francisco and produced in Montreal by Marcus Paquin (Arcade Fire, the National, Stars), Hey Rosetta! spent more time in the studio on Second Sight than the band's last two albums combined. The effort clearly shows, as there isn’t a single misstep.
From songs like “Alcatraz” and “What Arrows” — stunning exercises in restraint that are all ambiance, muffled drums and Baker’s pointed vocals — to the symphonic pop of “Soft Offering,” “Gold Teeth,” “"Kintsukuroi" and album standout “Neon Beyond,” this is the kind of album that demands a huge audience. Plus, the climactic chorus of “Harriet,” the penultimate song, is a sing-at-the-top-of your-lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood) successor to “Sweet Caroline” if there ever was one.
