Juno Award-winning guitarist Oscar Lopez is poised to release a new record, Apasionado. On this, his 12th album to date, the Chilean–Canadian skillfully incorporates elements of jazz, blues and pop into his electrifying instrumentals — gunning the engine from the opening notes of "Ayer" and not taking his foot off the throttle for the remainder of the ride.
Apasionado will be released Oct. 21, but you can stream the entire album in advance by clicking on the player above.
Tracklist
1. "Ayer" 2. "Bahia" 3. "Road to the Blue House" 4. "Line of Fire" 5. "Tears" 6. "Pianolele" 7. "The Smile of Manitou"
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will perform Mozart's Requiem and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass at Koerner Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 15, to celebrate the choir's 120th anniversary. The concert will be live-streamed, the first of three webcasts planned for the current season as part of Toronto Mendelssohn Choir's efforts to extend its reach and provide greater access to choral music across Ontario, Canada and internationally.
This is the opening concert of the season for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Artistic director Noel Edison will lead the choir, orchestra and soloists Lesley Bouza (soprano), Anita Krause (mezzo-soprano), Charles Davidson (tenor) and Sean Watson (bass-baritone).
Oh Susanna's Suzie Ungerleider wanted to pay tribute to all her friends with a simple covers album, but frequent collaborator and fellow singer-songwriter Jim Bryson encouraged her to think bigger. Two years later, Namedropper, a show-stopper of a record, is finally here, and you can stream it one week in advance in the player above. You can also pre-order the record here.
Bryson didn't just encourage Ungerleider to think bigger; if anything, he basically dared her to find out who her best friends were. Instead of a straight-up covers album, he suggested Ungerleider ask artists to write her brand new songs. Based on the tracklist below, Namedropper is the perfect title.
Tracklist:
1. "Oregon" (Jim Bryson) 2. "Into My Arms" (Joel Plaskett) 3. "Goodnight" (Royal Wood) 4. "Cottonseed" (Keri Latimer) 5. "Wait Until the Sun" Comes Up (Ron Sexsmith) 6. "Mozart For the Cat" (Melissa McClelland) 7. "Provincial Parks" (Old Man Luedecke) 8. "Letterbomb" (Luke Doucet) 9. "Loved You More" (Amelia Curran) 10. "1955" (Jay Harris) 11. "Savings And Loan" (Reuben deGroot) 12. "This Guy" (the Good Lovlies) 13. "Dying Light" (Jim Cuddy) 14. "I Love the Way She Dresses" (Ron Sexsmith/Angaleena Presley)
With those kinds of famous friends on board, one would imagine labels would have jumped at the chance to make the record. At least that's what Ungerleider and Bryson had hoped originally, but as they told me in an interview two years ago, they were wrong.
“My mind is still blown that when the labels were approached, they were like, ‘No, thank you. We’ll listen to it later,’” Bryson said. “It seems a lot easier to me, if I worked for a label, to market a record like this than to market a record of somebody’s songs. This is a process and a community and it has names big and small from all parts of the country associated with it ... in the world of music, the chance to say hello a second time is a hard thing.”
Instead, they Kickstarted the project, raised the money they needed and were just about to get to work when Ungerleider was diagnosed with breast cancer. Treatment and recovery took an expected toll, but Ungerleider resumed work as soon as she could and now Namedropper has arrived — and it's beautiful. Love, friendship and mutual admiration glow through every moment, every melody. It's a remarkable testament to Canadian music, our country's songwriting community and the obvious affection and respect for Ungerleider and Bryson. #TeamOhSusanna indeed.
We went to see Trust, known to some people as Robert Alfons, on his tour-ending date in Toronto on Friday night. Here's what we saw.
1. Votive, who might be Toronto’s newest band
Votive didn’t have a Facebook page until two days before the show, the same day they released their debut EP. We'd never heard of them until they played Pop Montreal a few weeks ago, and apparently they only played their first gig this summer. They are really, really new. If their early set on Friday is anything to go by, they also have a bright future. Their slinky, slightly ominous, dark synth-pop production comes courtesy of Cam Findlay, best known for his work in Toronto synth scene favourites Kontravoid and Parallels. Add that to singer Kat Duma’s cold, slightly detached moan and you have a combination that should be a big hit among fans of the dark-yet-danceable.
2. The rampant joy of Crater
Seattle’s Crater are another fairly young band, and while they may play heavy, darkwave-influenced synth-pop, boy do they ever have fun doing it. They thrash around with infectious joy while simultaneously producing a great, crashing wall of sound.
3. The DJ playing Crystal Waters’ '100% Pure Love' between bands
We weren’t expecting that. It caught us off guard.
4. Giant, plastic light-up stalagmites
Trust’s person-sized plastic stalagmites jutting up from the stage look strange while sitting inert behind the opening bands, but when they started flashing dozens of colours, often on an otherwise black stage, during Trust, they were the perfect accompaniment to the high-energy sounds.
5. Trust’s Robert Alfons jumping around in a floor-length dress
Look, there’s nothing shocking about a man wearing a dress in 2014. We’ve reached an age where anyone should be able to wear anything they want. What did shock us, though, was Robert Alfons’s ability to not only dance, but jump across the stage, in a floor-length dress. We are not talking little bunny hops, either. He was getting some pretty serious air. We would have been on the floor inside of a minute.
6. The full spectrum of Trust
Live, you really get to see how diverse an act Trust is. While they’ve always moved between heavier, more industrial sounds, and lighter, poppier fare, both of those extremes get turned up live. Bleaker songs like “Shoom” get downright ominous, while more uptempo songs like “Sulk” and “Joyland” become full-on party anthems.
While you were busy stuffing yourself with turkey this weekend — or turducken, or possibly tofurkey if that's how you get down — lots of people were out in the world making music. Here are a few highlights from that.
The song doesn’t have a title yet, but has been given the working name of “Richard Pryor.” Apparently they also have referred to it as “Eddie Murphy” and “Gene Wilder.”
Apparently they’re just so excited to have Christine McVie back that they figured they might as well keep the party rolling a few more months. The new leg of the tour includes two new Canadian dates, Feb. 3 in Toronto and Feb. 5 in Montreal. After the tour wraps up, everyone in the band will be free to go their own way.
27. The Harpoonist and The Axe Murderer "Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To"
26. Cool "I Can Handle That"
25. Grimes "Go (feat. Blood Diamonds)"
24. Elephant Stone "Wayward Son"
23. White Lung "Down It Goes"
22. The Wilderness Of Manitoba "Leave Someone"
21. Wish "Retrograde"
20. Slown Down Molasses "Summer Sun"
19. Rich Aucoin "Want To Believe"
18. Bahamas "Stronger Than That"
17. Mac DeMarco "Blue Boy"
16. Megan Lane "Someday We Will Leave This Town"
15. The Wooden Sky "Saturday Night"
14. T. Nile "If Only"
13. Cold Specks "Bodies at Bay"
12. Close Talker "Burnstick"
11. Rococode "Banks"
10. Stella Ella Ola "Hypersleep"
9. Stars "From the Night"
8. Meligrove Band "Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye"
7. Alvvways "Atop A cake"
6. Sam Roberts Band "Shapeshifters"
5. Hey Rosetta! "Kintsukuroi"
4. PS I Love You "Limestone Radio"
3. Dan Mangan + Blacksmith "Vessel"
2. New Pornographers "Dancehall Domine"
1. Library Voices "Windsor Hum"
And now on to...
The Listener List!
Every week we take a little detour from the R3-30 to play a few of the tracks you’ve chosen around a theme, we call it the Listener List.
This week you’ll be hearing tracks that are the equivalent to a ray of sunshine.
Now, time for a new theme! Seeing as Thanksgiving is now over, are there songs that capture the feeling of a Turkey hangover? Essentially chill out tunes that might make you survive the tryptophan come down. Any songs come to mind? Clearly we're still digesting over here, but you'll hear our list of suggestions on the show.
Post your comments and suggestions on the blog or tweet @cbcradio3
Red Bull Flying Bach, the popular theatrical production that fuses breakdance, contemporary dance and the music of J.S. Bach, is coming to Toronto and Montreal this month as part of a major international tour. View the gallery above for photos from previous performances.
Intersections between classical music and pop culture sometimes come across as attempts to make classical music "cool." Flying Bach manages to avoid that trap primarily because Bach's music is so transmutable. Whether it's the abstract nature of Bach's instrumental music, its rhythmic regularity or some other intangible quality, it's hard to ruin a piece by Bach when updating it.
Red Bull Flying Bach is a showcase for the breakdancers of the Berlin-based troupe Flying Steps, and they clearly enjoy popping, locking and head-spinning to Bach's music. They're joined by contemporary Swedish dancer Anna Holström, whose character is slowly transformed over the show's 65 minutes from ballerina to B-girl.
Talented as the dancers may be, Bach's music is the real star of the current production, which choreographs the first 12 preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1.
Christoph Hagel is the music director of Red Bull Flying Bach. He also performs Bach's keyboard music live onstage during the show. He responded to our questions via email.
What makes Bach and breakdance such a great combination?
It is the absolute clarity of Bach's music, a certain kind of sharpness which fits the different styles of breakdance. Each of Bach's preludes is a three-minute clip in a special style, so we can choreograph each one with a certain style of breakdance to show its special quality. The fugues contain the possibility to put one dancer on each voice to make the counterpoint — the battle between the voices — visible.
How do you react to purists who claim, "This is not Bach"?
Well, what is Bach? Even in Bach's lifetime, there were many ways to hear and enjoy his music. He himself tried out every style of his time: church music, Italian style, dance forms, French genres, English suites, even opera elements and folk music. I think it is real Bach because we took the compositions very seriously.
Describe your state of mind during a Flying Bach performance.
I have two things to do: play my piano parts and follow the other parts (cembalo, electronic parts) so it is very clear what the dancers are doing. It brings me to a high level of concentration and contemplation.
What are your goals as music director of Flying Bach?
Three things: entertain the public; contribute to the public's understanding of the music; and move the public in the sense of creating expression in them.
What have you learned through your collaboration with the dancers of Flying Steps?
I learned how important dance is today and how many possibilities dance contains to express musical content. Also, how close high-culture music is to popular culture, and how special breakdancers are.
Catch Red Bull Flying Bach at Toronto's Massey Hall from Oct. 16 to 19, and at Montreal's Théâtre Maisonneuve from Oct. 23 to 26.
Have you had your eye on that organist at your church? Is a certain swell box making your heart race? Are you having inappropriate thoughts during the pedal point of the postlude?
It sounds like you may have fallen for an organist.
Organists can be elusive and shy, and it’s rare to see them outside their natural habitat. Sure, they have a certain mystique, but are they relationship material? View the gallery above for eight things you should know before dating an organist.
This week, Montreal is a hotbed of eligible, organ-playing bachelors and bachelorettes. The Canadian International Organ Competition is hosting 15 young organists from around the world vying for more than $70,000 in prizes. The final round takes place Friday, Oct. 17, at Notre-Dame Basilica. The winner receives $25,000 and the opportunity to record an album on ATMA Classique, a Montreal-based record label.
Related:
Click to watch Round 1 of the Canadian International Organ Competition at Église de l'Immaculée-Conception in Montreal.
Click to watch Round 2 of the Canadian International Organ Competition at Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Montreal.
There’s nothing like seeing an amazing band in a smaller venue. The proximity to great talent, the sound quality and the potential bragging rights (“I saw Arcade Fire perform at a hole-in-the wall bar before anyone knew them!”) makes for an awesome music experience.
University and college campuses can be great places to find these types of shows; up-and-coming artists often play the school circuit because the pay can be better than club shows, and campuses offer a built-in audience. Occasionally, mega stars show up on campuses, too.
Check out the gallery above to read the stories behind epic shows that have happened on university campuses, from Iggy Pop’s angry tirade after a show at the University of Alberta, to Prince’s surprise show at a pub at Carleton University.
What’s the best show you’ve ever seen on campus? Let us know in the comments below.
While we’re on the topic of great music shows on university campuses, let us know who you’ve discovered in the Rock Your Campus competition. We’re looking for the best new campus music act, and we need you to help decide who deserves that title. The prize includes $10,000, a show at the winner’s school, a chance to be featured on CBC Music and a lot more. While you’re perusing the Rock Your Campus competitors, take a moment to enter the draw for a Samsung tablet.
Interview: Pink & Dallas Green Language warning: there are some F-bombs
Dallas Green and Alecia Moore surprised everyone when they announced they would be releasing an album under the name You+Me. No one could have expected that Moore, a.k.a. Pink, one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, was collaborating on an intimate, stripped-down acoustic singer-songwriter album with Green, who, as City and Colour, commands a respectable audience in Canada (all four of his albums have gone platinum here) but is, self-admittedly, relatively unknown in the U.S.
"I can play in front of a lot of people at my shows, but if you ask the music industry or if you ask all the people that are supposedly running the stuff down here, they have no idea who I am," Green says.
We spoke to the pair over the phone from L.A. about their new partnership, why pop stars don't get enough respect and why they covered Sade's sultry "No Ordinary Love" on what is otherwise a "friendship album." You can listen to an edited version of the interview above, or read a few of the highlights below.
Pink has wanted to record a singer-songwriter album for 'forever. And never'
"I grew up singing everything with my dad, who was a Vietnam vet who loved rock and Don McLean and Simon & Garfunkel and Peter, Paul and Mary, so I grew up listening to that,” says the singer. “And really, just through my friendship with Dallas, I just wanted to sing with Dallas … because he’s one of my favourite voices."
They had absolutely no intention of making an album
“We were basing it on hanging out with each other, to be honest,” says Green of the spontaneous recording session that stretched out over seven days and ended with a complete album. “I’m gonna come over and we’re going to sing together because we’ve been talking about it a couple years and see where we go from there…. We ended up with all these songs and thought, well, people should hear these.”
Pop singers get no respect, and Pink is OK with that (sometimes)
“I don’t think pop music gets enough respect … and for good reason, too,” she says. “I love pop music, I always have loved pop music, ever since I was little. When I was listening to Peter, Paul and Mary, I was also listening to Madonna and New Kids on the Block…. I think a lot of pop artists give pop a bad name because it did sort of become a little bit throwaway or microwavable. You kind of pop it in, pop it out. Lip syching has always been a thing that drives me crazy. And that pretty package is more consistent in pop music. So there are things that are annoying but there are also great things.... I got used to [being underrated] after putting out my fifth album and people going, 'Wow, you can sing.' Like, what the hell do you think I’ve been doing for the last 15 f--king years?"
But You+Me is not an effort to get more respect
“I gave up trying to get respect a long time ago, especially when I take my clothes off for a living,” says Moore.
Dallas Green really has a soft spot for Sade, whose 'No Ordinary Love' is covered on the You+Me album
“That’s a very special song for me, it’s just beautiful, and I’ve always wanted to do a version like that,” he says. “I think the melody and the words, they just lend themselves to a stripped-down, quiet version. We just did it one late night and were listening to all the songs in a row, and ['No Ordinary Love'] came on at the end and it just seemed perfect to be there.”
Despite the intimate feel of Rose Ave., it's still very much a 'friendship' album
“The cool part [about the You+Me partnership] is that our spouses love each other,” says Moore. “And I love his wife and [my husband] Carey is Dallas’s biggest fan."
Adds Green: "For me, the record, I keep calling it a friendship record. Like, when we’re singing and writing the songs together … I just feel like I’m writing with this person who’s always been, even though I haven’t known her that long, it just feels like we’re brother and sister, you know. So 'You+Me,' the song, is a love song, but for me, where I was coming from, it's a song ... about my best friend.”
You+Me's Rose Ave. was released Oct 14. Order it here.
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: "Playin' Dominoes and Shootin' Dice" by Red Foley
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
This lemur is very excited to see you:
The most adorable dog attack ever caught on film:
Babies laughing at cats:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR:
Three times a week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. Today, Tom Waits with "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
In 1985, Tom Waits recorded an album that barely made a blip on the charts. But although it was mostly ignored at the time, it's now regarded as one of the most influential recordings of all time.
Listen to the incredible story of Tom Waits here!!!
Here's a sampling of the biggest hits of 1985: "Take On Me" by a-ha, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! and "Like A Virgin" by Madonna. All of these songs are based around electronic instrumentation - synthesizers and drum machines.
Contrast that with the approach Tom Waits took on the recording of his album Rain Dogs. Here's a quote from Waits:
"If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it. Most things you can get with a button nowadays. So if I was trying for a certain drum sound, my engineer would say: "Oh, for Christ's sake, why don't we just sample something?" I'd say, "No, I would rather go in the bathroom and hit the door with a piece of two-by-four very hard."
Waits used the pipes in the basement of his studio as instruments. He recorded the sound of Manhattan traffic. He used a chest of drawers as a drum kit. He used accordions, an upright bass, trombones and banjos. Giving instructions to guitarist Marc Ribot, he said, "play it like a dwarf's bar mitzvah." He instructed Keith Richards by crawling around the studio like an animal and saying, "play it like this," to which Richards said, "I know just what you're talking about."
The album was wildly out of step with what was happening in popular music at the time. The album didn't sell well and didn't make much of an impact on the charts. Critics loved it, but they struggled with how to describe it. No one had ever heard anything like it. One critic described the sound as "bony and menacingly beautiful."
Despite being misunderstood at the time, it's now regarded as a classic. It's a hugely influential album that has been named one of the greatest of all time by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and countless other publications. From the classic album Rain Dogs, here's Tom Waits with "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
Over her almost 60-year career, Aretha Franklin has never shied away from covering other artists, whether it was live on the stage or on a studio album, such as her Grammy Award-winning cover of Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose” in 1980. Her latest album, her first in 11 years, is all covers, as the Queen of Soul pays tribute to other female singers, from Barbra Streisand to Gladys Knight. It’s called, aptly, Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, and you can listen to it below for one week before it’s released on Oct. 21.
Executive produced by her old Arista boss, Clive Davis, who helped rejuvenate Franklin's career in 1980, Sings the Diva Classics features reinterpretations of popular diva songs such as Etta James’s “At Last,” Streisand’s “People,” Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Alicia Keys’ “No One” and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” which was released as the first single.
Davis brought in an A-list cast of producers to work on the album, such as Babyface and Outkast’s Andre 3000, in order to see the concept through. And while it’s a covers album, everything still comes as a surprise, from the mash-up of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Destiny’s Child’s “I’m a Survivor” to hearing Franklin herself play piano on the Supremes' “You Keep Me Hangin’ On." Most surprising of all, however, is their take on “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was written by Prince and made famous by Sinead O’Connor in 1990, and receives a swinging reinterpretation courtesy of Andre 3000.
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics is available Oct. 21. Pre-order it here.
Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics tracklist
1. “At Last” 2. “Rolling in the Deep (The Aretha Version)” 3. “Midnight Train to Georgia” 4. “I Will Survive (The Aretha Version)” 5. “People” 6. “No One” 7. “I’m Every Woman/Respect” 8. “Teach Me Tonight” 9. “You Keep Me Hangin' On” 10. “Nothing Compares 2 U”
It started out as a collaboration between Smalltown DJs and fellow Western Canadian producer Neon Steve; but then this summer, superstar Canadian rapper Shad rolled into Calgary, headed for The Beach Studios and joined them on the track "Bad."
"Shad's one of our favorite rappers and a total class act. We worked with him before on the Smalltown Romeo tune 'Boom Ha,' which ended up in the HBO show Girls and the Jonah Hill movie The Sitter, so we knew we could come up with something cool," says Smalltown DJs' Pete Emes in an email.
Emes says they wanted to make something that was fun, and heavy on the low end so it would sound good on headphones or in a club — and the lyrics cover everything from the Underground Railway to Banksy to Shad's hometown of London, Ontario.
"Shad's got a great way of writing lyrics that speak about being a Canadian and making music up here. I always feel like I can relate to what he's saying, which is rare for me," says Emes. "'Bad' shows off his skills on the mic in sort of a battle style too."
The Wooden Sky are going to launch what may be the shortest, and most environmentally friendly, tour in music history this weekend, playing gigs at three Toronto record stores on Saturday afternoon, and moving between the three by bicycle.
The Vinyl Bike Tour will celebrate the vinyl release of their latest album Let's Be Ready, — which came out last month, but wasn't available on wax until now — and will see them play gigs at Cabin Fever Collective, Soundscapes and Kops on Bloor.
For those of you not in Toronto, the Vinyl Bike Tour is a warm up to an actual tour of Eastern Canada coming later in the month.
Oct. 16, Guelph, Ont., Vinyl Oct. 17, Toronto, Ont., Lee's Palace Oct. 18, Toronto, Ont., Cabin Fever Collective (2 p.m.) Oct. 18, Toronto, Ont., Soundscapes (3 p.m.) Oct. 18, Toronto, Ont., Kops on Bloor (4 p.m.) Oct. 18, Toronto, Ont., Lee's Palace Oct. 21, Moncton, N.B., Tide & Boar Oct. 22, Fredericton, N.B., The Capital Oct. 23, Halifax, N.S., St. Matthews Church (Halifax Pop Explosion) Oct. 24, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Trailside Inn Oct. 25, Quebec City, Que., Le Cercle Nov. 29, St. John's, N.L.. The Rockhouse
Another video from deep in the Strombo archives: a special, uncut 2007 interview with Yusuf Islam, the singer also known as Cat Stevens.
At the time, Islam had just released An Other Cup, his first album in nearly 30 years. The British singer-songwriter has since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "introspective cornerstone of the 1970s singer-songwriter movement" by inductee Art Garfunkel.
He announced a series of Peace Train tour dates in North America, his first in mroe than 35 years, which includes a visit to Toronto's Massey Hall at the beginning of December. He was also celebrated on The Simpsons last weekend, and will be releasing a Rick Rubin-produced blues album titled Tell 'Em I'm Gone on Oct. 27. As our friend Fred Penner reminds us, the cat came back.
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.
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: "Dumb Blonde" by Dolly Parton
JUNK IN THE TRUNK:
The perils of working from home when you have cats:
Tiny dirty dancer:
Stella loves autumn:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR:
Three times a week, Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days. Today, Tom Waits with "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
In 1985, Tom Waits recorded an album that barely made a blip on the charts. But although it was mostly ignored at the time, it's now regarded as one of the most influential recordings of all time.
Listen to the incredible story of Tom Waits here!!!
Here's a sampling of the biggest hits of 1985: "Take On Me" by a-ha, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! and "Like A Virgin" by Madonna. All of these songs are based around electronic instrumentation - synthesizers and drum machines.
Contrast that with the approach Tom Waits took on the recording of his album Rain Dogs. Here's a quote from Waits:
"If I want a sound, I usually feel better if I've chased it and killed it, skinned it and cooked it. Most things you can get with a button nowadays. So if I was trying for a certain drum sound, my engineer would say: "Oh, for Christ's sake, why don't we just sample something?" I'd say, "No, I would rather go in the bathroom and hit the door with a piece of two-by-four very hard."
Waits used the pipes in the basement of his studio as instruments. He recorded the sound of Manhattan traffic. He used a chest of drawers as a drum kit. He used accordions, an upright bass, trombones and banjos. Giving instructions to guitarist Marc Ribot, he said, "play it like a dwarf's bar mitzvah." He instructed Keith Richards by crawling around the studio like an animal and saying, "play it like this," to which Richards said, "I know just what you're talking about."
The album was wildly out of step with what was happening in popular music at the time. The album didn't sell well and didn't make much of an impact on the charts. Critics loved it, but they struggled with how to describe it. No one had ever heard anything like it. One critic described the sound as "bony and menacingly beautiful."
Despite being misunderstood at the time, it's now regarded as a classic. It's a hugely influential album that has been named one of the greatest of all time by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and countless other publications. From the classic album Rain Dogs, here's Tom Waits with "Jockey Full of Bourbon"
Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:
Those are just a few of the artists that host Grant Lawrence met up with on the 2014 edition of the award-winning, cross-country driving adventure known as the CBC Beetle Roadtrip Sessions.
The goal, besides safely crossing the country from coast to coast, was to record as many of the best Canadian musicians that we could find, in iconic locations and unique pit stops in our own backyard of Canada.
On this podcast, you'll hear 10 of the best of those performances from last summer, including Sherman Downey aboard a boat in Gros Morne National Park, Bry Webb of the Constantines in the dank Guelph basement where the band formed, and Hey Ocean! at the massive finish line party in Vancouver.
Earbuds in, volume up, smiles wide! What was your favourite CBC Beetle Roadtrip session? What are your listening habits these days? Podcasts? Streaming audio? Your own playlists? Let us know in the comments below!
George Ezra is a soft-spoken 21-year-old singer-songwriter from the small town of Hertford, England, who’s about to become a household name across the globe. His song, “Budapest,” from his debut studio album, Wanted on Voyage, landed in top 10 lists all over world, from Israel (3) to New Zealand (1) to Canada, where it topped the CBC Radio 2 Top 20.
No small feat considering that Ezra had never been to Budapest before he wrote the song. He had full intentions to go, mind you, during a month-long train trip across Europe in which he wrote the lyrics to his album. He just missed the train.
Ezra stopped by CBC Music to share with us five things you should know about, well, George Ezra, including the craziest thing he’s seen on a train, how he found his voice on the back of an old Lead Belly LP and why he knows (almost) all the lyrics to Sum 41’s “Fat Lip.” Watch it above.
We also asked Ezra for his top 5 songs, and his answers combine a mix of the popular (Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend”) with some classic deep cuts (Ray Charles, “Drown in My Own Tears”). Watch him share his full list below.
Newfoundland's Amelia Curran will be releasing her new album, They Promised You Mercy, November 4th on Six Shooter Records. Produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda and stacked with musical talents like Christine Bougie, Dean Drouillard, Joshua Van Tassel and Martin Tielli, it's sure to find its way onto more than a few Best Of lists in the months to come.
CBC Music has the exclusive premiere of the video for the first single from They Promised You Mercy, "I Am The Night."
The Philadelphia Orchestra has hauled programme notes into the 21st century. The orchestra's new app, LiveNote, provides a guided tour of the music that you're hearing at a TPO concert.
Here's how it works: you take your seat in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall, and you whip out your phone (to a chorus of grumbles from curmudgeonly concert-goers everywhere). When the music starts, LiveNote listens along with you, and provides real-time annotations. What does this melodic snippet represent? How does that chord relate to the composer's failing love life?
In the video below, TPO concertmaster David Kim highlights the key features of LiveNote.
What do you think? Would you use this app? Or is it just another modern contrivance to distract us from the music?
