First off, happy birthday to my wife Michelle! Secondly, there are few performers that I've come across in this country that are as playfully menacing as Mark Bragg. I first saw Mark play when I was in his hometown of St. John's, Newfoundland this past spring and I was struck both by what a great pop singer, songwriter, and performer he is--in the vein of Beefheart, Waits, Springsteen, Violent Femmes' leader Gordon Gano, Wax Mannequin, and Bobcat Goldthwait maybe--and also by how completely unhinged his imagination is. And so, his latest record Your Kiss fulfills certain expectations I had in that it's a weird, weird one, full of good humoured, earnest murder-y songs that veer all over the place, but it's got a supreme musicality too that's a great surprise. Mark's touring right now, and I hope you'll go see him. Otherwise, he may just get us all. I bet he'd wear a cape for some reason.
Are you a fan of Mark Bragg? Any plans to pick up his new record any time soon or see him live?
I have five CD copies of Your Kiss to give away to the first people on the blog to respond with correct answers to questions I'll ask on the air throughout today's show (spelling, the great equalizer, counts). If this ends up being you (once!), please e-mail vish_khanna [at] cbcradio3.com with "Humble Bragg" in the subject line, and your blog moniker and shipping address in your message.
Old or new, Canadian or otherwise, what is YOUR album of the week?