the book of right-on

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I first heard about Courier News from my dear friend and primary DJ Mama Cutsworth. As you may know, her radio show, Stylus Radio, is right before mine, so most Thursdays I saunter into the CKUW on-air booth a few minutes before 3 p.m. and wait while she finishes up her incredible, soul-centred hour of excellence. I sit in an office chair beside the hundreds of CDs that constitute the”new releases” in the CKUW collection, scanning specifically for local music that I haven’t heard yet. The other month I was whining to Cutsworth, “Why is there no new local music I want to plaaaaaaaaay?”

Note that I did not say, “Why is there no good local music?” Because believe me, there is plenty. It just happens to be that lately the majority of it has either been rock or twang, neither of which I have a problem with, but also neither of which are the focus of my electro-folk show.

Anyway, I was whining, and Cutsworth said to me, “Well, what about Courier News?”

What about Courier News indeed. This was before they had launched their marketing campaign involving posters and sidewalk stencils, backed by Mike Petkau’s Head in the Sand label. Cutsworth had the inside track on this because she’s pals with one half of the band, virtuoso vocal diva Alexa Dirks, best known as a vocalist with outfits like Little Boy Boom and Chic Gamine.

The other half of Courier News is Matt Schellenberg, another musician with multiple allegiances, most famously to Wolseley band the Liptonians and more recently to supergroup Royal Canoe.

What Courier News have done with their new EP, Fixtures, is bring a much-needed sonic variation to Winnipeg’s musical landscape. Few things tickle my fancy more than the other-worldly precision of electronics mixed with the earthiness of a strong human vocal. Throw in some strong instrumentalism, and that’s Courier News.

I’m hoping Fixtures signals the beginning of a resurgance of electronic pop in this town. It’s a genre that’s been on the wane since vitaminsforyou packed up for Montreal and Blunderspublik went on hiatus.

Visit the Courier News website to download a free MP3, order the disc or a digital copy of the lovely five-song EP.

The music video is dead. Long live, instead, the interactive, personalized, rich-web-based music video. That’s what you get with Arcade Fire’s “The Wilderness Downtown,” turned into a internet movie by Chris Milk in a way that marries HTML5 and Google Maps. It didn’t blow my mind. What it did do was made me feel like I’d been watching interactive web music videos forever. It felt natural and native and beautiful.

I considered posting a screencap of “my” video (which, I admit, is the same video as my little brother will have when he gives this thing a run later tonight), but I figured that’s not really fair. It’s best you go in with fewer preconceptions. If you do want some more preconceptions, or conceptions in general, or just some information before you give this thing a go, check out Mashable’s post on the subject.

Further: I’ve been privy to discussion amongst Canadian music critics lately where the question has been posed, are Arcade Fire as good as we say they are? I say they are. And I’m not even an Arcade Fire stan. I’m just saying. Arcade Fire has always been a band that is willing to let their audience in on the secret, into their inner circle. They’re not an evangelistic band, hitting us all over the head with the reasons why they are amazing. Instead, they put out their records, play their tours, and when we ask, they give us a path into their world. Once we’re in, we realize that their world feels magically familiar, even when it’s strange.

Holy crap. Two of my favourite things: Joanna Newsom and Nardwuar, together at last. Nardwuar never disappoints. He comes bearing thoroughly researched questions and some artist-related ephemera (both a little on the light side because La Newsom is only 28, not a lot of time to build up the kind of backstory that Nardwuar is so expert at mining). Ms. Newsom rises to the challenge, answering his questions without the blink of an eye and, dare I say, she even appears to get Nardwuar, or at least is rather amused by him, and that’s an acceptable reaction in my books. Nardwuar is a kind of personal litmus test for me, allthough I don’t really know what the results of said test mean.

DOOT DOOLA DOOT DOO!

DOOT DOO!

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I was planning today’s episode of the radio show and was getting some background info on Montreal’s the Pop Winds, who will make an appearance in the playlist. That’s when I discovered they’re also making an appearance in Winnipeg on Monday (August 23) at the Lo Pub.

This Arbutus Records band has been compared to Animal Collective (during that band’s more accessible phases), and their new album, The Turquoise, is available for free download in its entirety through their MySpace page.

The track I’ll be playing on today’s show is the most cohesive from the record — lead off track “Met Some New Colors.” It starts with perky strings and sax, then brings in the vocal sample and the organ, building a head of gloriously repetitive steam for a saxophone melody to play through.

The Pop Winds are also on Twitter.

You heard me.

He’s giving a speech on November 4 to kick off  the “My City’s Still Breathing” symposium. No word yet as to on what particular location we will converge to hear the words that issue from the mustachioed lips of the man behind Cry-Baby  and Hairspray.

According to symposium director Carol Philips, the idea is that Waters is an artist whose work is firmly rooted in his own city, Baltimore (all of his movies are set there). He’s fixated on Place the same way we are. SEE? MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!!!

My mind is still spinning. Spinning.

John Waters Shares His Favorite Love Songs on All Songs Considered [npr.org]

The Swell Season covers Neutral Milk Hotel

Stopping in at the Onion‘s A.V. Club, the Swell Season rocks a great version of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “Two-Headed Boy.” Glen Hansard sure can sing. The band’s set at this year’s Folk Festival was a highlight for me, even though Hansard’s bravado and abrasiveness turned off some of the festival’s mild-mannered audience. Canadian politeness is a real thing, you know! But he’s a rock star. And that’s what they do.

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Marissa Nadler is selling home-burned CDs of her covering songs covered in handmade linocut CD covers! (How’s that for a sensical sentence?) She’s selling them on Etsy, and the items have enough of a handmade component to qualify for sale on “Your place to buy and sell all things handmade” (though everyone knows that Etsy is home to more than its fair share of resellers and crap-mongers).

No word on what the cover songs actually are, but I’m sure it will be a nice surprise, and at any rate, proceeds from this crafty sale will go to fund her next recording.

(Via.)