MOG - ookpik's Posts

A perfect Magnetic Fields moment.

ookpik — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:04:23 GMT

My friend sent this along as a cure for assorted winter sicknesses, and boy howdy does it do the trick. Stephin Merritt sings 'Nun's Litany,' solo acoustic ukelele style. I need to make another trip to the record store to pick this up (oh, Canadian release dates...).

"I may not find the cure for cancer

but I'll meet plenty of single guys."

Divine.

Random old track: Deus E O Amor by Gal Costa.

ookpik — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:16:47 GMT

I've been listening to Gal Costa's first two albums on repeat for a few days. (My sister asked for a bossa nova mix. I got sidetracked.)

My favourite features of these albums:

- both called Gal Costa

- both released in 1969

- each at least 75% "far out"

- tropicalia is awesome

- Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil pop up occasionally

- Gal Costa's singing sounds effortless even when she's making creaky rock howls. Relaxed bossa skills.

- These are all interpretations of familiar hits by Caetano, Gil, Jorge Ben, etc. Brazil in the late '60s must have been like early Motown-- every song got released by three different people within two years.

Every time I binge on an album I come out with a different favourite song. This time it's "Deus E O Amor," the last track from Gal Costa #1.

Caribou: face melting.

ookpik — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:05:43 GMT

I decided to spend Halloween with Caribou because they seem to like costumes and the two times I've seen them before (once as Manitoba) are still holding strong in my personal list of top live music experiences. I think its the combination of the double drummers, the projected animations, and the bizarre pre-recorded components. (Sometimes, despite all the excess on stage, the vocals are pre-recorded. You really couldn't spare a singer? Dan Snaith seems to be only playing recorder...)

Last night's show was at a bigger venue, so the effect was a little less concentrated, but the festive audience mood made up the difference.

The relevance of YouTube bootlegs is somewhat compromised by the Halloween factor, but just imagine the band dressed as ghosts and the audience all decked out, and drop right into the psychedelic onslaught:

Caribou needs to team up with Dungen.

Autoharp mindmap #1

ookpik — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:07:45 GMT

I went looking for an autoharp moment to add to my little post about Basia Bulat, and I recalled my first, most excellent encounter with rock autoharp was when the mighty Xiu Xiu came to town years ago.

Basia Bulat is good on stage.

ookpik — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:57:50 GMT

I saw Basia Bulat open for Final Fantasy on Sunday night. (Owen Pallett's former bandmade Nifty was the first opener, but lets not talk about him ok? Overheard after his set, in a regretful tone, "I passed up a turd sandwich to be here tonight, man!")

So Basia was quite a relief! She was not what I was expecting-- she didn't sound like an indie singer-songwriter much at all. Big, big voice, and kind of a Canadian folk-rock sound that reminded me of Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs from the '90s. I don't know if I need to hear this on record, but I would gift it to the Sarah Harmer fans in my life, and I would definitely see it live again.

This video is from a show in her hometown, London, Ontario, and I like it because it shows the contrast between her giggly stage persona and her "go time" focus. Watch her snap to the mic when the drum hits! Interesting.

I wish I could find a video of her rocking out on autoharp. It is adorable! (Galen said, "Playing autoharp looks like you're giving someone a big hug.")

I will be mixperimenting.

ookpik — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:23:32 GMT

Mixperiment looks fun: a very low-commitment, public mix CD swap. I love my town. Even though it is so rainy today that it is basically still nighttime.

"Each month a date, time, and place is announced for the next installment of the mixperiment. I will arrive promptly with a mix cd that I've made. Participants come by with a mix that they've made (and sushi if they're keen), and we'll trade. The next person to approach with a mix trades their own for the one I've just received. Lather, Rinse, Repeat."

How easy would that be to set up in your town?

And... a song to accompany the giving and trading.

My vote for the next Wes Anderson soundtrack.

ookpik — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:35:06 GMT

In a parallel universe I think this song featured in The Royal Tenenbaums. Maybe the one by Les Anderson.

Busy P is saving me from myself.

ookpik — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 06:06:19 GMT

I am noticing that a lot of my posts are about music that helps me get stuff done. Our work is never over!

This track is helping me move furniture around while I have a mind-altering headcold (the kind that stuffs your ears and messes up your balance, and makes you feel blockaded from the rest of the world).

It is also helping me stop listening to Daft Punk, which seems to be difficult today. (I started into those YouTube clips from their recent tour, and it escalated until I was hunting down old performances from before the robot helmets and watching that mid-nineties Wisconsin set that is pretty much 30 minutes of Thomas Bangalter shot to look like DJ Teen Heartthrob, etc.)

So this is Daft Punk's manager, Busy P. (Baby steps.) It's got those addictive Daft Punkish noisy-synth sounds and the slushy beats that make it feel like your pulse is slowing down, but it's less campy than the robot overlords.

But I still like the robot overlords :)

Award-winning Meatdraw video.

ookpik — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:36:34 GMT

- dancing zombies - gratuitous head-squishing - charming musical saw interlude - perfect for your next stomp-around dance party!

This was produced for another of my favourite local annual events: the Cinevic Reel 2 Reel competition (this is where the "award-winning" descriptor was earned). Local musicians contribute songs, and local filmmakers are drawn at random to make a video for each one. Hilarity ensues. I hope more of them show up on YouTube!

Filling a MOG gap: Kelley Polar

ookpik — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:53:03 GMT

Love Songs of The Hanging Gardens (2005) is the album that made house music 100% ok for me. I can handle anything now! It was kind of a trial by fire: K.P. leans to the italo side, with really expressive vocal harmonies that sound straight out of '80s guitar jazz, and strings that are specifically styled after classic disco. Oh, and the whole album follows a theme about love in outer space. DORK PARADE.

But if you just trust that this will be ok, and let the music into your head, it is the most rewarding album in the entire cosmos. Seriously. When I first got it, there were about two weeks where I had to listen to it twice through before bed every night, just staring at the stereo or laying on the floor with headphones.

It's partly that the production is super precise and spatial, so it is very sensory. And then it is partly how sincere and vulnerable the songs sound. The lyrics involve a lot of feelings about romance (the love-in-space bits are metaphorical, not sci-fi), and the music involves a lot of feelings about, e.g., disco. Apparently Mr. Polar got kicked out of Juliard for spending all his time working on these dance tracks, and then left New York to live in a rural shed and mend his crushed spirit. That at least implies a certain commitment, I think.

Also, Kelley Polar's handclaps are second only to the ones in Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes. (Listen and learn, dancepunk.)

The album seems-- and granted my perspective might be skewed by those two weeks spent watching this album like a movie-- to have a conceptual structure that is almost on a narrative level. You go on a journey when you listen to it; each song resolves into the next and then creates new tension. (That might be another reason I find it hard to put down-- you don't feel done when a song ends, you want the next one.)

This is the fourth track, "My Beauty In The Moon." It wasn't my first favourite, but it is up there now. The beats move in a retro, travel-to-deep-space type of way (and what is that one sound-- scissors?), but it's the vocals that rip my heart out. The harmonies! The breathy bits! It's crazy!

Baby baby baby!

ookpik — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 19:05:20 GMT

Ha ha. Can you tell I just made a mix for some new parents?

Taking "baby" lyrics literally is the dorkiest joke ever, but it is funny to me every time.

Ohh....I can't quit you baby,

So I'm gonna put you down for awhile.

(Led Zeppelin)

Every time.

James Brown is my favourite, because he's so macho about it. And so _persistent_. (Baby baby baby! Baby baby baby! Baby baby baby! I got the feelin' baby!)

The Knife "live" at a community activity centre?

ookpik — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:25:16 GMT

Wow. I love this video! A dominating drag queen lip syncs the lyrics "I'm in love with your brother... what's his name?" to a roomful of people including the actual singer... and her brother.

(His name is Olof, and I'm pretty sure he's the guy who starts dancing in slow-mo with the performer. I think the singer, Karin, is the young woman in the black shirt who gets all the close-ups.)

My friend sent me this video because her boyfriend likes Olof's moves, and I have to agree. I want to host a slow motion dance party immediately.

Another dinky/macho moment, care of Russian Futurists

ookpik — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:42:53 GMT

This is my favourite Russian Futurists track, entirely because of the useless "c'mon!" that kicks off the "heavy" portion of the song (right at the one minute mark). One-man Canadian bedroom pop, with chimes and synths and tape hiss... and that one rock shout out.

I think he's touring with a band in the fall (they are playing here in Victoria, and bands don't usually do that unless they are on tour), and they are FUN live. Goofy and dancey and charming. I saw the live act a few years ago with Junior Boys and Caribou (Canadian dream team!), and I still list it in my mental catalog of top shows.

- More songs on myspace.

- largely useless flash monstrosity the band is using as a website

Guided by Voices for better productivity

ookpik — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:58:42 GMT

Sometimes when I am resistant to working, I put on a playlist of long songs alternating with this one song which is exactly 2 minutes long. During the short song, I get to take a break. When the next long song starts I get to switch to a different task. This is a way of bargaining with procrastination, which is sometimes helpful as a self-employed person.

I think this is a pretty perfect break song: My Valuable Hunting Knife, by Guided by Voices. It kicks right off with breaktime sentiment.

"I want to start a new life!"

Something about the lo-fi noise factor, and the goofy echoey drum makes me feel completely unprofessional and on vacation. Also I really enjoy macho rock gestures (yelling "hit it!" or "come on!") within dinky music, so this instantly cheers me up.

One more St. Vincent

ookpik — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:54:33 GMT

Good grief. This version of "These Days" borders on _too_ lovely and sad and precise. It's like she crossed it with "Stephanie Says."

St. Vincent is owning my multipurpose room today.

ookpik — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:43:43 GMT

If I told you this was a triphop song, I don't think you'd get truly suspicious until about 0:55. And then you'd think, "Wait a minute... didn't this lady play guitar for Sufjan and Polyphonic Spree and stuff?" And maybe you'd wonder if she listened to a lot of Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel growing up. And show tunes.

(My other top picks from this album have already been posted-- the St. Vincent artist page is shaping up nicely! Especially if you also check the artist page for St Vincent with no dot.)

Chet video: a ballroom, flames, flying, love eyes...

ookpik — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 22:05:12 GMT

I've been waiting for this music video!

"Don't Let Your Cruel Heart Count Me In," by Chet. Don't be alarmed-- the music doesn't start for a minute or so.

Chet features the same lead man as Himalayan Bear, which I've posted before (and way before), so if you liked the crooning and reverb on those, check out the weightier, more sombre crooning and reverb in this band. Chet also features cello, occasional brother-on-brother vocal harmonies, and general grandiosity.

Disclosure: something like five of my closest friends are in this video, including the young leads, and my loverman did the lettering. So. Biased. Also I like Chet (by the way).

Frida Hyvönen is still awesome

ookpik — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:02:24 GMT

I've just entered a new phase of listening to Frida Hyvönen's debut on repeat. I had a couple of these phases last year.

It's piano and songwriting-- people compare her to Joni Mitchell or Cat Power-- but the songs are a series of little surprises. The lyrics often pop out at you, for one thing. In this song, the main surprises are these big cathartic "Oh" interludes that I find really satisfying. But give the lyrics a chance, too.

When you intellectualize my emotions,

And call me baby baby baby baby in the wrong way Oh! Such a lack of taste! (x 8)

I don't think this is surprising just because she's Swedish and I'm not.

More music and videos at fridahyvonen.com, her myspace page, and at Secretly Canadian.

I think I'm going to have to check out the soundtrack she did for a friend's dance performance about poodles after all.

Remedial mogging #5: waiting for the Spoon show

ookpik — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:22:26 GMT

5. Don't You Evah, by Spoon.

You've probably heard this song, but conveniently you can hear it _right now_ in this MOG post. It is for dancing and rocking out!

I have a couple weeks to go before the Spoon tour makes it up to my corner of North America. I'm super excited, even though I am pretty sure this show will attract the now-familiar contingent of fist-pumping frat boys who are twice the size of the traditional indie show-goers. (Hipsters, meet college students. Everybody, reacquaint yourselves with the absorbant powers of the mainstream.)

I am trying to open my heart about the meat head guys and the Girls Gone Wild, because I'm pretty sure that complaining about "the wrong people" coming to "my" shows is blatant snobbery and basically classism. They don't have the right manners? (Fists down, please!) They don't have suitably exclusive tastes? (How can one enjoy both Spoon and Nickelback? And WHAT are they drinking?) Those are the markers of LOWER CLASS, not an actual social crime. I'm thinking this is not the traditional income-based class system at work. It's more about cool points, where mainstream is the low class, and the higher ups are artists and outsiders and people who liked their first album.

This cool points snobbery has always bugged me about alternative/slacker/indie/hipster culture. (Seriously, if you constantly need somebody to be uncool in order to advance your revolution, that's a pretty shitty revolution.) So here's my big chance to cooperate instead of competing. Finding a way to exist in mindful, mutual respect with the meat heads. I'll let you know how THAT goes.

Remedial mogging #4: one Lavender Diamond song

ookpik — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:57:29 GMT

4. Here Comes One, by Lavender Diamond

Taken as a whole, this album is a bit thin, but there are some real stand-out tracks. The piano in this one is irresistable to me (ditto the tiny dashes of new wave synth).

Also, "You have opened your heart with your mind"? Some of their songs are so irrationally positive as to verge on Christian radio territory, but this is an upbeat message I can get behind. Love is hard work; opening your mind is good for your emotional health; etc etc. (I've been starting a community sexual health group, and doing a lot of talking with feminists and radicals about how progressive politics make interpersonal relationships more rewarding.)

Remedial mogging #3: Luiz Gonzaga

ookpik — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 18:38:24 GMT

3. Paraiba, by Luiz Gonzaga.

Apparently his nickname is The Gonz, so that is what I call him in order to show my affection. I love this. It's cowboy music from northeastern Brazil. Ridiculously skilled accordion playing, great semi-scratchy sound on the recordings, and a big (really big!) happy voice.

Did Brazilians invent all the best rhythms? I kind of think so. The percussion on this track seems to be composed of a whole cowbell orchestra accented only with a bass drum? Way to go, The Gonz.

Since apparently I am the only person on MOG listening to The Gonzagão (!!), here are a few links to get you well acquainted with his awesomeness.

All Music has a good bio, explaining his activism around indigenous music and his involvement with Tropicalia in the '60s and '70s.

I have the "Focus" collection, which is excellent.

Another good choice: Eu E Meu Pai (roughly "Your and My Land"), an album he did with his father. You know that has to be good!

Remedial mogging #2: Himalayan Bear

ookpik — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 23:52:44 GMT

2. It's New Year's Day Now Go To Sleep, by Himalayan Bear.

Ryan Beattie and the gang have a new album out ("...Attacks the Brilliant Air" on Self-Righteous Records) but this is an older song. It's off the charts! It is so small and lovely; it's like a pebble. It's about the death of Hank Williams, I think, and the lyrics deliver encouraging words. Encouragement for the dying is one of my favourite things, for some reason.

"You're gonna rest those weary eyes... in the backseat with a bottle of whiskey at your side"

SpecialAgentJackass posted a live version awhile ago-- also great.

Remedial mogging #1: Shapes and Sizes

ookpik — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 23:29:30 GMT

Hi pals.

[Assorted excuses.]

I finally updated my "songs you should be listening to" list. Five super songs of variable new-ness, starting now.

1. Highlife (I Had Been Duped), by Shapes and Sizes.

This is a revelation for me. Shapes and Sizes are my friends, but I had trouble making a real connection with their first album. But this new album! (Uh, "new" album... it came out many months ago.) It feels as potent and mature-yet-creative as the people I know. It is a relief, and a delight. (Lots of people connected to their first album just fine, of course.)

I think this song sounds a bit like college radio rock from the early nineties. (Sugarcubes, a tiny bit? Or more likely some influence from The Lilys in there.) Loopy drumbeats, arty vocals, catchy bits, noisy bits, weird melodies, boy-girl guitar duelling. Awesome.

See also the mp3 for Alone/Alive that is all over the internet.

Los Zafiros: vintage Cuban doo-wop

ookpik — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:30:35 GMT

I could pull some liner notes cred about a future member of Buena Vista Social Club, but really the proof is in the pudding. Actually there are several puddings: the high-voiced guy, the arrangements, the groove, the fact that they called their man band "the sapphires". Awesome! I can't stop listening to this best-of compilation. Perfect for summer evenings. Lemonade and bare feet!

There's a decent bio at singers.com. I like this part:

Beginning with their first hit single, "La Caminadora," the group got into the archetypical rock star on tour craziness, fights, drinking, destroying hotel rooms, meeting the Beatles (who wanted them to stay), touring Moscow, Poland, Germany and Europe, that led to the early deaths of all but one of the singers. What they left behind, judging by these 17 hits, is a legacy of great vocal harmony.

Yikes. Thanks for the legacy, dudes.

The New Music West festival is hilarious

ookpik — Thu, 03 May 2007 20:31:42 GMT

Last night at the "industry showcase" where my pals Elephant Island were playing, I heard a pretty funny band. Check out the stats:

- They play surf guitar

- The lyrics I made out were about Mexico

- They are called Funky Nashville

- They are from Denmark

They seem to be aware of the cognitive dissonance of these elements, but they just kind of roll with it. I consider this the main power of people who are raised in Europe. They put on a tight little set, which nonetheless made me want to listen to North American Scum:

Guitarded

ookpik — Tue, 01 May 2007 22:04:31 GMT

So I was watching some Devo videos and came across this comment:

"dude that gutair rips!!!! der ner didle-le ner ner!!!!"

I wish you could bookmark individual comments on YouTube. (Are you listening, Google empire? They say you can hear my thoughts now.)

I admire English transcriptions of electric guitar noises almost as much as I enjoy people making the sound of a guitar with their mouths. "Der ner ner"? That's clearly rock guitar. "Riddly diddly diddly"? That's different. This latest comment is an unusual hybrid-- "didle-le ner ner". A fine specimen!

I hunted through archive.org to find a 2004 posting on a now-defunct blog that linked to the pinnacle of guitar-sound interpretation, because I couldn't remember the name of the the now-defunct webzine that posted said pinnacle. It was worth it for me; I hope you get a giggle out of it too!

For your enjoyment: Guitarded, an experiment in a 2003 issue of the plug.

Sunday covers? OK. George Michael bedroom folk

ookpik — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:20:29 GMT

Every couple of years, my friend Emily records a few of her favourite covers and makes a little album to give to her loved ones at Christmas. Songs she has gifted to her grandmother in the past include: I Want Your Sex, Let's Get It On, and this super far-out version of Time of the Season. She's a pretty rad lady.

Among the tripped out sex-rock cover songs are a sprinkling of cute and charming bedroom-folk gems like this one: Faith, by George Michael.

I am listening to this while I'm typing and holy shit, I forgot about that guitar solo. That is pretty classic.

Emily's entire Christmas covers collection is free to download at Aloha Misc. Media House. If you dig these, you should probably also check out Panty Boy.

Before they featured on Bjork's new album...

ookpik — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:26:19 GMT

I don't know much about the all-girl Icelandic brass band that Ms. Gudmundsdottir has lined up for her forthcoming album, but I do know that these are two formidable string players she's recruited.

(1) Toumani Diabaté on kora. I gained access to this music when loverman and I put our record collections together. This old album, Kaira, is a good example of my favourite kind of world music (as long as you keep the global psychedelia firmly in the "rock" category). No fusion, no weird production, no semi-famous white guest stars, just a whole pile of virtuosity and an evocative mood. I like this at breakfast.

(2) Min Xiao-Fen on pipa. I recognized her name but had to think to figure out why. She features on my favourite John Zorn album, Filmworks VIII, an all-improvised soundtrack to a film about Jewish refugees in China during WWII (followed by an all-percussion soundtrack to a gay porn movie. Ah, John Zorn...). I think the guitar player is Marc Ribot, of Tom Waits' band. I first heard this album driving at night towards the desert-- can you imagine a more perfect setting for this song? (Other than being a Jewish refugee in China during WWII?)

Ruan - pipa version, by John Zorn.

(Now imagine it with Bjork and Timbaland and Antony and and and-- I am excited!)

This Tom Zé song is making everything ok

ookpik — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 07:41:21 GMT

I am on about day 400 of a work marathon, and this bit of '70s Brazilian experimentation is really hitting the spot. How can you not get happy when those wacky guitars start up? What a great sounding twang. It's almost _squeaky_.

This song, O Abacaxi De Irará, is from Tom Zé's 1972 album Se O Caso É Chorar, which is pretty killer if you like tropicalia at all (along with everything he released between up to at least '78... and actually I like his recent albums too).

This same album is home to an early, super-fast version of Vai (Menina, Amanhã De Manhã), my selection for winner of The Best Breakdown In A Song, Ever. A breakdown so excellent, I think you could understand its grandeur just by scanning the lyrics, even though they are in a foreign language. (Sort of like how you can understand that Os Mutantes were a lot of fun, just by visually inspecting the lyrics to Bat Macumba.)

I will leave you with the lyrics to the end of Vai, in the hope that you can feel the pulsing rhythms, and also because I think it will be soothing to see the pretty patterns on my MOG page any time I want to. It's like a bonsai tree or something. Simple, but a little weird.

Menina, a felicidade é cheia de ano é cheia de Eno é cheia de hino é cheia de ONU.

Menina, a felicidade é cheia de an é cheia de en é cheia de in é cheia de on

Menina a felicidade é cheia de a é cheia de e é cheia de i é cheia de o

é cheia de a é cheia de e é cheia de i é cheia de o é cheia de a é cheia de e é cheia de i

cheia de a cheia de e cheia de i cheia de o

Nepotism never sounded so good!

ookpik — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 06:10:54 GMT

"Nighttime" by Elephant Island has been on my list of "songs you should be listening to" for months and months. Still not tired of it. It's magic.

The songwriter, Galen (who I just married, by way of disclosure) just posted the song. So you can all listen to it.

The first piano chord sets you up to understand how restrained and lovely this band is, but you don't really understand why they make audiences weep (literally tear up!) until the pedal steel entrance around 0:18. It's a very "driving late at night on a long, long road" song. And maybe your car is enchanted.

Anyway, enjoy!

Whither Stereohead?

ookpik — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:06:17 GMT

As part of my dangerous and mysterious lifestyle, I am trying to come up with the six best bands whose names include the word "stereo." Help a girl out?

It's easy enough to stack up Stereolab, Apples in Stereo, and Stereo Total. And maybe even The Stereos, doo-wop fan that I am.

I'd really like to avoid padding my half-dozen with, say, The Stereo MC's, but I they're the only familiar faces I can see among the remaining sea of bands called Stereoton, Stereopol, Stereobus, Stereobox, Stereocell, Stereofeed, Stereodrome, Stereosoul, Stereorama, Stereofunk, et cetera, et cetera... have your eyes glazed over yet? It's practically a case study in the common combining suffixes in popular music.

So anyway: do you have a stereo secret for me? I need at least two more respectable bands.

This is my safety pick, The Stereos.

(For fun, spot the sample in this song by Monsieur Guy.)

Piss artistry

ookpik — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 01:33:21 GMT

A few years ago I made a special musical edition of my vagina website, and every time I typed vaginal keywords into p2p networks I got overloaded with death metal.

Drewfonts reminded me. But truly, you can make fun of any musical genre, so I wanted to share with you a few of Merlin's lists of five things.

Five terrible fake Morrissey songs

1. Bachelor in a Casserole 2. The Swirling Clergyman’s Lament 3. St. Sebastian’s Disused Quiver 4. Dolorous Dolores 5. Gracious Knows These Trousers Bind

Five terrible fake albums by a girly-voiced singer/songwriter

1. Stop Touching My Cat 2. These Braids Have Cried 3. Vegan Glances 4. Birkenstock Exchange 5. Am I Not Your Flower?

Five Childhood Taunts or Local Indie Rock Bands

1. No Shit Sherlock 2. You Rot 3. A Homo Sez What? 4. Sped! 5. Doy

A workaholic's notes on last night's Great Lake Swimmers show

ookpik — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:01:54 GMT

1. It was rad!

2. Opener Clay George is a fox in the way that Caetano Veloso is a fox. By which I mean a silver fox who wears a classy suit. (Also he plays lovely alt-country ballads.)

3. Second opener Great Aunt Ida started with the songs I suggested in my MOG post. Point for me?

4. Great Lake Swimmers are charismatic! The singer radiates folky poetry about brothers and daughters and peace, but in a way that makes him seem strong. Point for HIM.

5. They are much more rockin' live! E.g., This song, Put There By The Land, sounds mellow and subdued on Ongiara, but for those about to play it in a bar, I salute you.

6. The guy wearing glasses in the photo above is the drummer. He has the weirdest drumming style I have ever seen: kind of like riding a bicycle and poking things with sticks. Is his kit extra-short? Maybe his sticks are extra long. In any case: awesome!

7. Jon from Great Aunt Ida sat in on lap steel for a bit. Charming.

8. Ida sang harmony on several songs as well. Perfect. She has such a soft, lovely voice.

9. It was rad.

Welcome to MOG, Self Righteous Records

ookpik — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:43:17 GMT

Hey! A great label from here in Victoria has appeared on MOG! Hello, SpecialAgentJackass, aka Self Righteous Records.

If you like dark cabaret type rock music, theatrical live shows, or perhaps Man Man, have a go at SpecialAgentJackass' post about Meatdraw.

The best thing a priest ever said to me

ookpik — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:28:40 GMT

If anyone tries to tell you that you have to do your wedding a certain way, tell them to fuck off. And if anyone invites you to one of those bridal fairs, tell them to fuck off and die.

It is too bad this guy can only legally authorize religious ceremonies. He has tattoos. And he's really nice. And he cusses. I predict that we will trade book recommendations.

I think this Fall song is making fun of a guy who thinks he's really hip, but I'm posting it in honor of an actual priest who is hip. (Shame on me not knowing-- this is probably The Fall's most famous song-- but I've never been one to learn lyrics properly. I just pick out the sound of bits here and there, usually.)

Paging Glenn Gould, productivity emergency on four...

ookpik — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:04:08 GMT

You can always tell when I'm going insane on a client project, because Glenn Gould creeps into my top artists widget. Brahms Ballades, Rhapsodies and Intermezzi are the heavy guns-- socially reclusive pianist plays heroic music by introverted composer. Alone! Heroic! I will finish this project!

This is a ballad, opus 10, number 3. Number 1 is pretty rocking too (it has a real double fisted, piano hero section around the 3 minute mark. "Dun dun dun dun! DUN DUN DUN DUN!"). I think both of them are featured to great effect in 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.

That dirty, degenerate doo-wop

ookpik — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:48:28 GMT

Does anyone else feel like an axe-murdering prom queen when they listen to doo-wop? All it makes me want to do is rob a bank with my attractive friends. (Most of rock is supposed to do that too, isn't it?)

I think maybe too many movies have used doo-wop songs during overdose scenes or while some cult rebel combs his hair and thinks about riding his motorcycle over a cliff. Or maybe as a teenager I had too many friends with attitude and a copy of the Stand By Me soundtrack. Frankie Lymon's three wives / heroin overdose tragedy can't help.

In any case. Dion and The Belmonts' first hit song is my new favourite mix-opener, road trip starter and fuel for arson-related daydreams.

dun dun dun da dun dun dun da dun dun

da-da da-da dun dun dun da dun dun da daaaa da da dun dun dun dun da dun dun

You get the idea.

Dare to compare...

ookpik — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:56:38 GMT

Item 1: Gimme Some Money, by The Thamesmen

Item 2: Got My Eye on You, by Brian Jonestown Massacre

This isn't the only song to employ those awesome bratty/whiny vocal stylings, but for some reason this one has the strongest Spinal Tap resonance for me.

Cat Power demonstrating rock's supremacy over fashion (video)

ookpik — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:46:30 GMT

I haven't seen Cat Power live since she got her shit together and quit the alcoholism, so I'm pleasantly stunned by this video of her performance (click around) at the Chanel Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2007 runway show. She rocks so confidently that she ends up being way more charismatic than the models, to almost hilarious effect.

[Shot of zombie model, zombie-walking in fingerless gloves.]

[Shot of Cat Power air drumming in fingerless gloves.]

[Shot of zombie number two, wandering the huge floor in search of cameras and/or brainsssss.]

I ripped that live version of Satisfaction, in case I ever need to get my dad into Cat Power.

Why are vocals so much better when they're all cut c-c-cut cut up up up?

ookpik — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 20:47:15 GMT

I think I have a primal fascination happening with human voices. Strange singing voices, low voiced women, high voiced men, funny accents-- they OWN me.

Cut-up vocals and manipulated stuttering get me so delighted that I don't know how to react, so rather than bursting into tears and entering a sensory fugue state, I tend to get the giggles and make involuntary spirit fingers.

So if you see me running around with jazz hands, you know I've been listening to this mix I just made, which I'm going to go ahead and pirate in its entirety right here. Yarrr.

Coat Check - _The Soft Pink Truth_

Emerge (DFA Remix) - _Fischerspooner_ Silikon (feat. Sasha Perera) - _Modeselektor_ Colossal Insight (Soft Pink Truth Remix) - _Roots Manuva_ The Movers and the Shakers - _Herbert_ 5 times out of 100 (hrdvsion remix) - _Hot hot heat_ Blow - _Lorin Bassnectar_ * Poney part 2 - _Vitalic_ Enrico - _Isolée_ The Hunger - _Marumari_ telephasic workshop - _Boards of Canada_ built-in microphone - _Solvent_ Do It (Metamatics Mix) - _A1 People_ Big Booty Bitches - _The Soft Pink Truth_

Stream the whole mix

* * bonus male falsona.

* * clever mix technique # 9: if you have a weird song that doesn't fit, just tack it on the end.

Fine. Happy Horny Werewolf Day.

ookpik — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 17:26:45 GMT

Always remember : Valentine’s Day is a Christian corruption of a pagan festival involving werewolves, blood and fucking. So wish people a happy Horny Werewolf Day and see what happens.

No one feels as unrequited as a horny werewolf, so count your blessings, Valentines.

Once I saw him in the moonlight when the bats were a flying

All alone I saw the werewolf and the werewolf was crying

Crying nobody, nobody, nobody knows

How much I love the maid as I tear off her clothes Crying nobody, nobody, knows my pain When I see that it's risen that full moon again

Andrew Bird is such a nerd :)

ookpik — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:18:58 GMT

For Andrew Bird fans, or anyone who enjoys a good dorking out now and then, via Pitchfork:

Gather the kids! In this adorable clip from "Jack's Big Music Show" on the Noggin channel, Andrew Bird magically appears as "Dr. Stringz" a slightly hobo-looking doctor of, well, string instruments. Explains Bird: "I'm so pleased to meet you/ I'm the one they're calling Dr. Stringz/ I fix and refurbish, pretty much care for, anything that has to do with strings." Bird pulls out a guitar, mandolin, and violin from out of his magical pockets to prove his string prowess. He even fits in a short-but-impressive whistle solo. As one of the puppets yells, "YOU ROCK Dr. STRINGZ!"

Marnie Stern sure has a lot of mp3s online for someone whose album isn't even out yet...

ookpik — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:27:32 GMT

To sum up all the online hype I keep running into about Marnie Stern: she totally shreds, plus she writes great songs. Is there such a thing as art-metal? That's what I would call it when music seems really smart but all anyone can say about it is that it is "so fucking awesome."

- Every Single Line Means Something (mp3 via Pitchfork)

- Absorb Those Numbers (mp3 via Raven Sings the Blues)

- Grapefruit (streaming on mySpace)

- Put All Your Eggs In One Basket, And Then Watch That Basket!!! (mp3 via Raven Sings the Blues)

Her album _In Advance of the Broken Arm_ is due out on Kill Rock Stars this month. Apparently it contains songs she wrote in her bedroom over the last couple of years, performed by several layers of herself, plus the drummer from Hella.

The approximately 40% of the album that is already available online has me quite excited, and if you are a fan of Deerhoof, Frog Eyes, or maybe like, Iron Maiden, you probably should be too.

What's the toughest thing you've ever written on your knuckles?

ookpik — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 02:05:23 GMT

I keep seeing posters with slogans written on knuckles. My favourites are the creepy hands with 9 fingers spelling out long sentences, but have you got any top choices for 4 + 4 letter phrases to write on regular-type hands?

As usual, I only have one item but I'm making a list anyway. I remember my friend Bex keeping this on her knuckles for about a week when we went to see Godspeed You Black Emperor! circa 1998. It pretty much sums up my experience of the show.

1) GODS / PEED

Aaargh! in a good way!

ookpik — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:41:20 GMT

I just got a chance to listen to the new Aaargh! Annual compilation of fine Victoria indie music. Out of nineteen songs by nineteen artists, I only unchecked TWO in iTunes.

There's an entire, quite coherent dance pop contingent on this compilation. If you liked the Vincat I linked, or maybe Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Sugarcubes, recent Belle & Sebastian, or the dancey parts of Arcade Fire, you might like these:

- The Paper Cranes (Milkrun, I'll Love You Till My Veins Explode... they're all good songs!)

- The Greatest Explorers in the World (Pictured above. I like "Call It Courage" for the hilarious, bombastic piano arpeggios.)

- Counting Heartbeats (I like the myspace songs better than the one on the compilation. Oops.)

- Colourbook (A little darker and noisier. The Wimbledon Riot is a pretty great slow build.)

- Run Chico Run (Try Clockwork Crows if you like to dance in a jerky style. These two guys are my multitasking heroes, prone to playing keyboards and drums and singing and the same time.)

Et voila. That is not even counting my two favourite local bands, Elephant Island and Chet, or the intriguing Daddy's Hands track. I hope you find something to like!

Drunk mogging in praise of secret guests and local art!

ookpik — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 09:30:53 GMT

Hello! I am not dead, just full of crappy whiskey! Happy New Year and so on!

1. Have I mentioned I love my little town? I just got home from a large-sized underground art show opening, full of happy and inclusive people. People who love art, and want to love other people who love art. No pretentious art snobs! It was nice. See themake.ca for samples. My choice art picks: Shea Moir, Charlotte Campbell, Luke Ramsey, Hank Pine, Ty Danylchuk, Colin MacRae, etc, etc, etc.

2. This art show opening had a secret musical guest. That is fun, right? Secrets and surprises! For some reason, everybody knew the secret guest was Buck65, but nobody was allowed to write it down. If you talked to someone, they'd say, "Come to the Make opening-- the ticket includes a book and Buck65 is going to play." On paper, "theMake: featuring a secret musical guest." I have filed this under Marketing Genius. I would not have been as excited for Buck65 as a headliner as I was for Buck65 as a secret surprise.

3. I don't even dig Buck65 in any special way, but it was a perfect match for three floors of local art in the middle of industrial nowhere neighbourhood. Party music, you know? Party music for every second person from this tiny town, who is at an art show without wearing a beret or acting like a dick. Fun!

Va va va Vincat!

ookpik — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:49:39 GMT

I just found these lovely photos of local band Vincat that I thought I'd share. These were taken by a guy calling himself pgPhotos.

Vincat sounds like experimental dance-punk for a high school dance, like folks who have listened to a lot of Talking Heads and The Cure and watched a lot of teen movies. Sometimes I think of it as Prom Rock.

- Video: My Oh My (live), by Vincat (The woman playing french horn is a school band teacher-- check out the polyrhythmic hand clap virtuosity she gets out of that chorus of little girls at the end)

- Werewolf, by Vincat (streaming on mySpace)

My secret santa provides hope for world peace

ookpik — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:58:30 GMT

Yesterday I got a package from my MOG secret santa, who turns out to be chucky. Thanks, lady! You did a great job on the mix-- lots of good songs by bands I'm vaguely familiar with, the occasional thing I've never heard of, and two songs I've listened to a billion times (BSS and Four Tet).

I am especially impressed that chucky managed to make a mix for my wussy-art-hippie tastes and then go rock out to, e.g., Authority Zero. This warms my little heart. I love getting-along-without-being-exactly-the-same. Now I kind of wish I had been charged with making a mix for chucky, just to see if I could do a decent job of it. 'Tis the season of sharing and caring, yes? Yes.

So thanks, chucky!

Here is the track list:

Ondar - Tuva Groove Modest Mouse - The Air Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a 17 yr old girl Tiger Army - Sea of Fire Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence Slightly Stoopid - Wiseman Primal Scream - Star Nouvelle Vague - Dance with Me Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You The Beta Band - Dry the Rain Paul Brill - Barefoot in the Snow Four Tet - Everything is Alright The National - Karen World/Inferno Friendship Society - Friend to the Friendless Ash - Girl from Mars The Wolfgang Press - Mama Told Me Not Come Numbers - Funny but Sad Ben Folds - Rent a Cop The Dresden Dolls - Girl Anachronism

Great Aunt Ida

ookpik — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:32:12 GMT

Whoa, hi. I just emerged from a myspace vortex. One of the places I ended up was Great Aunt Ida's page, which reminds me to tell you about Great Aunt Ida. (Even myspace has its uses.)

Great Aunt Ida features Vancouver fixture Ida Nilsson on songs and piano, with a variety of subdued, mostly acoustic bandmates (trumpet, drums, bass). I think of them as songs for night time in a quiet bar, or with friends in a kitchen. Or maybe for poignant roadtrips.

The first album, Our Fall was quite sparse, moody and songwriter-y. I finally checked out some stuff from the brand new disk, How They Fly, and it's rather more confident and full-- big warm piano chords and horns, and solid pop rhythms-- but Ida's singing is still unaffected and intimate, almost like she's just talking to you. Impressive! Some favourites of mine:

- Water and Bones, from Our Fall

- We Say No, from How They Fly

Public service announcement concerning Canadian grammar and the use of the word "eh"

ookpik — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 23:12:45 GMT

OK.

Canada has a nice little indie music situation right now, and bloggers and moggers regularly decide to write about Canadian bands, or the country in general. Often this involves some type of "Canada, eh!" joke.

This pains me.

You know when moms try to make fun of the way teenagers say "like" too much, but the moms don't know how to use the word properly and just stick, like, it in all over, like, the place in ways that make no sense, like? That is what it sounds like to me when people outside of Canada (or inside Canada in a tourist shop) try to say "eh" in a sentence.

I'd like to try to help.

_Eh_ is a little word to check that your message is coming through clearly, not just a random syllable to tack on the ends of sentences. I think of it as a gesture of politeness and consideration, a synonym for "you see?" or "got that?" or even "... your thoughts?"

But here's the simple trick: any time you use _eh_, you should be able to seamlessly substitute the American equivalent, _huh_.

You'll see immediately that there are only rare situations where you need to announce "This band is Canadian, huh!" or "They're from Canada, huh."

But maybe you need to say something like, "Going to see Arcade Fire, huh? That should be good."

Straightforward, eh? Canadians in the audience, feel free to chime in and correct me if your local dialect differs.

This has been a public service announcement from the department of ookpik got up before 7am on a Saturday and had too much coffee. Thanks for your patience.

R.I.P. Dave Wanger, even though I feel weird mentioning it

ookpik — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:30:38 GMT

On the weekend, I was talking to Nathan and Caila about a rumour they'd heard that Dave Wanger had been killed in some kind of car crash, maybe hit by a car, in Montreal. None of us knew how to confirm this, and I don't think I'm the only one who felt a bit weird about wanting to know, because none of us really knew the guy and mostly recognize him from shows, and by many accounts he was kind of a dick.

It's pretty normal to care about a guy you used to see around in your town, but it gets weird when that guy sometimes gets called a Godhead, a major songwriting influence on Frog Eyes, Wolf Parade, Atlas Strategic, Sunset Rubdown, etc. It made me want to tread carefully, in order to avoid looking exploitative or like a groupie, so instead of doing something normal like calling a person who knew Wanger better, I ended up Googling for mentions of Dave Wanger on mySpace.

I turned up this R.I.P. Dave Wanger? entry, which I actually really liked. He was hit by a car and killed on November 22. I'm not the only one who feels weird for taking note.

This reminds me of when Elliot Smith died. My friend emailed me the news while I was away travelling, and I felt the same kind of conflict between wanting to care because I respected the guy's music and wished him well, and then wanting to stay detached, to not make too much of celebrity, or pretend I had a special bond with someone I only knew through songs and shows. I don't want to act like Dave Wanger was a mega-celebrity either; but that only makes it more touchy, since unknowns are even more impressive to indie kids. Ah, the modern age.

I suppose all that's left is to link to some music. Hive Studios in Vancouver has some old, unreleased Daddy's Hands tracks from 1998, where you can hear the Victoria swamp-rock thing in full effect.

- dilban straddles flab, by Daddy's Hands

- Incest at Best (Daddy's Hands cover), by Tam (click the "play single" button)

I think there's a new album by the reformed version of Daddy's Hands in the can somewhere, waiting to be put out. More rumours: it's supposed to be awesome. I hope someone actually releases it.

Favourite recent developments in the music industry...

ookpik — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:33:35 GMT

After reading Redvers Gerund's awesome list of things bands don't seem to do anymore, I started to make a list about new awesome things that bands didn't use to do. But really I just have one thing that I would put fifty asterisks beside, so this hardly qualifies as a list. But here it is.

1) Give away the MP3s with any purchase on vinyl.

I rarely even buy vinyl, but the faith in modern living and goodwill towards customers on display in this marketing move ROCKS MY WORLD. Way to live in the now, Merge.

Creature of habit

ookpik — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 06:41:08 GMT

Do you have Pavlovian responses to any particular songs? There are a few that I have listened to so many times, and loved for so long, that the very first note can catch my attention in any situation. I feel like the beginnings of certain tracks could be used as superhero tech to summon me back to headquarters, like a bat signal or spider senses. "You'll have to excuse me, gentlemen. Somewhere, someone is playing my song."

The biggest one for me is Deep Waters by Dirty Three. It's epic; I find it physically addictive. One time it actually did summon me across the desert (at Burning Man) before I could get close enough to realize what the sound was. "Oh, it's that song that has been hardwired into my brain. Sorry for the long walk, companions."

- Deep Waters, by Dirty Three

That's a 16-minute instrumental mp3 link-- not for the faint of heart-- but you could listen to just the first 10 seconds to hear the beacon signal. That first chord puts all my senses on alert until it resolves into the second strum.

There are a few other songs that work like that for me, in less extreme ways. The beginning of Trompe Le Monde by The Pixies. Several Elephant Island songs, because those are friends of mine. I'm sure everybody has a different selection; it's mostly based on personal experience and not absolute quality.

The funniest aspect of these homing signals is that I think they could be used against me. I just realized that part of the reason I'm so inclined to like Chet's album Kau'ai might be that it opens with this:

- Grow Old Gracefully, by Chet

Try the first 10 seconds of that, and compare it with the first 10 seconds of my one enduring master, that Dirty Three song up there. I think, somewhat objectively, that it's still a great song ("We embrace on the street! Will the cameras on rooftops record us?" Awesome.) But still, they played my bat signal! It wasn't a fair fight!

Snow ecstasy!

ookpik — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:59:31 GMT

It snowed! It snows here maybe once a year, and melts by morning. But this weekend it snowed for real! I was in Vancouver, where it snowed first, and then I spent seven hours trying to get home to Victoria while the storm was moving over here. Epic snow!

After the long, soul-crushing adventure with travel delays and cold feet and drivers who don't know how to avoid spraying a whole bus line-up with slush, four of us finally got home to our island after dark, not entirely sure how we were going to get into town from the ferry terminal, only to be greeted by a friend with a car. Best guy ever.

You are probably familiar with the exhausted-happy-finally-relaxed feeling of being picked up after a long travel day. Compound that with the "five people and two guitars in a tiny car" feeling, and with the collective "panic / good cheer" that you get when it snows in a town that never gets snow... and THEN add Okkervil River's Black Sheep Boy on the car stereo. Perfect music for feeling all rocked out and finally home, and perfect music for a friend being nice enough to come pick you up in dangerous driving conditions. Warm but edgy?

Today it is sunny and the world looks like a marshmallow, and I'm trying to find some appropriate music that isn't just from Iceland. Any tips?

The opposite of falsetto = falsona?

ookpik — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 22:07:40 GMT

It occurred to me, in my ongoing obsession with fake-low singing voices, that "falsetto" is the diminuitive form of "falso," which is Italian for fake. Therefor, to construct a word meaning the opposite of falsetto, I should just look up the Italian suffix denoting "bigger."

It turns out there is such a suffix in Italian, "-one" or "-ona." I think "-ona" is the feminine form, so I went with that. It's usually a ladies' move, after all.

Thus, I declare that Rita Lee, Madonna, Kate Bush, Kate and numerous others have been known to sing in _falsona_, below their natural singing range. It is a huge relief to not have to make up a new word every time I talk about this, let me tell you. Life gets easier, starting now.

I have to say it's strange that there doesn't seem to be a bona fide musical term for women singing below their natural range, since it's a fairly common thing to do. I scoured the Wikipedia references about vocal registers, vocal ranges and opera terminology, and came up with nothing. (And apparently Jess Horrible did something similar!)

Two final falsona performances to enjoy:

- The Ballad of The Soldier's Wife, by PJ Harvey (Kurt Weill cover) - In My Black Lace, by Jeri Simpson (from Office Naps... she has a low voice to start with, but she gets in over her head in a few places.)

And now I will shut up about this.

Bow chikka wow

ookpik — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:03:53 GMT

I started listening to fluffertraX free streaming porn soundtrack music as a joke, but it's kind of addictive. I'm just sitting here, you know, debugging some XHTML, but my activities seem a lot more tough and hilarious all of the sudden. I think I'm growing a moustache. (Link is borderline NSFW-- no nudity, but "porn" written all over it.)

P.s., the giggly introduction is less annoying if you pretend the girl is immitating Nardwuar. Her "bow chica wow-wow" sign-off sounds exactly like the way The Nard says "doot doodle-oot doot!"

Bow chikka wow

ookpik — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:55:57 GMT

I started listening to fluffertraX free streaming porn soundtrack music as a joke, but it's kind of addictive. I'm just sitting here, you know, debugging some XHTML, but my activities seem a lot more tough and hilarious all of the sudden (borderline NSFW). I think I'm growing a moustache.

Just a really, really cute song

ookpik — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 01:07:53 GMT

Elephant Island came back from their tour with a bunch of CDs from the bands they'd played with. Drummer man Kelby played me a Wind Whistles song for my birthday. Caution: it's a total earworm, you'll be singing the "ah ah ah" parts for hours.

Man by Name of Denver, by The Wind Whistles

The Wind Whistles are an acoustic folk/pop duo from Vancouver, and that's all I know!

The opposite of falsetto, part 2

ookpik — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 23:13:16 GMT

Awhile ago, I posted about trying to find a word for the opposite of falsetto, by which I mean when a lady sings in a fake voice below her natural range.

At the time I couldn't come up with any examples, but now I have some! (I still haven't found a "bassimondo" type word, but this is progress. Eventually my persistence will pay off!)

- And I Love Her, by Rita Lee (mp3 link). I saw that Kate picked up Build Up on her record shopping extravaganza, and it inspired me to pull it out again. This was always the track I skipped on this otherwise fantastic album, but now this silly Beatles cover is my favourite thing ever, because it is the first really shining example I've managed to find of the fake low voice. Yay for 70s Rita!

- Hounds of Love, by Kate Bush. This is borderline, but every little example helps, right? She really works her voice on this whole album, and on a lot of the lower notes she gets the strained, open-throat voice that I associate with faking a deep voice. The first time she sings "I've always been a coward" on the title song is a good example.

- Liv Tyler's performance as Arwen in Lord of the Rings was apparently done way below her usual speaking range, to make Arwen sound older. (I was watching the special features on the vol. 1 DVD to relax during a work-zombie phase last month.) She said that when her dad first saw the film, he had to ask whose speaking voice was dubbed in!

So my quest continues: does this fake deep voice have a name? I guess I should just invent one, but I can never make up my mind on just ONE. Basso-profundo! Megadeep-issimo!

Rock Club (like a book club)

ookpik — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 22:46:42 GMT

For my birthday last weekend, I invited some friends over for a rock club. Between summertime and fall touring and various out-of-town events, rock club has gotten off track lately, but usually this is something we try to do about twice a month. It's sort of like a book club, but with songs. Fun!

The basic template is that everybody brings a current favourite song (not necessarily a rock song), and we take turns playing them for the room (on the stereo, not personally performing... well, so far). Every other rock club has a theme, which we take turns choosing. Afterwards, I post everything on a website as MP3s, so we don't have to sit around burning CDs at rock club (and so we can later waste time at work, posting comments and bonus material).

The website makes a better than average at-work radio station, although there are lots of dorky picks (I don't think it would be as fun if everyone was constantly trying to show off their superior taste). The real fun is the actual event, for me. Being in a group and listening to someone's favourite song, which maybe they just introduced with some special context, is a very different way to listen to music. It's interesting to see which songs benefit from social forces, and which ones just get talked over or perhaps overshadowed by someone's excess enthusiasm. Sort of similar to the way that seeing a band live can increase or decrease your appreciation for their album.

So the theme of this latest rock club was to give me a song for my birthday, which turned out to be the most festive non-consumer gift I can so far imagine without resorting to sexual favours. Playing a song for somebody isn't even an object you can hold, but it was really fun to see what people picked. Add some food and drinks, et voila. Fun times.

But it struck me-- having friends over to recommend songs to you is like live-action Mog! So I thought I'd pass along the rock club template in case anybody wanted to start one in their own neighbourhood.

Home again, home again

ookpik — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 22:52:36 GMT

Hi! I'm home from the UK! I arrived home at the same time as Elephant Island got back from touring, so I got to see most of my friends all at once, at their excellent homecoming show last night. Convenience is important when one is still tired and jet-spacey, yes it is.

I just added last night's opening act, Beasts and Superbeasts, to my list of Victoria bands you should know about.

He's still working on a proper recording, so you'll mostly have to take my word that he plays interesting and moody guitar, and has a very endearing stage presence.

One thing I can pass along right now, though, is a good idea he pulled off on stage: playing the guitar, and the foot pedals of an organ at the same time. I think this feat of coordination is what confused my companions and I last time we saw him play. We couldn't figure out if the guitar was looped or he was just a wizard or what. This time I had different sightlines, and determined the source of the extra notes.

OK, nap time! More soon about Scottish bands I managed to see.

The skits equivalent on old country albums

ookpik — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:46:02 GMT

I've been making mix CDs, and going through some albums of old country and jazz. This has reacquainted me with the worst music ever: those "Indian Maiden" songs on old country records. The fake war drum rhythm, the indistinguishable choruses, the racist lyrics. Worst thing ever. When I rip old country albums, I delete anything with "Cherokee" in the title the same way I delete rap skits. That is all.

What's On Scotland

ookpik — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:16:08 GMT

I'm going to Scotland on Sunday, until Halloween. Whee! I've spotted a number of bands on tour in the UK, but so far I'm likely to just miss them all on my personal tour (the Bonding With My Mum Tour, 2006). Still, I am compiling a list in case the stars align.

Anybody know some local, up-and-coming bands in Edinburgh, Glasgow, or smaller places (Stirling, Ayr, Oben, Berwick..) that I should watch out for? Or some reliable venues there? I've spotted a few things, and found a few events websites. It took me awhile to figure out that if you want to find live events in the UK, you need to search for "what's on" and not, say, "events calendar."

Most of what I've found has been courtesy of these sites:

- Jock Rock is awesome - The List is pretty useful - Skinny Mag is ok - Upcoming.org is patchy for the UK - Wikipedia's Scottish bands list is surprisingly dull.

And so far these are the dates on my What's Potentially On list:

- Camera Obscura in Edinburgh, Oct 16 - Hot Chip / Junior Boys in Glasgow, Oct 16 - Mr Lif in Glasgow, Oct 19 - The Dears in Glasgow, Oct 20 - Lily Allen w/ New Young Pony Club in Glasgow, Oct 23 - Lily Allen w/ New Young Pony Club in Edinburgh, Oct 25 - Final Fantasy in Glasgow, Oct 26

That's mostly indie rock/pop, but I'm game for hip hop, electronic, classical, weird-n-arty, or whatever! Bonus points if my mum might like to come along!

I think this is the main reason I tend to obsess about local music, and organizing music by hometowns. It's for travelling, so that if I find myself in Chicago or Marseilles or Bangkok I know who to look for. One trick I sometimes use is to look for old tour dates by bands I like, and see who opened for them in the towns I'm visiting. E.g., when Man Man played Vancouver last week, Run Chico Run was the opening act. That would be handy to know if I was visiting Vancouver for the first time.

Any other tricks, or (be still my heart) recommended shows in Scotland, from October 16-30?

Mr. Dosh and Mr. Bird

ookpik — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 21:58:51 GMT

I've been watching the Andrew Bird tour reviews creep closer and closer to me, and finally on Friday I got to see the man live in Vancouver. It was at The Media Club, which was a treat-- the stage is low and personal, and the capacity is small (they had to have 2 shows, in the end).

Mr. Bird was extremely charismatic (Tall man in a suit and striped socks? He was like a whistling vampire), and he played a great set, but the revelation for me was Martin Dosh on drums and rhodes. I was not expecting to use the verb "to drop it" at this show, but Mr. Dosh was seriously groovy. It was rad!

Check out the drum entrance around 1' 05'' of this performance of "I" from earlier in the tour, for a taste:

We had no Cass McCombs at this show, so Dosh played a longer opening set of his solo looped drums and keyboards. I'm kind of glad that I have been living in a cave and had never heard anything about this guy; my first exposure was live and mesmerizing. Hopefully something from the Vancouver stop makes it into his ongoing YouTube video blog.

So far I like this Dosh video for the song performance:

And this fan video for the view of Dosh at work:

... and this one for the wit and charm:

Many, many more where that came from.

rock and tshirts, 2getha 4eva

ookpik — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 19:17:17 GMT

530nm's post about MOG crushes has me in a trashy kind of mood (edit: in a good way!), so here is my contribution. I am greasing the slippery slope towards mySpace2, with this poorly exposed photo of myself making eyes at you (you are 9 feet tall, naturally), showing off my tshirt. I can't be the only person who secretly loves this kind of silly online showing off. (Don't worry, Quality Tips About New Music, I still love you too.)

The shirt features Michael Jackson, and the inscription "1958-1990". (You know how the real MJ-- the cute one with the preternatural skills-- died during the making of the Dangerous album and was replaced with a crappy robot that is clearly not up to the task of properly impersonating li'l Mikey? Yeah. My friend made memorial t-shirts.)

So what are your favourite specimens of this essential musical accessory, the t-shirt? And will you post photos of yourselves wearing them and making bloggerface? And can MOG withstand this assault without becoming the virtual incarnation of your junior high school? I am confident that it will survive-- 78 comments about Dream MOGs convinced me MOG can handle it.

(Bonus points if your grainy photo shows evidence that you stayed up too late this weekend, rocking out. See dark circles in exhibit A up there. Let the posing begin! Oh, and I preferred their first album.)

Killer backups: "dee dee dee" beats "doo doo doo"

ookpik — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:02:19 GMT

I'm a sucker for backup vocals. This Bowerbirds track just made my shortlist, mainly on the strength of the "dee dee dee" bits. (The stompy rhythm and Eastern Block accordion doesn't hurt.)

In Our Talons, by Bowerbirds (streaming on myspace)

They are set to record their first full-length album on Burly Time Records (a project of one of the Pitchfork staffers... I found this track in the Pitchy track reviews.)

"It's spelled hrdvsion and pronounced hard vision"

ookpik — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 01:50:07 GMT

I just added hrdvsion to my list of local bands you should check out. Hrdvsion is a friendly guy named Nathan Johnson, who makes really great experimental electronic music. I think of hrdvsion as a perfect balance of dancey grooves (sometimes it's the bass, sometimes a melody), and crazy, abstract drum breaks. Such excellent, abrasive beats! He often plays with software and vocal samples too.

Hit the ">" beside "music" over at hrdvsion.com for two excellent examples, or try his totally gross myspace page.

Nathan is permanently in my good books for creating a track for the music issue of my vagina website.

Vagina, by hrdvsion

And I still dig this hrdvsion remix of an older song by Hot Hot Heat (more Victoria lads). It used to be posted for free on the Hot Hot Heat website, so I don't feel bad reposting it here.

5 times out of 100 (hrdvsion remix), by Hot Hot Heat

Galen has been talking to Nathan about remixing something from the new Elephant Island album (due October 11!), which sounds both awesome and hilarious to me. Folky indie pop + hrdvsion? I guess that's just how they roll.

Universal gift albums

ookpik — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:58:17 GMT

Got a rock dad? Old friend in a far-off town? New neighbour of unknown tastes?

What albums do you give to these people as gifts?

Maybe you know what I mean. I know and love many people who like music, but whose tastes are not very similar to my own, so whenever a gift occasion comes up I find myself making a mental list of universally appealing music to try on them.

(I think gift-giving was part of the reason that Norah Jones album was so popular a couple of years ago. Half the people I know unwrapped it on Christmas morning as a gift from a mom or uncle who had spotted it as a pleasant, polished album that could hit at least two genres. That's part of the reason I strive to refine this list, to find a more creative and hopefully satisfying present.)

My go-to gift CDs

Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs. (Weather Systems works too.) To put it simply, everyone in the entire world enjoys Andrew Bird, and no one but indie kids have heard of him. I'm 3 for 3 on gifts of Andrew Bird now (welcome to the entire world, population 3).

Cesaria Evora's self-titled album. This is world-folk cafe music, but soulful and tasteful enough to satisfy even snobs. (But really, it would be a hit just based on her singing voice. So good!)

Gillian Welch (anything; I like Soul Journey for instant appeal). The problem is everybody already has this, even though nobody talks about it. Only marijuana rivals her diverse appeal: bankers, college kids, mall rats, parents, drop-outs, hipsters: everybody dabbles in Gillian Welch.

Wilco's Summerteeth. This could have been specially engineered to appeal to rock fans, pop fans and roots fans at the same time. I tried Yankee Hotel Foxtrot on a couple of people before realizing this was the proper gift album. Apparently it's less "weird".

So... tips? These things can be unpredictable. Many acclaimed or "pleasant" albums don't fly with a general audience. In my younger days, I caused gift-hijinx by trying to give everyone Bjork or Boards of Canada (ha ha ha). Gift albums are a different kind of awesome.

A game for long car trips (in cars full of music nerds)

ookpik — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 07:26:19 GMT

After you've all played the mix tapes you made for the road trip; after you've made fun of the radio; after you've played various guessing and trivia games and made a long list of songs that start with the last letter of other songs or share a word or whatever... the game that never lets me down is this:

Name a perfect album with one unlistenable song.

The example that everyone usually recognizes is OK Computer. It tops all civilized "Best of the 90s" lists, and yet, a majority of people can't listen to Fitter Happier. AND YET: would the album seem as ambitious and technologically paranoid without the Mac voice reading teen poetry?

I will also suggest:

- Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies, marred by Butchers Tale - I Am A Bird Now, by Antony and the Johnsons, marred by Free At Last

Do you see the potential for long-winded car trip conversations? What is a perfect album, and what is its relation to the one crappy song? Is it different if there are two crappy songs and why? Is an unlistenable song actually crappy, or just "difficult"? Bring it on!

My personal take on the perfect/flawed albums is best summed up in a dorky quote from an old Team Dresch side-project album. One song, which I can't recall the name of, kicked off with this fake-flakey skit:

You know Jody, they say that in Japan? When a master potter makes a perfect pot? He'll always throw it away. [gong sound]

(So, of course, I welcome your broken-perfect album suggestions, so that I can trample all my friends next time this comes up.)

Why I need a word that means the opposite of falsetto

ookpik — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:15:19 GMT

You know what is cooler than a girl playing bass? A girl singing bass.

I have a healthy collection of low-voiced women singers (and high-voiced men, naturally), but this morning I am listening to doo-wop and pining for a lady to sing a nice, rumbly bom-sha-bump for me.

I don't expect there is a secret underworld of low-voiced women singing doo-wop that one of you can turn me onto, but I wonder if anyone knows the correct musical term for singing below your natural range? Like the opposite of falsetto. I call it things like "bassimo!" and "bassimundo!" but I'd love to know the real term, if there is one.

Perfect summer nap music: Himalayan Bear

ookpik — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 23:23:10 GMT

I went to a release show for local band Himalayan Bear on Friday, and I've been listening to the new album over and over since then. It's very summery and relaxing, like being in a hammock. Lazy percussion, quiet guitars, meandering vocal melodies, and usually some other flourish, all apparently inspired by old Hawaii.

Try "I'm on Sorrow" or "I Swam With Turtles" over on myspace.

Himalayan Bear is Ryan Beattie from Chet, with rotating guests. Ryan has a heart-throb crooning voice, and a great falsetto when he gets warmed up. On a lot of these songs, you get multitracked Ryan. It's a treat.

The new album is called Lo Lonesome Island and I think you can get it from Aaargh! Records for cheap.

Get a room!

ookpik — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 16:48:35 GMT

Excuse me for a second. A dorky moment:

Galen and I have basically got a private room happening on the Elephant Island artist page. If I could somehow upload my preferred table lamp, it'd be just like our house.

I guess I should mention that if you want to crash the party, I'd recommend starting with The Greater Appetite or Snow. I'd say brace yourself for the sonic journey of unequalled power and beauty, but you've probably already worked out that I'm totally biased.

Applause for the neighbourhood (or, I need to go out more)

ookpik — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:09:00 GMT

The 50-50 art collective put on their second annual Rock Lottery this weekend, and it seems to have revived my silly habit of referring to our fair city of Victoria as The New Montreal (formerly The New Brooklyn, The New Seattle, etc...).

The Rock Lottery drill involves 25 local musicians randomly sorted into five bands one morning, and given about 12 hours to come up with 20 minutes of original material for a show that night. Hilarity ensues. My favourite match-up of the night named their impromptu group "Blind Owl" and consisted of three waifish young ladies and this middle-aged dude who liked to play blues/funk basslines. Galen's group won a used Tae-Bo video for their efforts. It was a good time.

But the part that really got me was how many musicians were left over. On the way into the bar I ran into about 5 musicians that I knew well enough to hug and ask "Are you playing tonight?", and none of them were. Several entire bands were out of town on tour. And there were still 25 significant rockers left over. There's a crazy amount of good music in this tiny city right now, without even laying claim to ex-pats like Wolf Parade.

Consequently, I've added a little MOG widget to recommend some of my favourite music from Victoria, BC. I like to cheer for neighbourhood kids.

Oh, Mog-o-matic

ookpik — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:54:15 GMT

The ongoing technological bumps with Mog-o-matic indexing have their own charm. My "last played" songs have been stuck in the middle of a brief Led Zeppelin binge for about a week. It's humbling, and entertaining.

I used to have this fascination with the idea of going to hipsters' houses when they weren't around. It seems like if you went over and read all their books, listened to all their music, watched all their movies, and checked all their web bookmarks, they'd be completely defanged in social situations. I'm not big on using media consumption for cool points, is I think what I was getting at.

Mog-o-matic is coming at that from a different angle. It's hard to show off your superior musical tastes when the robot is choosing five random tracks and using them as your permanent record. "I christen thee... Little Zep."

So here I am, connoisseur of Led Zeppelin II. I'm getting kind of attached to this baseline for my MOG. It is true, and yet not true!

Pitchfork Festival tix for sale

ookpik — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:51:14 GMT

This seems like as good a place as any to post this: I have two tickets for sale for the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in July. Loverman and I bought them on an impulse, then discovered we have other engagements that weekend. It's no big deal (the tickets were cheap, the other engagements are fun), but there's no point hoarding tickets. Mogmail me if you're keen, and we can work something out (PayPal?).

Details:

2 x two-day passes to Pitchfork Music Festival July 29-30, 2006 Union Park, Chicago US $30 each (that's cost-- I don't have the energy for scalping... I'm not sure they're even completely sold out yet)

Featuring: Os Mutantes, Silver Jews, Art Brut, Spoon, Ted Leo, Matmos, Band of Horses, The National, Jens Lekman, Danielson, Tapes 'n Tapes... LOTS.

MOG - ookpik's Posts

A perfect Magnetic Fields moment.

Random old track: Deus E O Amor by Gal Costa.

Caribou: face melting.

Autoharp mindmap #1

Basia Bulat is good on stage.

I will be mixperimenting.

My vote for the next Wes Anderson soundtrack.

Busy P is saving me from myself.

Award-winning Meatdraw video.

Filling a MOG gap: Kelley Polar

Baby baby baby!

The Knife "live" at a community activity centre?

Another dinky/macho moment, care of Russian Futurists

Guided by Voices for better productivity

One more St. Vincent

St. Vincent is owning my multipurpose room today.

Chet video: a ballroom, flames, flying, love eyes...

Frida Hyvönen is still awesome

Remedial mogging #5: waiting for the Spoon show

Remedial mogging #4: one Lavender Diamond song

Remedial mogging #3: Luiz Gonzaga

Remedial mogging #2: Himalayan Bear

Remedial mogging #1: Shapes and Sizes

Los Zafiros: vintage Cuban doo-wop

The New Music West festival is hilarious

Guitarded

Sunday covers? OK. George Michael bedroom folk

Before they featured on Bjork's new album...

This Tom Zé song is making everything ok

Nepotism never sounded so good!

Whither *Stereo*head?

Piss artistry

A workaholic's notes on last night's Great Lake Swimmers show

Welcome to MOG, Self Righteous Records

The best thing a priest ever said to me

Paging Glenn Gould, productivity emergency on four...

That dirty, degenerate doo-wop

Dare to compare...

Cat Power demonstrating rock's supremacy over fashion (video)

Why are vocals so much better when they're all cut c-c-cut cut up up up?

Fine. Happy Horny Werewolf Day.

Andrew Bird is such a nerd :)

Marnie Stern sure has a lot of mp3s online for someone whose album isn't even out yet...

What's the toughest thing you've ever written on your knuckles?

Aaargh! in a good way!

Drunk mogging in praise of secret guests and local art!

Va va va Vincat!

My secret santa provides hope for world peace

Great Aunt Ida

Public service announcement concerning Canadian grammar and the use of the word "eh"

R.I.P. Dave Wanger, even though I feel weird mentioning it

Favourite recent developments in the music industry...

Creature of habit

Snow ecstasy!

The opposite of falsetto = falsona?

Bow chikka wow

Bow chikka wow

Just a really, really cute song

The opposite of falsetto, part 2

Rock Club (like a book club)

Home again, home again

The skits equivalent on old country albums

What's On Scotland

Mr. Dosh and Mr. Bird

rock and tshirts, 2getha 4eva

Killer backups: "dee dee dee" beats "doo doo doo"

"It's spelled hrdvsion and pronounced hard vision"

Universal gift albums

My go-to gift CDs

A game for long car trips (in cars full of music nerds)

Why I need a word that means the opposite of falsetto

Perfect summer nap music: Himalayan Bear

Get a room!

Applause for the neighbourhood (or, I need to go out more)

Oh, Mog-o-matic

Pitchfork Festival tix for sale

Whither Stereohead?