The Hour's Disc Drop

I’m a big fan of CBC's The Hour and it is indeed my favourite way to spend sixty minutes on a cold Autumn night. Hosted by the uber informed George Stroumboulopoulos, the shows content is always engaging.

Two weeks ago he mentioned the recent closing of Canadian music retailer Music World and the sad decline of the record store, especially as a social place to discuss music. This is where the interesting part comes in; the powers that be at the hour came up with Operation Disc Drop. General idea is to make up a mix CD, leave a track listing (or artwork for those inclined); Label it as part of The Hour's Disc Drop, with the URL drop it off somewhere in the wilds and hope someone enjoys it.

I am going to try this and I’ll post the results (if anything) here. I encourage all of you to try the same in this, the season of giving. Peace and good mixtapes to all.

For full details on Operation Disc Drop go here.

Bless Me Axl For I Have Sinned

Feeling a little guilty because you just spent the weekend pillaging your favourite bit torrent site? Made a copy of the latest Avril Lavigne cd? Well now you can sleep in peace once again. Let Dear Rockers help you make amends for a just five bucks. In the tradition of anonymous blog site PostSecret, Dear Rockers asks repentent Soulseekers to write a letter of apology to artists whose music they may have downloaded illegally. The result is an original website that posts the letters fans write to bands like the Weakerthans, Honeymoon Suite and Wolf Parade asking for forgiveness. Monies collected are sent to the band’s management or official fan club (Dear Rockers provides all the addresses).

Guess I'd better get started on my letter to Loverboy.

Guest PLAYLIST 9 Ben Booker - Lover’s Island

This time out its Ben’s turn. A few of his favourites from 2007. Highly original and well worth seeking out these artists.

Lover’s Island

The General Specific - Band of Horses
Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep
Dents - The Acorn
Get Your Own Apartment - The Wet Secrets
Young Mothers - Sebastian Grainger et les Montagnes
Caged Warning - Arrows
Dokkoise House - Anathallo
Castles - Forest City Lovers
Bedhead - Shotgun Jimmie
The Crash, The Wagons, The Dying Horses - The Craft Economy
Your Ex Lover is Dead - The Stars
Down to the Ground - Sweet Thing
Warm Worm - Subcollisions
Everyone Else - Wooly Leaves
War - Ladyhawk
Stars & Satellites - Dan Griffin
Black Thumbnail - Kings of Leon
Intervention - The Arcade Fire
What We Had - Handsome Furs
Knighthawks - Two Hours Traffic

Thank you for the great picture too Ben.

The Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz

You may know the Replacements original monicker, but just who did Phil Spector threaten with a gun while in the recording studio? Challenge yourself to four decades of the trickiest, weirdest and most off-the-wall trivia questions ever in Rolling Stone's fifty-eight question quiz, and tabulate your own rock & roll IQ.

For the record I scored a 45. Ranking me as expert and apparently I know my Bowie from my Bambaataa.This is great fun. Leave your scores in the comments section. I’d love to see how you fared and what you think.

Click here or on Jimi to give it a try.

New Okkervil River Daytrotter Sessions

One of my favourite releases this year has been Okkervil River’s The Stage Names. This week the most excellent daytrotter.com posted sessions by Will Sheff and company. Four songs in total, three are covers and one a Okkervil original. (Listing below.) I recommend you download these sessions in handy MP3 format for your listening pleasure. While you are at it, check out the extensive library of sessions on the site. Mostly all very good stuff and recommended.

April Anne (Okkervil River) – unreleased John Phillips song
No Easy Way Down (Okkervil River) – unreleased Carole King song
Do What You Gotta Do (Okkervil River) – unreleased Jimmy Webb song
You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man (Okkervil River) (Skiffle Version) – original version appears on The Stage Names

Okkervil River Official Site
Jagjaguwar Records

Cryptic Radiohead Announcement

Another cryptic Radiohead message. Follow the links and enjoy. I suspect it will be archived for a period if you miss it.

helo

there will be something on the box tonight

its another test

but right now we are entangled in cables

however

weather permitting

our technical experts will resolve the entanglement

itll be broadcast as a quicktime h.264 stream

if youve got a mac you could read it with quicktime player

if youve got a pc you might need to download the installer (click here to download and install)

then

www2.radiohead.tv

try it about 10 pm gmt

Stanley

RADIOHEAD WEB EXPERIMENT UPDATE

After more than a few technical delays last night at www2.radiohead.tv earnest viewers were handsomely rewarded. After sitting through everything from, a monkey puppet DJing in silence to Thom Yorke spinning his own remixed version of his solo "Harrowdown Hill," the band eventually achieved "web" magic. Thom Yorke last year admitted his desire to cover his "favourite song ever," Björk’s "Unravel." Last night, he got his wish, playing only the piano for a simple, melancholy version of the Homogenic standout; the rest of Radiohead (minus drummer Phil Selway) added gentle ambience. The test broadcast concluded with a soundless video of Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood writing "To Whom It May Concern" and then "I Give Up" in chalk on a mini-blackboard. While the testcast ended up being a success content-wise, we’re hoping the technological lapses are repaired by the time the band’s next rumored webcast airs at some point this early evening.

Isn't it great being a music fan right now?

Genesis is Number 2 in Kazakhstan

You know that magic program (and timesaver) that pops up when you are trying to rip a cd? Gracenote, the company that is responsible for that “magic software” launched an interesting Music Map application that shows the "popularity" of artists and albums by region and country in many parts of the world. It does this based on how often Gracenote's database is queried about particular albums or artists. This is pretty darned cool, at least to this systems geek. Have a look and see what people around the world are listening too.

PLAYLIST 8 - I Will Always Love Porter Wagoner

Country music superstar Porter Wagoner, died Sunday at a Nashville hospice. Wagoner, 80, had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

He had for years been the front line host of the Grand Ole Opry, inheriting that post from the late Roy Acuff. His illness came after a comeback that saw him recording again and gaining new fans even as he reached his 80s.

In May, he celebrated his 50th year in the Opry and signed his first record contract in years. His new CD "Wagonmaster" earned rave reviews. Over the summer he opened for the White Stripes at a sold out concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, where young fans embraced his music wholeheartedly.

His many hits included "Green Green Grass of Home," but he is perhaps best known for hiring 21-year-old Dolly Parton in 1967 to be his duet partner. A playlist today then to honour Porter Wagoner, the subject Parton’s 1973 penned hit I Will Always Love You. Her partner and mentor for many years, love is the theme this time. I thought it most appropriate.

I Will Always Love Porter Wagoner

Crazy Love - Marianne Faithfull
The Desperate Kingdom Of Love - PJ Harvey
Fistful Of Love - Devendra Banhart
Big Love - Kevin Drew
I'm Not In Love - 10cc
Careless Love - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Found Love - Jimmy Reed
I Can Feel Your Love - Felice Taylor
How Do You Keep Love Alive - Ryan Adams
How Will You Love Me - Nina Nastasia & Jim White
I'm Always In Love - Wilco
I Love You Golden Blue - Sonic Youth
Impossible Love - Daniel Johnston
In Love With A View - Mojave 3
It's True That We Love One Another - The White Stripes
I Love You More Than Words Can Say - Karen Dalton
Limit To Your Love - Feist
Love and Other Planets - Adem
It Was Love - The Elected
I Trained Her To Love Me - Nick Lowe
Love's Been Good To Me - Johnny Cash
The Lions Of Love - The Two-Minute Miracles
Love And Some Verses - Iron & Wine
I Will A Give Me Your Love - Curtis Mayfield
The Look Of Love - Nina Simone
Love And Happiness - Al Green
Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town - Talking Heads
Our Love Will Still Be There - Dean & Britta
Sea Of Love - Tom Waits
Without Love - Elvis Perkins
Love Makes You Feel - Spoon
You Try To Find A Love - Bill Withers
I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton