Lists

At this time of year, all the 'best of' lists start to appear. There's no way for those lists not to be frustrating - always someone amazing is overlooked, and of course we all think our favorite obscure album of the year should most DEFINITELY be there. I just took a look at CBC Radio 2's Top 50 Artists of 2011 and while it's not too bad, there are a few glaring omissions.(No PJ Harvey, but RHCP's are included? Really, CBC?)

Missing on the Canadian side:

Destroyer
Oh Susanna
The Deep Dark Woods

On the "International" Side:

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
PJ Harvey
Ry Cooder
Emmylou Harris
Laura Marling
Nick Lowe
Bon Iver
Nick Jaina
Jayhawks
Dawes
tUnEyArDs
Lana Del Rey
Bjork
The Unthanks
Tom Waits
Kate Bush

(I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...)

Sometimes I just want to storm on down to CBC Radio and shake up their playlist a little. I get that the morning and afternoon shows need to appeal to a broad swath of the population, but I'm often bored by what gets played over and over again (sorry CBC...true confessions here.) Here's hoping that Tom Power's new gig as host of R2 Morning means he'll be slipping in a little something different now and then. In the meantime, I'm inspired to throw together a little playlist of some of my favorite songs of 2011 from artists who aren't on CBC's list. No links - sorry; no time! But go find some of this stuff. And don't just stream it, BUY IT. It's worth it. Happy Holidays everyone!

The Unthanks - Gan to the Kye
Laura Marling - The Muse
Emmylou Harris - Darlin' Kate
PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
Ana Egge - Hole in Your Halo
The Deep Dark Woods - Sugar Mama
Gillian Welch - Hard Times
Ry Cooder - John Lee Hooker for President
Nick Lowe - House for Sale
Kate Bush - Among Angels
Real Ones - Saskatoon
Marry Waterson/Oliver Knight - The Loosened Arrow
Thea Gilmore/Sandy Denny - Glistening Bay
Dawes - Moon In the Water
Alexi Murdoch - Slow Revolution
Steve Earle - Lonely Are the Free
Jayhawks - She Walks in So Many Ways
Bon Iver - Calgary
Emmylou Harris - My Name is Emmett Till
Nick Jaina - Ortolan (feat. Myshkin)
Oh Susanna - See What Promises Can Bring
David Francey - Grateful
Nathan Salsburg - The False True Love
The Abramson Singers - Jack of Diamonds (unreleased...ssshhhh!)

Feist

It seems like it's hard to find the time to listen to entire albums from start to finish these days - more and more it's all about the individual song, totally excised from its context. We shuffle around Youtube, Rdio, we flit about from song to song, artist to artist; we cut wide, not deep. But as far as I can tell, musicians making albums are still thinking about the album as a whole, still grappling with what songs to put in what order, still making that subtle statement, sending that subtle message. I heard Feist interviewed by Buck 65 a couple of weeks back. When he asked her about the lead single from the album, "How Come You Never Go There" she expressed how hard it was for her to see that song plucked from it's context, sent out into the world to represent the rest of the album: "I would have chosen the first song on the record, 'cos that's the beginning..." I made a little promise to Feist and to myself right then and there that I would NOT listen piecemeal to "Metals" - I'm gonna take my time with it, listen to it from start to finish. She put the time and the care into making something that's a whole; I'm gonna pay mind to that and listen the old fashioned way - from start to finish. I've got a date with the album this Sunday morning. Looking forward to it.

Watch Feist's interview with CBC's Rich Terfry - aka Buck 65 -
here

Questions Raised

Last night I caught the last half of a documentary about Van Gogh on the Knowledge Network. Of course, Van Gogh was largely self-taught, and it's common knowledge that he learned his craft by copying and 'interpreting' other works (Millet, Delacroix, Hiroshige, etc). He copied one of his most famous works, 'Sorrow', from a 'how to draw' textbook! Copying is important - any artist knows that. Wasn't it Picasso who said 'Good artists borrow, great artists steal'?

I've always been interested in and intrigued by the folk tradition. I'm less interested in the supposedly 'original' and 'new' than I am in the ways that something old can get recontextualized and thus made 'new' again. I appreciate the process of weaving together. I think that's an art in itself - and in our postmodern world it seems like it's impossible to actually create anything 'original.' It's an old, worn-out conversation, this one.

So I was surprised just now to read this article in the New York Times - "Questions Raised About Dylan Show at Gagosian" in which the "Dylanologists" are all up in arms about whether or not he copied some of his pictures from photographs. Just as they were up in arms when it was discovered that some of his lyrics bore an uncanny resemblance to the works of a 19th century Civil War poet.

It seems the "Dylanologists" have been on high alert ever since Newport 1965. Perhaps its time they started working on their own songs, their own art, their own tapestries. Bob Dylan has done more for our cultural universe than nearly any other artist or musician I can think of. We owe him gratitude, not petty, nearsighted, silly accusations!

No Depression

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, friends. What can I say? School, life, and twitter took over. Also, since my last post, my mother has been blogging enough for the both of us.
Anyway. My apologies. I've been meaning to post this interview my friend Doug conducted with me a few months ago for No Depression magazine. It's all lies, of course, but it sure makes a good story!
You can find Part One here
And Part Two here.
Enjoy!

Deb Hirkala

I met Deb Hirkala about 20 years ago, when I was a fledgling songwriter, living in the West Kootenays and honing my craft in treeplanting camps and folk festival parking lot jam sessions. She had a big house in Nelson, a baby boy, and a talent that seemed to encompass all aspects of the 'back to the land' lifestyle I espoused at the time. She had a beautiful garden, she could spin wool, she was an accomplished woodworker, and she knew her way around an herbal apothecary. She was also a new mom, and had a big, rambling house on Stanley and Hall Mines in Nelson, BC, where she hosted epic potlucks and all-night music parties. I still remember the first time I heard her sing, one late night around the treeplanting camp woodstove in the East Kootenays. She picked up a guitar and poured her soul into The Bodeans' "Looking For Me Somewhere" and Lucinda Williams' "Sidewalks of the City." Outside that little cookshack, the stars faded into morning, and I felt my world had been changed forever. I'd never heard a voice that made me feel so much like I was being wrapped in the softest velvet, entirely comforted, pieced together, made whole. Fast forward a few years: another kid, a few more treeplanting summers, and Deb's writing her own songs now, and each one she plays me is better than the last. The way I saw it, there was not much choice - the songs had to get recorded. She gathered some local musicians (so much talent in the Kootenays), we set up shop in a cabin in the Slocan Valley, and got to work laying down some tracks, very much 'on the fly' - a vocals-in-the-stairwell, mandolin-in-the-kitchen type thing. As the project expanded, we knew we'd have to find ourselves a 'real' studio, so we decamped to the East shore of Kootenay Lake, where we'd found a very fine recording studio, and we set to work. The simple little demo project turned into a full-blown album - how could it not? We had fine musicians, top-notch gear, a skilled engineer, and a friend who believed in the project as much as I did acting as benefactor. Eventually, I had to return to Vancouver, and brought the project with me to 'add a few finishing touches' a la the great Paul Rigby (Neko Case's guitarist extraordinaire), renowned violinist Jesse Zubot, and Doug and the Slugs' keys king Simon Kendall. Finally, more than 2 years after we began, we were ready to release the record. And then I moved to New York. And Deb moved to Victoria, and went back to school. Life took over, and, other than putting the album up on CD Baby and Deb playing a few scattered shows around Victoria, the album never saw the light of day. As in, no one really heard it. 1000 cds, in boxes, languished in Deb's garage. Friends and family got copies, and a few radio DJs, but nothing really happened. Life took over.

And then the other day, I was on a long drive, and I was digging through the car for a CD to play. I pulled out Deb's album, and stuck it in the cd player. I listened to it twice, and felt that same excitement again that I felt when I heard her sing the Bodeans all those years ago, coupled with an immense pride at my own production, all the musicians who had contributed so much, and all the memories of the exciting and rewarding time we had recording the album. And I thought to myself, 'This album is REALLY GOOD.' and I thought to myself, this album should be heard. It should not just languish in obscurity, after all that work, after all that heart and soul. I stand behind this record, and I believe in Deb, and I'm proud of what we accomplished together. It was a long road, and it wasn't without its bumpy bits (like all worthwhile creative projects), but it's a good thing, it's a complete thing, and it means a lot to me that we did this together.

Here's the title track from Deb Hirkala's album "Somebody Somewhere." You can buy it on
iTunes, if you like it. I highly recommend it!

Listen to more on Deb's myspace.

Susan Enan

I spent the past couple of days on the road with my dear friend Susan Enan. Besides being one of my favourite people, Susan happens to be one of my favourite musicians and songwriters, and she's currently in the middle of a coast-to-coast North American tour in support of her wonderful new album 'Plainsong.' Because she's so lovely, she is making the journey in the most beautiful, DIY, community-building, positive manner: every show is a house concert. It's backyards, kitchens, and livingrooms, folks - up close and personal. Susan intends to tour the entire world this way. No promoters, no clubs, no dodgy dives (and no expensive tickets!) - just a woman, her guitar, and the urge to share her music. She's calling the tour 'Bring On The Song' (after her song 'Bring on the Wonder,' which you may have heard on the TV show 'Bones'). She's also video blogging the entire tour. You want Susan Enan to play in your living room? Find her on Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter, and send her a request.
I'm so inspired by Susan and her incredible commitment to her music, her career, and her fans. She's a beaut. Check out her album, if you haven't already, and then call your friends, and get a concert happening!


Tour Dates and tickets at www.susanenan.com

www.twitter.com/susanenan
www.myspace.com/susanenan

Not Even She Could Save Him

I am so totally looking forward to seeing Calexico this weekend at the folk fest. I have immense love, admiration, and respect for the wonderful Joey Burns, John Convertino, and cohorts - what great musicians they are, what great human beings too.


Also looking forward to seeing Melbourne, Australia's Luluc, whom I've just discovered. Gorgeous stuff.

Oh The Lushness

In February I mixed in mulch and manure, and put the first seeds in. I planted throughout March, April, and most of May. And then I went away. And 5 weeks later I returned to a blessed bounty. Thank you, garden, for doing well, even as I neglected you entirely. Soon I will be heading back to the NE (heatwave, ugh), and leaving my garden will be the hardest part. How can I leave you, when you love me so well?