Leonard Cohen

Upon the heels of many favourable reviews, I awaited in eager anticipation for my night with Leonard Cohen, especially after listening to The Collection and watching Jian’s interview:

Cohen himself was simply amazing, especially at 74: he shuffled and skipped across the stage, and spent much time on his knees serenading instruments and phantom lovers. His kind disposition shone through, addressing the crowd as friends and displaying genuine appreciation at the vigorous applause; furthermore, he employed his dry wit eliciting hearty laughs from the audience, e.g. asking the singers to keep singing at the end of In my Secret Life and ending with I Tried to Leave You. Cohen remains so cognisant of the human condition: he commented on how fortunate we are to gather when suffering’s so prevalent in the world. Whenever he recited lyrics he left many with goosebumps and tingles — A Thousand Kisses Deep still resounds within me.

Cohen remains a reluctant star, perhaps the reason he surrounded himself with so many great musicians to whom he repeatedly doffed his hat. Javier Mas, who met Cohen via Mas’s tribute Acordes Con Leonard Cohen, astounded audiences on the laud, bandurria, and guitar. Mas is an innovative musician who enjoys jamming with diverse instrumentalists, such as tabla player, Prabhu Edouard (reminiscent of Béla Fleck and Sandip Burman). 

Neil Larsen tactfully interwove his ghostly reverberations through most songs, at times hardly noticeable, but on Hallelujah he broke out with great flair. I really enjoyed Roscoe Beck’s bump and slide technique on the upright bass. Sharon Robinson filled the arena with her incredible voice and sensitive vibrato, especially on Boogie Street. (Here’s a great interview with Sharon). The Webb Sisters also amazed with their sweet harmonies and gave a spine-tingling performance of If it be your Will. I thought Dino Soldo was best on the harmonica, but appreciated his sensitivity on other songs. Bob Metzger and Rafael Bernardo Gayol did a good job holding it all together.

In the end one can only wonder at Cohen: his extensive catalogue, his sensitive interpretation of the human condition, his ability to capture a scene in a song, and the fact that he has performed over one hundred times this year and plans on doing another hundred. If you are unable to see him live purchase Live in London; this production does a good job of capturing the magic of his performance (as much as the medium can).

Faint Horizon

Since the heady days of youth, when, buoyed by Lillywhite and Lanois productions, I eagerly awaited every single from the Joshua Tree, I’ve kept my ear to the ground for breaking news on U2. The first morsels from No Line on the Horizon appeared when Bono inadvertently cranked up a few singles at an outdoor party. These rough recordings, however, didn’t compound my excitement for the latest album, Sean O’Hagan’s article did. O’Hagan followed them for eighteen months to three cities and collected a number of anecdotes, most of which he frankly shares.

The album itself begins with a riff that blazes like a sprinter out of the blocks; however, the title track soon fades into oblivion, so much so that after frequent plays I still can’t recall it. For me the album begins with Magnificent: I get comfortable and settle in for a good listen, yet even this song incorporates an annoying keyboard track, perhaps a relic from some early 90’s recording session. Nevertheless, Moment of Surrender remains solid and I finally enter the groove; Bono rasps his voice, and Clayton and Mullen Jr. make their presence known (The Edge is always there). This song anchors the album and I’m glad it’s over seven minutes long. As O’Hagan notes this song was one of the few recorded in Fez, where devotions from Sufi singers wisped through the air.

I label the next few songs “tolerable”; that is, I don’t regret purchasing them, but they won’t be going in a playlist anytime soon. In Unknown Caller U2 seems to be channelling Yes, but doing a mediocre job of it. I’ll Go Crazy … is better, but a little too familiar and too forced. Next of course is Sexy Boots (they should have kept that name) which has saturated the airwaves and I now skip. I quite like the fresh sound of Stand Up Comedy (except for the bridge) and it will make it out of my tolerable category quicker than the rest. In the first minute and a half Fez sounds like a bad Sci-Fi soundtrack, but it soon captures some of the Moroccan inspiration.

White as Snow does very little for me; I think it’s because with every chorus I break into my best Whitney Houston, a by-product of holiday shopping, perhaps by summer I’ll have evinced all traces of her and be able to appreciate its subtleties. The album ends on a strong note. Breathe and Cedars of Lebanon is U2 at full potency: “pop-rock” U2 in Breathe and contemplative U2 in Cedars. Other nice features are Breathe’s strings track and Cedars’ fantastic falsetto part, exceptional lyrics, and haunting background track. Overall, this album follows a bang-whimper, whimper-bang pattern; fortunately, the bang counteracts all the whimper. The best ancillary news is that they will be touring once more—no room for whimper there. Sugimoto’s picture on the cover inspires, and reminds me of a Tanabe landscape.

Classic Stilt

These days I am flexible enough to work where I like; armed with TheGreenBow, BlogJet, and OpenOffice, I frequent a number of spots boasting free WiFi. One of my favourites is The Black Stilt. I have been considered a regular here, since the day I went up to order my favourite drink and found it had already been made for me. This foresight was (and still is) a tremendous blessing. (If you go, tip the staff well). An open design, plenty of comfy seats, excellent coffee, a wide array of snacks, and an eclectic mix of music makes for a lively atmosphere.

Lately, I have noticed that the staff have been in a classics phase, playing a lot of Dylan, Beatles, Bowie, et cetera. Among these, Neil Young has gotten the most air time, to my pleasure and delight. This exposure caused me to re-visit my own library, play some dusty songs and add some new ones. Prairie Wind and Living With War were two albums that I loved immediately and played many times. Prairie Wind told a story I could relate to and Living With War helped me process the mess Bush had gotten us into. Chrome Dreams II, on the other hand, has taken me much longer to warm up to. It is not a “bad” album, but lacks the depth of the other two.

I also went back to Rust Never Sleeps; you’ll seldom find another album with as nice an introduction and conclusion than My, My, Hey, Hey and Hey, Hey, My, My. Once I begin playing Thrasher I can’t seem to stop; I click repeat and marvel at Young’s lyric writing: “They had the best selection,/ They were poisoned with protection/ There was nothing that they needed,/ Nothing left to find/ They were lost in rock formations/ Or became park bench mutations.” Of course you can’t go wrong with popular albums like Harvest. Speaking of Harvest, I purchased Live at Massey Hall. This 1971 recording was finally released in 2007. Young’s solo acoustic performance showcases his amazing talent and features five “new” songs that would rock the free world months later with the release of Harvest. Young also provides back-story for many of the songs. The recording quality is quite good, though I felt that more applause could have been cut out.

Today, I was fortunate enough to scoop some floor seats for Leonard Cohen’s upcoming concert. I can only hope that Neil Young’s presence, too, will grace my city soon.

Qristina & Quinn

Listening to Jian’s dynamic coverage (QTube on YouTube) of the East Coast Music Awards (ECMA) (Danny William’s defence of the arts on today’s show was particularly inspiring), made me think of Saturday night. I took my son to see Qristina & Quinn, a Celtic music duo. This, however, was no ordinary duo: Qristina, 18 years old, energised the room with her phrenetic fingers and Quinn, 13, supported her ambition with his steady, but intricate strumming. Both displayed great talent on their respective instruments, fiddle and guitar. The foot-stomping even extinguished my fatigue and compelled me to dance in my seat. You can watch a sampling on their YouTube channel, but nothing beats a live performance. They were accompanied by a percussionist, a bassist, and flutist. The flutist also played the Uilleann pipes. The subdued drone from the pipes propelled each note high into the vaulted ceiling where they swirled with Qristina’s elongated tones. I look forward to hearing more from both of them. Kudos to Daniel Lapp whose BC Fiddle Orchestra has inspired so many.

Musical Richness

Richard Bona was the first person I heard play the kalimba really well; he creates an ethereal sound by combining his falsetto voice with kalimba notes.

This video is On Her Way from Speaking of Now Live. Laura Barrett has been gaining popularity for her kalimba playing; however, to me, she presents a much less convincing sound than Bona due to her flat voice, which recalls a hollow Lili Haydn or a tamed Kimya Dawson. It may also be that she lacks the varied history that textured Bona’s voice.

Although a number of different takes, such as Jake Shimabukuro’s ukelele playing, have grown in popularity, living legends continue to be ignored in North America; perhaps, this is unsurprising due to the herd behaviour recently outlined by Thaler and Sunstein. One such legend is Ernest Ranglin who, like the blues players of the South that influenced so many but rarely gained widespread acknowledgment, helped birth ska music. He has been performing blazing, innovative, licks for years, which are imbued with the rhythms of his native Carribbean. One of my favourite albums is The Search for the Lost Riddim, for which he returned to Senegal 20 years after his stint with the Jimmy Cliff Band.

Inside North America few capture the essence of humanity like Lili Haydn; rich verse, such as the following from The Saddest Sunset, adorns her somber violin playing:

It's hard when no one hears you calling.
Who will catch you if you fall?
And though the waters are rising
We all leave and come in alone.
The love that you're longing for is your own.

It was great to see her performance on Californication. (View my brief review here.) In order to explore more of the world’s musical richness check out Mondomix (previously Calabash), Nat Geo Music, and Smithsonian Global Sound.

Muse : ik

Earlier today I headed into one of my favourite cafés, The Black Stilt, and found it packed. I enquired about a few free seats but they were all reserved, so I stood at a bar Rumsfeld-style. After a bit, a young woman kindly offered me one of the seats I had enquired about, at least until her friend got back. I noticed she was working on some artwork and we got to talking. It turns out Cleo was making covers, pictured here, for her newly released CD, Muse : ll Ik. She had recently lost her job and needed some rent money, so she had a release party and made half her rent. I listened to it and bought one right away. Given the flurry of production she is still developing a MySpace page, but if you would like to purchase a copy for between $7 and $20 (I encourage you to do so) email me or post a comment and I'll get you a copy.

Cleo described her music as a combination of jazz, dance hall, drum&bass, and hip hop, which I think is pretty accurate. If I had to choose one genre it would be hip hop – she raps in a quick paced rhythm reminiscent of Matisyahu. The intricate compositions, however, make it difficult to stray far from the jazz designation. Her voice is an ethereal mixture of Shawn Colvin, Azure Ray, and Ani DiFranco; she also incorporates some Blige funk and Björk vocal effects. Although the production quality of all the songs is not equal, something a few tweaks on the mixing board will rectify on a second release, their ingenuity is. I really enjoyed Simple; the catchy guitar lick loops nicely with her fast flowing rap and the lyrics are filled with reflexivity and contemplation, e.g., "You sit there cynically pretending not to care about my lyrics" and "The West was better before my ancestors settled here." On Manifest she collaborates nicely with a male vocalist and adds strings to the funk beat. (It would work great if the short clip of throat-singing at the end was worked into the song.) Stairwell Sounds and Great Goddess profile the great range of her voice, from haunting to whimsical.

Reckoner and Golden Fragments

From the minute I bought the album, Reckoner has been of my favourites; Radiohead has now released each track of the song (guitar, bass, drum, etc ... ) separately, so you can mix your own track and upload it to their site. Some of the remixes are awesome, others hardly recognizable.


I seldom can pass up the release of "lost" recordings, whether they be basement tapes or others, and the Golden Unplugged Album was no exception. On the whole the recording quality is poor and better recordings could probably be found on fan sites; however, the album does have a few treasures. Satellite of Love not only shows off Bono's impressive falsetto range (I wonder if he can still hit them) and features the unyielding Lou Reed. Lucille and Lost Highway are fun country renditions, though Bono cannot traverse the genre of folk nearly so well; Stan Rogers would have done much better with the Springhill Mining Disaster. The crowd's refrain Sunday Bloody Sunday is heart-warming and Dancing Queen (with Bjorn and Benny of ABBA) is lots of fun. The fun continues with the trio of songs lead by a Larry Mullen Jr. who sounds like Joe Strummer. Overall this album is for the diehard fan and not one I will listen to often given its poor, and varied, sound quality.

Since their earliest collaborations Bela Fleck and Chick Corea have belonged together. Their musical intellects match, though for some listeners the experience can be like watching an Einstein at the chalkboard. The bright, cheery, staccato music they produce engenders the humour in their performance: they frequently dare each other to play first or outshine the other. This album also features one of my favourite Fleck songs, Sunset Road, a good listen for the sophisticate.

Dialling Dylan

Over the years Dylan's music has entwined itself in my life, so much so that I sometimes think of him as a distant relative; you know, the type of uncle or aunt that you see seldom, but that always seems to direct your life in some way or another. Dylan helped me process religious conversion and Blood on the Tracks brought me back from the despair of failed romances. He puts our pain, suffering and humiliation into a digestible form, yet, as a fan, he requires that you take him on his own terms. This is what so many missed when he turned electric. Thus, as soon RSS feed came on my screen that he was coming to Victoria, I went to bobdylan.com and got some tickets, five days before they went on sale at the local box office. The seats were good and so was the company, my brother-in-law, Jer; I was looking forward to this night.

Although I didn't enjoy all of his interpretations of the "classics" and the fact they were interpreted at all, I had to respect his choice: the master bard had a right to know better. All of this came to head when he finally moved away from the keyboard and picked up his guitar (actually when the roadie that so longed for stage-time gave it to him); the fans were munching on the few scraps they had been thrown, barely able to distinguish his playing on Just Like a Woman, when the song ended and they cheered for more. None came, not even one song during an encore; Dylan was once more difficult to pin down, an-iconic. Nevertheless, I didn't know any of the men in their late fifties that comprised his band and I wished for some frame of reference, so I yelled above the crowd to the die-hard fan in front of me who had been writing down a set list, "Wouldn't it be great if Robbie Robertson appeared on stage." The fan responded with some empathy, "You never know." You never do know, but the band had a solid vibe; if Dylan wasn't as well versed in the keyboard, that was o.k. It was good to commune with him once more.

Technological encounters

Technology progresses so fast that many cannot catch up. For instance, the other day I was trying to explain the reasoning behind having 7000 songs on my iPod to a Luddite. In the end she said she was happy with her Walkman, or was it a Discman; however, she did dig my passion for music. She also liked the fact that you could play any song that came to mind instantly, match your mood to music, and be a DJ. For her, it was the task of organising them and the responsibility of listening to so much music frightened her. You got to respect that; I do spend quite a bit of time getting and organizing music. Although Pandora Radio, Last FM, and playlist makers help, iTunes on the computer (rather than the iPod) remains much more functional and intuitive, especially with Genius.

Child Soldiers No More

From the day the tickets went on sale, I have been looking forward to the concert Child Soldiers No More. The benefit began in the usual UVic fashion: a lesser faculty member introducing Turpin, who in turn introduced the guests of honour, Dallaire and Cockburn. As Turpin speeches go this one was pretty good and Mary Ellen Purkis, the dean of HSD, got much better as the night wore on. The show proper began with a short PowerPoint presentation, which provided some background on and heart wrenching photographs of child soldiers. When Dallaire made his entrance he received an exuberant standing ovation; his obvious discomfort with this display of recognition and appreciation made him all the more worthy of it.

He then outlined the history of the child soldier weapons system, and its capacity, which encompassed the roles of mine clearers, prostitutes, ambush decoys, front-line soldiers and messengers. 300,000 children are involved, many forcibly, in the world today; not only in Africa where their involvement is widely known, but also in countries like Colombia and the Philippines. He described its origins: how battle lines, rules of engagement, and defined enemies eroded after the Cold War. The horrors of war have become the horrors of humanity. Nevertheless, Dallaire sees the solution in the essence of humanity; only by recognizing the humanness of every human can we make progress. We can no longer categorize human suffering by their assets; we can no longer let the insecurity of one super power dictate the globe's actions. Old models, such as peace keeping, do not work in this world. Rather middle powers, such as Canada, who have no imperial aims can facilitate the Responsibility to Protect (R2P); furthermore, the empowerment of women and education can facilitate change. The most touching story, for me, was his account of the child soldier, who with a shaky trigger finger and the barrel of the gun in Dallaire's nose, released his finger from the trigger when he spied the candy bar in Dallaire's hand.

At first Cockburn's laid back demeanour and the bright opening bars of his first song, seemed incongruent with Dallaire's depiction of the world; his footnote about Flor de Caña being mistaken with Florida Canyons only deepened this misgiving. However, as his performance wore on, I soon realized that his banter was a gift and that this evening had an ebb and flow: the subject was too severe to absorb for three hours straight. I soon found myself immersed in his talent; yes, he still has his chops. Nice touches, such as his falsetto on Lovers in a Dangerous Time, also added to the evening, however, his passion for peace was never far away. Despite my enjoyment, I still had a nagging feeling that Dallaire wouldn't appear on stage with Cockburn, but this sensation was quieted by Cockburn's announcement, "Let us bring Dallaire, after all this is no ordinary evening." What ensued was fabulous; Dallaire recounted two stories while Cockburn provided background music. As Dallaire told his tale of seeing the same look in childless boy's eyes as in his own son's and another of the shame that had cloaked girls who were rape victims, I encountered the power of story. The cadence of his voice, which matched perfectly with Cockburn's lick, only lulled you enough to make the sting of the horror tolerable. Thanks to both these extraordinary people this issue is indelibly etched on the minds of many.

Sidney Island

For me and two friends, Labour Day weekend marks more than the end of summer, our annual trip to Sidney Island. We take the kids that are out of diapers and camp for a couple of nights, a dads and kids weekend. The kids spend most of their time at the beach and we kick back. We catch-up and, like most of the camps, treks, and excavations I've been on, hum a theme song (a song which pervades the social consciousness of a group and seems to posses its own agency in doing so). This year, Take it on the Run by REO Speedwagon was on our lips, which isn't that bad a choice if you consider that parents frequently sing kids songs; at times I find myself singing the clumsy adaption of the 12 Days of Christmas for the LeapPad and some of the Barney's Favorites that my daughter repeatedly plays. Nevertheless, we are products of the Eighties, so it's no surprise Hey Rosetta, Wintersleep, and Tanya Tagaq songs don't become theme songs, despite their worthiness. Our '80s perspective, however, offers us much expertise in judging least deserving hits; this year The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car edged out TNT in the Simplest Lyrics category. Since we are upfront about our association with the Eighties, it is surprising that some radio stations, such as Jack, aren't. The Atlantic Monthly has this to say about the Eighties, "Like relentless zombies in a horror film, '80s nostalgia acts keep trudging along, undaunted." What is surprising is that my wife can still run into a teenager who yells, "Judas Priest rules" two inches from her face. I guess we'll have to endure for another generation or so.



Sidney Island's an idyllic setting for camping. Every time I'm there, I often pause in wonder at the surrounding vista: the stars also shine brighter here, so much so that it's like getting a new prescription. The island boasts a herd of fallow deer, which reminds me of the antelope that roam in the same dry, knee-high grass of the Serengeti. This year Parks Canada has installed some interpretive signs about the wildlife and history of the island; however, they've omitted the bomb shelter. It is a long rectangular structure with a vaulted ceiling and sturdy walls; two benches line the long walls and would have seated 20 or so. The grass roof and location amidst the trees would have kept it well camouflaged, but it is difficult to ascertain why it was built in the first place, given the low likelihood of an attack. Perhaps, the owner was caught up in the same hysteria that resulted in the Japanese internment camps. Nevertheless, it's well worth the visit; just wander about 500 metres SSE of the barracks to just inside the tree-line (east of the dead trees).

NAIG and other delights

A couple of weeks ago I went to the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG); it turned out to be quite a day of abundant flavours. Harvey, a friend from the Tsawout band, my son Iain, and I packed into a van and headed up-island. We got to NAIG and were immediately drawn to the stalls full of handicrafts; in the midst of Harvey's conversations with friends and relatives, we made some good purchases. Our main goal was to price cedar hats, but we only did so half-heartedly, preferring to just admire them, due to their high cost ($250-3,000). Instead, I purchased a wrist band of woven cedar with a clasp made from an Indian Head nickel. We then headed to the food stalls and had Scow bread, salmon and Indian tacos (venison chilli over fry bread and topped with cheese).

After meeting Vince from Hot Springs Cove at a soccer game, we headed back home; on the way we stopped by OrganicFair and were very impressed by their operation. This idyllic setting rewards the visitor for embarking on the circuitous route: I repeatedly thought, I would love to live in a place like this. After walking through rows of lavender reminiscent of Philip Craig's Lavender Fields, we arrived at the store. I looked forward to trying some more of their offerings after my previous mixed-review. The Kashmir and Maple Leaf bars were good but not great; their flavours clashed with one another. However, the lemon in Little Italy perfectly complemented the espresso chunks and chocolate, bellissimo! I was pleased with their Sinfully Spiced Coffee, and reminded of Fusion's Focus Blend . Unfortunately, they were out of Hedonist Hot Chocolate, but their homemade strawberry ice cream was excellent.

After getting into Victoria, we dropped my son off at home and went to Cafe Marrakech (2551 Quadra) for dinner. As soon as I walked in and had to engage the hostess, I suspected that the service would be bad. Shortly after our arrival, my suspicion was confirmed by the abrupt departure of a couple after the hostess/waitress got their order wrong; actually it wasn't that abrupt because she took five minutes to process the transaction for their appetizers. Hopefully some better staff will have been hired because the food was excellent. We started with salads, but it wasn't until the main course that things got interesting. I had Bestella Moroccan, two pies made of shredded chicken; each pie was the shape of a hockey puck and twice the size. The chicken was encased in crisp layers of a pastry similar to phyllo, and topped with cinnamon and sugar; the resultant combination of salt and sweet was rich and distinctive. Harvey had a lamb couscous, which looked good.

Then we buzzed down to the IMAX to watch Shine a Light. The sixty foot images and excellent sound left me applauding a couple of times; however, I stopped in embarrassment as soon as my rational brain realized I was in a movie theatre.

Yes We Can

I just checked out Obama - The WorldBeat Album (this link includes the videos for each song). It is awesome to see so much support for Obama from such a wide variety of people. Most of these songs add lyrics concerning Barack to familiar sounding songs and beats. Some, such as Barack the Magnificent, are done well and others are too familiar to really be effective. The album also includes Yes We Can by Will.i.am. This song has taken the web by storm since February. Will.i.am and a slew of musicians and celebrities repeat or sing phrases from the concession speech Obama gave after the New Hampshire primary to Obama's utterance of the same phrases. Here's the video, which was directed by Jesse Dylan. (The Wikipedia entry lists all those who appear and the time they do so.)



We Are the Ones also is excellent; after the original, Zoe Kravitz's version plays. Can you stop playing these videos? Obama's the man.

Victor Wooten

Some musicians truly transcend their instruments and Victor Wooten is a case in point. He views the bass as means for communicating his musical creativity, takes chances with the instrument, and draws inspiration from a number of sources. For example, he suggests giving a bass guitar to musicians of other instruments who have never played the bass and seeing what they do with it. His transcendence is no plainer than at his live shows. A popular clip is his performance of Amazing Grace from Live at the Quick. Although this clip and Norwegian Wood display his command of the bass around a popular melody, they do not reveal the full extent of his magic. The following video does not have the best recording, but it shows what I mean:



The highlight though is when he de-tunes and re-tunes his bass while he jams. I had a hard time finding a good video of it and this is the best I could get (turn down your volume before you play):



He also makes a loop and solos around it. All of his albums are worth getting, though not all of Live in America appealed to me. Lastly here is a cool re-edit of Bonham alongside Wooten (there are only a few images on the video, but the track is done well):

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

Béla Fleck has been a favourite artist of mine for a number of years; the variety of his releases (from Tales of the Acoustic Planet to Perpetual Motion) is staggering, as is the extent of his collaborations (from Dave Matthews to Chick Corea). His work with the Flecktones is no less outstanding. Seeing Victor Wooten live is an amazing experience: he can de-tune and re-tune his bass while playing it. Futureman holds his own in innovations and Jeff Coffin continues the legacy of Roland Kirk. Béla and the Flecktones have always been at the forefront of technology (DVD Audio on Tales of the Acoustic Planet 2 and DualDisc of Hidden Land ) and the breadth of their collaborations and styles of play can easily be grasped in Little Worlds and Live at the Quick. Live at the Quick remains one of my favourite concert DVDs and features a number of guest musicians of whom Kongar-ol Ondar is the most notable.

Béla's new project is a film on his journey to Africa, the birth-place of the banjo (of course, jamming with the locals). It looks to be a promising film and has already picked up awards. The cool graphics of the website is really worth checking out. Here's the preview of Throw Down Your Heart:

New Music (to me)

I have been downloading a lot of music lately. One goal of mine has been to complete albums for which I only have a few songs (usually due to the high price and low quality of iTunes, except Plus, see mp3fiesta). Other goals were simply to expand my musical horizons, check out new releases and get further releases from favoured musicians. Of course, MySpace Music is an awesome resource and I can't wait for its store to open. The store should provide an easy way to access all that good music and will save me emailing artists about purchasing their music. Frank Mackie, whose song New Wave Fall Express was featured in the last Shralp Snow videocast, is a recent favourite.

Throughout this downloading process, I have found some gems and disappointments. Flight of the Conchords' Collection is very disappointing and besides the hilarious song "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room," The Distant Future is pretty weak. Although Shawn Colvin's latest album, These Four Walls, is fairly good, it's just more of the same, so I wouldn't recommend it if you have previous albums. Groove Armada's latest Soundboy Rock has some good songs, but none that make it stand out, though it's still worth getting. Last Night by Moby has some new beats and if you like his style you'll enjoy this album (the chords from his keyboard still weave through the beats creating a lulling flow and there is a good selection of vocal tracks). After Cru and the Life Aquatic soundtrack, I looked forward to hearing Ana and Jorge. There are definitely some good songs, but the album and the concert lack fluidity and compositional congruity. My introduction to Ana Carolina was the best thing I gained from the album. Her deep voice and amazingly lengthy high notes compliment Jorge's raspier voice; the same goes for her crisp guitar playing, which compliments Jorge's loose-string casualness. Ana can also funk the bass; listen to Tanta Saudade. Of course, they had their hits and their version of The Blowers' Daughter (from O and Closer) is good in a pop way:



This song reminded me of K'naan and Nelly Furtado's duet. Check out the drum box (I've heard Futureman play them live a few times; they're awesome):



Bebel Gilberto reaches for new heights with her title track Momento; it has the finesse of some of her mother's work. Although her voice on Close to You reminds me of her father, the next few tracks seem somewhat redundant, each having the same pop construction. With Cacada the polished tunes in the same vein of Momento returns and continues for most of the album. I've always found her previous albums patchy to some degree, so if you enjoy her previous work you'll enjoy this one.

Magical (re)interpretations

Due to mp3fiesta's accessibility, calabash and epitonic's wide variety, and friends' good taste, I have been listening to some very good music lately. Like many fans I usually frown upon the release of greatest hits albums, usually viewing them as a money grab and preferring the "hits" in their original context; however, every now and then I am pleasantly surprised. I have been thoroughly enjoying Mothership, not so much because the songs were chosen by the surviving band members themselves, but because the re-mastering of the songs is magnificent. I have a newfound appreciation for the intricacy of Page's guitar work and Plant's high pitched screams. I cannot overstate the clarity of the recording; it's first class and worth many times the dollar I spent on fiesta. Even Stairway to Heaven, a song which has been forever tainted by too many plays as the last song at school dances, bristled with Page's fine guitar work. I now appreciate the band much more than the grainy 70's and 80's tapes ever allowed. Given the lower tones associated Jones and Bonham's work, the improvement is not as noticeable; however, they still drive many of the songs and I found myself air drumming and moving to the bass more than ever. Only the cowbell in Houses of the Holy made me wish for less clarity.

Lenny Kravitz has always focused songs around blazing guitar licks (sometimes with off-set bass lines), frequently blending the melody lines into them. He pulls this effect off well in his new album, It's Time for a Love Revolution, especially on songs, such as Bring It On, Love Love Love, If You Want It, and Dancin' Till Dawn. I think he must have been listening to a lot of the Beetles when he recorded it, because some songs have a Beetles feel, e.g., I'll Be Waiting, I Love the Rain, A Long and Sad Goodbye; Good Morning even includes McCartney's distinctive yell. Some of the songs, Bring it on and If You Want It, have religious overtones, but this is nothing new to Kravitz's music. Overall, a pretty good rock out session.

Since hearing Bach's Air put to beats on Buddha Bar - Ten Years, I've become addicted to this re-interpretation of classical pieces. Two outstanding albums, Mozart l'égyptian and Lambarena: Bach to Africa , do this well and are a delight to listen to. Mozart includes more of Mozart's famous melodies, which are played on Middle-Eastern instruments and put to voice in Arabic, while Lambarena tends to reinterpret Bach's music and the melodies are not as accessible.

I just found out that Bruce Cockburn and Romeo Dallaire's Child Soldiers No More concert is coming to Victoria on October 4th. This should prove to be an amazing evening; both men have a deeply personal message and exude talent. Dallaire's scarred journey is particularly compelling; no doubt I'll have a review of it in October.

mp3Fiesta: an iTunes alternative

Music on the net involves a quagmire of issues: who gets paid, if any one. I myself prefer direct distribution from the artist and have been unsatisfied with the limitations of DRM (Digital Right's Management, the authorized computer function in iTunes and WMP) music, especially when I can't put music on devices like my PSP (see Music, Shock Rock and Gracenote for more). Lately, I have been downloading music from mp3fiesta, one of many legal download sites based in Russia. The major advantage of these sites is that they are cheap $0.10 a song or $0.99 an album, 1/10th the price of iTunes. I don't know how they can be so cheap and legal (the website explicitly states that they pay copyright fees), but the fact they are based in Russia probably has something to do with it. The reason that I never got into torrents and other free downloads is that I value art and the artist and want them to get their cut. If mp3fiesta can pay the artist and make a profit, it shows how little the artist gets from the record company. Anyway given that very few recording-artists offer direct downloads, I'm left with little choice for music.

Another advantage of mp3fiesta is that it offers music at much better bit rates (162 kbps and higher) than iTunes (128 kbps) and the rest (Napster, Amazon, and Wal-Mart). Bit rates for newer albums can be as high as 320 kbps, so I never feel the need to buy the CD anyway for better quality (something I often feel with 128 kbps). Also, downloading can be a good alternative to ripping your CD collection, since it's faster and less hassle (after re-purchasing your albums let them download at night) and way cheaper than using a ripping service. The catalogue is respectable, so you'll find much of mainstream music and less of the obscure. The process is simple: sign-up, pre-pay, and download. The pre-pay feature is common among sites of this type and helps them keep their price down, for some it's a pain, but I prefer it to a number of $0.99 charges on my credit card statement. The site is no where near as elaborate as iTunes, so it is a bit awkward to listen to a sample and download the tracks. Unlike, iTunes, which puts them directly into a playlist in no time, each song must be downloaded separately and then added to the iTunes or other player's catalogue.

Bulk downloading can be accomplished by using Firefox (simply the best browser) and the add-on DownThemAll!! (you click on the "Add to Firefox" link to install it). Then DownThemAll!! has to have a filter added to it to identify .mp3 files. Open the program, in Firefox under Tools, and click Preferences then Filters and Add New Filter. In the caption box type ".mp3" or something like it and in the extensions box type or paste (no quotes), "/\/[^\/\?]+\.mp3$/". Now you're ready to go to .mp3fiesta's download page (or that of any other music site). Open DownThemAll!! and click Start. The downloads will begin immediately. The program downloads files very fast by downloading a number of packets simultaneously and then reassembling them. DownloadHelper is another good program that can be added to Firefox in the same way and requires little modification. Although this program identifies media files quickly and downloads them, it opens the download window after each download or batch download, which interrupts your web-surfing. Nevertheless, you can disable the Downloads window in Tools/Options/Main or minimize it. I have installed both to ensure seamless downloads and both work well for video downloading as well.

Then you can put the downloaded songs into files by artist and album, if you like, before adding the files/folders to iTunes. If you're not using iTunes you have to do this most of the time anyway. The best thing about the site is that albums are so cheap that you won't feel bad if you don't like it. Lastly, ensure you backup your purchases because you can only download them for 48 hours (to keep traffic down on their servers). Have fun!

Calabash Music, which I've already mentioned in Music, is a great source for world music, including North American folk music. The best thing about this site is that they offer ten free songs a week! They have a good catalogue and a strong mandate for supporting the artist through promotion and granting a fair-share to the artist. There is also a lot of good information on the site about world music, since it is also the operator of the National Geographic world music site. The service works like mp3fiesta (pre-pay and download page), but is more expensive, $0.99 a track. The one disadvantage is that DownThemAll, which works flawlessly elsewhere does not work so well here. DownloadHelper also misses tracks but has more success, damn pop-up window. Expand your musical horizons by using Calabash.

Munching lotus

Today I feel like time has really passed me by. I started reading Buxton's Imaginary Greece from 1994 and can't believe I'd missed it. I haven't been smacked this hard by an academic book since Brendel's Prolegomena. His clarity is compelling, e.g., "In spite of (or because) of the fashionableness and obvious fertility of the topic [Greek myth] ... there is a residual feeling that to treat mythology as a distinct area of study ... is a gambit bound up with Theory, Methodology and The Continent, and is thus not quite sound." I also appreciate his honesty, e.g.,"I hope, in short, that the present book will reach the wider audience too. To that end I have tried to cut down the jargon with which scholars like to armour-plate themselves" (see Nimis' serious yet entertaining article on the use of footnotes for this purpose).

I really enjoy Stumble Upon and the concept behind it. Bumbling along I've found so much richness. Late last year, I found Rumi. Wow! 2007 was designated the International Year of Rumi by UNESCO and in commemoration of this event Coleman Barks wrote Rumi: Bridge to the Soul. This book has wonderful translations of 99 poems and an excellent introduction. My favourite line in the book is from Saladin's Leaving: "Like the moon you turn a grainfield silver."

I also found Californication. I can relate so well to Hank. I could be that character, sincerely stumbling along in the journey of manhood, though I haven't published a book, don't own a Porsche, and definitely don't have women throwing their phone numbers into my car. Oh the fragile artist. Damn those expectations. The journey can be very hard. Nevertheless, it's all worth it. You get the feeling and the vibe. You carve out a place of acceptance. Of all those people who claim to know you, only a handful ever does. The only question is whether you count yourself among them.

The show is also an introduction, for me at least, to many cool covers of songs, e.g., Rocket Man by My Morning Jacket and Paranoid by Gus Black.

Polyphonic bliss

I fully enjoy the entire realm of music; most of all, I love being surprised by the sounds of a new band. Sure, I like those masterpieces that grow on you and finally conquer your consciousness, but I also love those catchy tunes you like right away and listen to a hundred times. About an hour I read my JamBase newsletter, an awesome source for new music and concert videos, and clicked on the link for Polyphonic Spree's new video, We Crawl. Definitely a catchy tune and cool video, a collage of 23 video sources. Lately my repeat list includes The Maker by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, Walk on the Wild Side by DJ Disse, Someone Send an Angel Down by Derek Miller, Reckoner by Radiohead, Count Yourself In by Ten Second Epic, Pukalani by David Kahiapo, Maburk by DJ Fabian Alsultany, Narayanate by Uday Shankar and Pan Pan Pan Remix by Nufin-Yin who samples Noam Chomsky.