Threat Shark Summer – Playlist PAYDAY

Technically this is playlist #29, but considering the circumstance, I had to amp things up a bit. Hence we have Playlist PAYDAY. Boom.

First off, huge thanks to Mr. Kergs for covering for me last week. I was wrapping up my last week in Toronto and between packing things up and tying up loose ends, I was doing my best to see a few sites last minute. This marks the third new location that I have published a Threat Shark Summer playlist from. Previously, I had fired things up from New College on the U of T campus. A quick move down the street brought me to Whitney Hall on U of T campus. Right now, I’m pitstopping in Calgary at my parents’ place before heading on to Castlegar for a wedding and finally Kamloops for the start of (what will hopefully be) my last year of school.

For this week, Brendan and I decided we wanted to wrap things up with a recap of our favourite tunes of the summer.

For you, I have 48 tracks compiled from my previous playlists as well as two brand-spanking new tunes that have yet to appear this summer. Hope you enjoy!

Musicschmuzick

1. Make A New Dance Up by Hey Ocean! – May 22
2. Lose It by Austra – May 22
3. My 5 by Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party – May 22
4. Out on the Shield by Said the Whale – May 22
5. Darling, Darling, Darling by Corey Isenor – May 29
6. Grab Me By the Lapel by The North Lakes – May 29
7. How Darwinian by Dan Mangan – May 29
8. No Common Ground by Gabrielle Papillon – May 29
9. The Sheriff by The Strumbellas – June 5
10. Hondo by Beta Frontiers ft. Becky Ninkovic – June 5
11. Ciao Monday by Emm Gryner – June 5
12. If I Get Old by Elliott Brood – June 5
13. In Came the Flood by Wintersleep – June 12
14. Bloodlines by Arkells – June 12
15. Echoists by Young Liars – June 12
16. Oceans by Topanga – June 12
17. Fisticuffs & Affidavits by Parlovr – June 19
18. Come On Out by The Elwins – June 19
19. Hallways by Islands – June 19
20. Americanarama by Hollerado – June 19
21. Pool Hoppin’ by Octoberman – June 26
22. Two Feet Stand Up by Cookie Duster – June 26
23. Ropes That Way by Dirty Ghosts – June 26
24. One Shot by Bend Sinister – June 26
25. Last Parade by Matthew Good – July 10
26. Who Do We Care For? by Sebastien Granger and the Mountains – July 10
27. What Are You Waiting For? by Hexes and Ohs – July 10
28. Arms Tonight by Mother Mother – July 10
29. Chameleon/Comedian by Kathleen Edwards – July 17
30. Queen of Hearts by F*cked Up – July 17
31. Vowels = Space and Time by Grimes – July 17
32. Hoshi Neko by Yamantaka // Sonic Titan – July 17
33. Chit Chat by Hannah Georgas – July 24
34. All My Friends by Lindi Ortega – July 24
35. Life on Earth by Dala – July 24
36. Quelque Part by Caracol – July 24
37. Florentine by Cinderpop – July 31
38. Edmonton By The Rural Alberta Advantage – July 31
39. I Don’t Know by The Sheepdogs – July 31
40. Scar That Never Heals by Jeremy Fisher – July 31
41. I’m Just Me by Diamond Rings – August 7
42. What Do You Wanna Do? by Louise Burns – August 7
43. When I Write My Master’s Thesis by John K. Samson – August 7
44. Favourite Kisses by Henri Faberge and the Adorables – August 7
45. Ontario by Will Currie and the Country French – August 14
46. Hallelujah Halifax! by Audio/Rocketry – August 14
47. West Simcoe County by Dinner Belles – August 14
48. I Drove the Coquihalla by Chixdiggit! – August 14
49. Waikiki by Belle Plaine – August 28
50. The Discocalypse by Tupper Ware Remix Party – August 28

Kergin will hit you with another phatty playlist on Thursday. After that, we hope to be hearing you listening to us on the airwaves back in Kamloops on X 92.5FM!

Cheers to the few remaining days of summer! Make the most of ’em!

-T

Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #19

I love getting awesome numbers. 19 is great for a number of reasons, primarily because it was worn by both Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman.

I have hockey on the brain.

We’re almost at 20 playlists and I thought it would be good to give you a taste of my taste in music. Up to this point, my selections have been largely influenced by various resources and areas within the Canadian indie scene. As happens naturally when you immerse yourself in music the way I do, you eventually get attached to some of the new things that make their way through your airwaves. This time around, I’m going to give you a listen of some of my favorite Canadian indie acts featuring female vocals.

When I took to writing this summer blog with Kergin, I was learning (albeit just earlier than you) about a lot of the bands that I was subsequently informing you about. Now some of them have made it into a regular rotation of my own.

It’s nice when that sort of thing happens.

MUSIC IS NICE TOO!

1. The Choke by AUSTRA – this act is quickly becoming one of my favorite Canadian indie groups. Upon initially discovering them when they were scheduled to play a show in Kamloops earlier this year, I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt. I found them to be somewhat airy and a echoey; a little bit too out there for my liking. But as I listened more and more to their work, I fell more and more in love. Disappointingly, AUSTRA was stranded on their bus in the middle of the Coquihalla Highway on the night they were supposed to play Kamloops, and so I never got the privilege of seeing them. One day.
2. Change by Hey Ocean! – I would say it probably happened in the past six months or so, but I have recently discovered this inexplicable fascination with female vocalists. If I think way back, I’m pretty sure it started around the time I broke up with my girlfriend. Perhaps the lack of a consistent female presence in my life pushed me to fill the void with the sound of a beautiful female voice? Only god knows. Either way, Hey Ocean! is one of my new favorites. Like Mother Mother? Then check out Hey Ocean! Change is a recent addition to their CBC Music library, only having 33 plays as I write this.
3. Revenge by Emm Gryner – Chances are you have never heard of Emm Gryner. And that is a real shame because she has released a whopping 13 albums! Recording since the early 1990s, Gryner calls St. Mary’s, Ont., home and runs her own record label, Dead Daisy Records, which is she also signed on to.
4. Quelque Part by Caracol – I first discovered Caracol when her record arrived at my student newspaper office earlier this year. I decided to give it a listen and pen a review for the paper. Why not? I’m glad I did. Caracol is pretty fantastic. In a somewhat unrelated note, I was published for the first time in French this week. Interestingly enough, I am now published in more languages than I speak, which I think is a pretty cool accomplishment. It’s too bad I’m not much of a worldly citizen and only speak English though… Anyways, Caracol is French and I thought that fit nicely for many reason.
5. Towers by Amy Millan – Millan actually reminds me a lot of Caracol. A folky blues sound that soothes the ears and leaves the listener at peace. Totally chill.
6. Run by Kathleen Edwards – featured on my last edition of Threat Shark due to her nomination for the Polaris Music Award, I feel like nothing else needs to be said about Kathleen Edwards. She is just all-around amazing.
7. Enemies by Hannah Georgas – here is a new artist that I have yet to feature on Threat Shark. Hannah Georgas is from Toronto, but based out of Vancouver. Best of both worlds, I guess? She is a Juno Award nominee and this song, in particular, really hits home with me. Don’t worry audience, you aren’t my enemy. Someone else is. Well, even that is a stretch because I don’t like to keep “enemies” so to speak.
8. All My Friends by Lindi Ortega – a great blend of poppy alternative country, Lindsi Ortega hails from Toronto. She claims to be a cowgirl, not something typical of most Toronto girls, but being from Calgary, I guess I can give her a break. It certainly doesn’t hurt that she has a phenomenal voice.
9. Open Book by Steph Macpherson – this Victoria native found the second thing that leaves me helpless – an awesome piano track. Brendan Kergin, here is a little Victoria folk singer-songwriter for ya!
10. Life on Earth by Dala – winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Dala has also been nominated for a Juno Award. Toronto is home to the female duo that names The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan among their greatest influences.

Kergin will be back with our DOUBLE DECADE post on Thursday! I know that doesn’t make sense and is entirely inaccurate, but I like it.

-T

Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #5

You thought I forgot about you, didn’t you?

I would never do that…

No…

Ok…

So, maybe I almost forgot… a little bit. BUT! That’s only because I was super prepared and already had my playlist ready to rock days ago!

Think you can forgive me? I know I forgive me.

On to the music.

CLICK HERE FOR MUSIC!

1. The Sheriff by The Strumbellas – Let’s start with something fun, shall we? When I’m feeling blue, I like to find an upbeat tune to bounce along to. That is exactly what The Sheriff is. If you can’t find a little bit of enjoyment in this track, then you’re just crazy. My apparent Toronto influence continues as the so-called “Centre of the Universe” is where The Strumbellas call home. But that’s ok, I’ll forgive them because this song makes me happy.
2. Illusions by Corey Isenor – You’ve caught me. I try my best not to double-up on an artist one week after the other. Fortunately, Corey Isenor rocked my musical world so hard last week that I simply couldn’t not include him on my playlist list week. He’s still from Halifax and he is still just as awesome.
3. Sunday Night by Teapot Hill – This song comes two nights too late, but I’ve always said, “better late than never.” Vancouver has been pumping out jammin’ indie rock bands one after the other over the past few years and Teapot Hill falls right there with the likes of Said the Whale, Hey Ocean! and others. A little more folky than the aforementioned, but still groovy, Teapot Hill is definitely a band I will be adding to my library. Sunday Night can be found on the band’s latest release, Night Night Rock.
4. Hondo by Beta Frontiers ft. Becky Ninkovic – Beta Frontiers hail from Toronto. I’ll admit that as of late I have found myself much more into the disco/electro/synth pop that this group, among others, embodies. That being said, I think it is the seductive vocals of Becky Ninkovic that really draw me in on this track. Hondo appears on the group’s most recent EP, released in April 2012.
5. Little Poems by Rah Rah – It feels as though it’s been an extremely long time since I found something out of Saskatchewan that I like… I KID! I love Saskatchewan! But it has been a long time since I found music out of Saskatchewan that really…struck a chord with me. Rah Rah can be credited with being the first band in a long time to do that. Right out of the heart of Saskabush, Rah Rah comes from beautiful Regina (I’m assuming it’s beautiful, I’ve never actually been). They’re not going to wow you with flashing lights or fancy bells and whistles. They’re just a great alt. rock band that combines soothing female vocals with a bluesy male presence and folk twang.
6. Post-War Blues by Dan Mangan – So, this might be two strikes for me. I repeated an artist TWICE within two weeks. Not good, but that just goes to show you how awesome I think these two guys are. Last week I thought that How Darwinian was awesome. Then I heard Post-War Blues and discovered that it was even more…awesomer. The moral of the story is: be awesome and listen to Dan Mangan because he awesome and if you listen to him then you can be awesome too.
7. Adieu by Coeur de pirate – I have a bad tendency of routinely butchering the French language. It isn’t because I hold anything against the French. I really have nothing against the French. If anything, I wish I could speak French. I actually think that my slaughtering of the language is more a mockery of myself and my inability to speak it, despite my (half-hearted and not great) efforts. Regardless of all that, I have a new-found love for French-Canadian indie pop. It started with Caracol and has since moved on to Coeur de pirate, a French-Canadian singer-songwriter from Montreal. Seriously though, she has a beautiful voice. When I listen to Adieu, I can picture myself in a 1930s film noir.
8. It by Rich Aucoin – Back to Halifax we go. I will forgive Rich Aucoin for being possibly the most hipster dude to ever come out of Halifax simply because this song is pretty damn awesome. I really can’t say much else because one look at this guy and one read of his biography on CBC Music resulted in me saying, “pfffttttt.” Appreciate the song for what it is. I don’t buy the guy’s image though. Thankfully my ears don’t have to see him in all his painful hipster glory.
9. Ciao Monday by Emm Gryner – No Italian jokes. Ok, glad we got that out of the way. So, I want to start by saying that I was immediately drawn to this song because the common Italian greeting “ciao” was contained within the title. Then I started listening to the actual track. It sort of reminds me of Friday, I’m in Love by The Cure in the sense that it is this really fun and upbeat track about a day of the week. The only difference is that it falls at the opposite end of the week and rather than being in love, it’s about being done with Monday! I’m in love. Did I mention that Emm Gryner also happens to be drop-dead gorgeous? Did I already say that I’m in love?
10. If I Get Old by Elliott Brood – This song is really hitting home with me right now… mostly because I just turned 24 and feel older than I ever wanted to be. In fact, I want to go back to the good ol’ days when I used to play street hockey in an old parking lot, only stopping to eat a peanut butter ‘n’ jelly sandwich on the curbside. Elliott Brood comes from the same hometown as one of my other favorite Canadian bands, the Arkells.

Woo! We made it to the end! I bet you’re glad to be done with all of my ramblings. I tried to freshen things up this week and rather than talk about the boring old usual “this band is from X city and plays Y type of music while reminding me of Z band,” I tried to give you a little insight into why I choose the music I choose.

Hope you enjoyed the music! Check us out on Thursday for Kergin’s latest!

Ciao…Tuesday!

-T

Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #3

Tres ball! Ice tres! Tres bien!

Ok, so maybe languages aren’t my strong suit, but you get the picture. I hope.

In case you haven’t already figured it out, this marks the second week and third edition of the Threat Shark Summer Playlist series.

Unlike Brendan, I’m staying away from the themed playlists for now. Usually I am pro-theme, but this time around, I don’t want to limit myself or the music.

This week, I’ve got a great variety of tunes for you. From Vancouver to Nova Scotia, we’ll hear from one of my favourite bands and some other artists that just might become your new favourites!

Welcome to Threat Shark Summer – Playlist #3!

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE MUSIC!

1. Grab Me by the Lapel by The North Lakes – Hailing from the Atlantic coast of Canada, The North Lakes call Charlottetown, P.E.I. When I first heard this track, I was instantly reminded of Foxboro Hot Tubs, a 1960s-influenced rock ‘n’ roll side project of Green Day. Grab Me by the Lapel comes from The North Lakes’ Music PEI-award winning album, Grand Prix.
2. The Night by Lioness – Another of the up-and-coming indie-alt. rock bands from Toronto, Lioness features the deep and energetic vocals of Vanessa Fischer. With a catchy guitar track and upbeat sound, Lioness has been garnering attention in the industry, having recently toured with acts like k-Os, You Say Party and The Cult. The Night can be found off of Lioness’s album, The Golden Killer.
3. Strange Film by Caracol – Earlier this year I reviewed Caracol’s latest album, Blanc Mercredi, for TRU’s Omega. Unfortunately the review isn’t on the web. That being said, Caracol’s soulful folk vocals and overall pop sound are very pleasing to the ear. Blending a few French and English language tracks, the Montreal-based Caracol is a fantastic representation of what Canada has to offer with its unique indie music scene.
4. Turn Around by Eight and a Half – Eight and a Half is an interesting and intriguing indie group. To a certain extent, you might even consider it a Canadian indie-super group. Featuring Justin Peroff of Broken Social Scene and Dave Hamelin and Liam O’Neil, both of The Stills, this group calls Toronto home. Eight and a Half is not considered a side project for the band members, rather they say they approach it as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. Turn Around can be found on the group’s debut self-titled album.
5. How Darwinian by Dan Mangan – After spending our first four songs in Canada’s eastern region, we jump back to the beautiful west coast and Vancouver, the home of Dan Mangan. This Canadian folk songster lists his influences as including Radiohead, Wilco and Bon Iver, just to name a few. Mangan won an iTunes Album of the Year Award for his 2010 album Nice, Nice, Very Nice. How Darwinian can be found on his latest album, Oh Fortune.
6. Drain the Blood by The Rural Alberta Advantage – We stay out west for this next track, well, sort of. The Rural Alberta Advantage (The RAA) technically works out of Toronto, but the band members all originate from the golden prairies of Alberta. Upon listening to the indie rock ballads of The RAA, the Alberta influence rings loud and clear to anyone within earshot. Drain the Blood comes from The RAA’s 2009 album, Hometowns.
7. Darling, Darling, Darling by Cory Isenor – Sticking with the overarching and somewhat existent folk theme of this week, Cory Isenor is a folk singer-songwriter from Halifax, N.S. And if you ask me, Isenor is a man who doesn’t get nearly the recognition that he should. He’s toured with the aforementioned RAA, Said the Whale and Two Hours Traffic. Darling, Darling, Darling is an emotional track about the ending of a relationship and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t pull on your heart strings, even if just a bit. It can be found on Isenor’s 2011 release, The Hunting Party.
8. Sentimental/Oriental by Boxer the Horse – The fact that we are back in Charlottetown, P.E.I. for the second time this week amazes me. Until we started this little Threat Shark summer foray into Canadian indie music, I didn’t realize that the Maritimes had such a rockin’ indie scene! In 2010, Boxer the Horse received the CBC Radio 3 Bucky Award for Best New Band. Sentimental/Oriental comes from the band’s latest album, French Residency, released in March 2012.
9. No Common Ground by Gabrielle Papillon – When this track first found my ears via the CBC Music airwaves, at first I thought I was listening to a Caracol track. I was shocked to discover that I was listening to a different singer-songwriter, this one originally from New Glasgow, N.S., by the name of Gabrielle Papillon. With a very similar acoustic folk sound and deep soulful vocals, Papillon soothes the listener. No Common Ground can be found on her 2011 album, The Currency of Poetry.
10. I’d Raise My Hand by The Schomberg Fair – We spent most of this ten track trek listening to some relatively chill folk tracks. I figured I needed to kick it up a notch to close things out. The Schomberg Fair calls Toronto home and the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan as influences. This gritty track features elements of Audioslave’s heavy sound as well as backing vocals provided by gospel singers, making for quite the juxtaposition.

Thanks again for listening to Threat Shark Summer. I hope you’ve discovered some new Canadian talent that you enjoy. Share the love! If you liked the tracks, pass ’em on to your friends, family and pets! Music is meant to be shared, so do the world a favour and pass this along.

Tune in on Thursday for ten more tracks courtesy of Captain Victoria, Mr. Brendan Kergin! Cheers! – Taylor Rocca