For the records

The Tragically Hip - In A World Possessed By The Human Mind

2026-07-12T14:46:56.161-04:00

Just obsesseed with this song right now. Released back in April 2016 as the first single from the Hip's 13th and final album "Man Machine Poem", produced by Kevin Drew and Dave Hamelin. I feel I need to do a deep dive in to the Hip's albums, but this song somehow randomly entered into my consciousness recently and it is a gem.

And wow it's been 10 years since that final tour [a little over year later, Gord would pass away].

Marking the ten-year anniversary of that tour, there is news of an upcoming release of a live album featuring live cuts from performances from that tour and the Hip's farewell concert in their hometown of Kingston, ON.

Official Site: The Tragically Hip

The Linda Lindas - Burning Out

2026-06-28T15:48:29.317-04:00

Official Site: The Linda Lindas

Weezer [featuring Wednesday[ - We Might as Well Be Strangers

2026-06-07T12:50:16.331-04:00

Official Site: Weezer
Official Site: Wednesday

Tricky - Out of Place

2026-04-26T19:38:00.000-04:00

New Tricky!

Official Site: Tricky

Long Live Love

2026-02-07T23:12:00.002-05:00

Official Site: Sugar

Christmas Time Is Here

2025-12-20T23:04:00.000-05:00

Official Site:Khruangbin

Geese - Taxes

2025-12-13T18:04:00.002-05:00

Official Site: Geese

Love Takes Miles

2025-12-13T17:59:00.004-05:00

Official Site: Cameron Winter

Green Day - Dilemma

2024-03-10T12:31:00.001-04:00

I think I was fooling myself thinking I'd keeping any sort of consistency with posting but here were are in March 2024.

I love Green Day's new song and I was never a huge Green Day fan to begin with.

From their new album "Saviors", the song is big on melody and loud gutiar, bass guitar and drums, delving into minor-chord 50's tinged territory, but sticking to their guns with it's punky chorus.

Official Website | Green Day
Purchase | Green Day - "Saviors"

AC/DC - Mistress for Christmas

2023-12-23T21:55:00.004-05:00

How had I not heard this song until last week?

Official Website | AC/DC

Ladytron - All Over By Xmas

2023-12-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

Should I just consider posting Christmas songs for the rest of the month? Even if I don't, let's at least post this lovely seasonal one by Ladytron. Recent Ladytron news over at Under The Radar. Their most recent album, their 7th, was "Time's Arrow", released at the beginning of 2023.

Official Website | Ladytron
Purchase: Ladytron - "Time's Arrow"

Pulp - Background Noise [new song]

2023-12-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

Last month, Pulp introduced a new song to their recent live set, entitled "Background Noise". Deets at NME.

Feels like 1995 again. And a classic-sounding Pulp song at that.

Official Website | Pulp
Purchase: Pulp - "Hits"

Shane MacGowan, R.I.P.

2023-11-30T22:45:00.002-05:00

It is with deep sadness to read the news first thing this morning about the passing of Irish musician and and The Pogues frontman, Shane MacGowan. With the passing earlier this year of Sinead O'Connor, this has been a sad year for Irish popular music.

As an Asian-Canadian teenager growing up in the late 80's, Celtic music was as far removed from my musical tastes as could be given my affinity for British alternative bands like The Smiths, The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, and New Order at the time, but The Pogues managed to gain a foothold into my music listening. The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" (included on their 1987 album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God") ranks as one of my favourite songs of all time, and the fact that Shane has passed away just as the Christmas season has begun, will make listening to this song during the Christmas season, bittersweet for years to come.

Official Website | Shane MacGowan
Official Website | The Pogues
Purchase: The Pogues - "If I Shall Fall From Grace With God"

MGMT - Mother Nature

2023-11-08T15:22:00.001-05:00

This is hitting pretty good right now on this gloomy, rainy day. Sombre but also very hopeful sounding. MGMT's new album "Loss of Life" is being released February 24, 2024. You can pre-order the new album through their website. Pitchfork has all the deets.

Official Website | MGMT

BADBADNOTGOOD & Charlotte Day Wilson - Sleeper

2023-11-07T20:48:00.000-05:00

New sultry, airy, soulful tune from Toronto's BADBADNOTGOOD and Charlotte Day Wilson. Deets at Pitchfork.

Official Website | BADBADNOTGOOD
Official Website | Charlotte Day Wilson

Feist: Hiding Out In The Open | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

2023-11-06T20:41:00.006-05:00

Official Website | Feist
Purchase: Feist - "Multitudes"

I Saw The Light

2023-10-14T11:52:00.001-04:00

I am still in awe of discovering good songs I've never heard before which just confirms that as much as I thought I knew about music, there is so much I don't know. Terry Hall's rendition of the Todd Rundgren classic "I Saw The Light" was a song I discovered randomly off YouTube after Hall's passing (R.I.P) in late 2022, incorporating an easy listening, romantic vibe with the most delectable Bacharach-esque pop melody. The song was featured on Hall's 1997 album, 'Laugh'. To be honest, I don't think I'd ever even listened to Todd Rundgren.

Instagram | Terry Hall
Official Website | Todd Rundgren
Purchase: Terry Hall - "Laugh"
Purchase: Todd Rundgren - Greatest Hits

Choir! Choir! Choir! + Feist sing for Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2U

2023-10-13T15:09:00.004-04:00

Covers, are covers, some good and some downright terrible. But this is impeccable. Leslie Feist's time seems to be split between living in L.A and Toronto and there's a covert nature to her that you never hear about her unless she's ramping up for new music or a tour. I mean, she did did play a hometown gig in Toronto this past May, so good on her, but she seems content with motherhood to her daughter Tihui, and that's quite alright with me. So it is quite the treat to know of Feist's continued connection to Toronto and her contribution to the Sinead O'Connor tribute show on July 29, 2023 at The Opera House in Toronto - and done as a fundraiser for CAMH.

From the video details on Youtube:
"Upon hearing the tragic news of her passing, we worked quickly to present a night in Sinéad’s honour at Toronto’s Opera House. It sold out quickly. Forty-minutes before show time, our friend, Leslie Feist, texted us to say that she was on her way to join us to sing lead on Nothing Compares 2 U, a Prince-penned song that Sinéad made uniquely her own. What followed this sequence of events was nothing short of magical."

Official Website | Feist
Official Website | Sinead O'Connor
Official Website | Prince

The Chemical Brothers featuring Beck - "Skipping Like A Stone"

2023-10-02T20:00:00.002-04:00

The new Chemical Brothers' song featuring Beck on lead vocals, has been growing on me - setting aside their signature big-beat sonics for a more toned-down, yet still upbeat, electro-pop sound. From their newest album "For That Beautiful Feeling", their first in four years, released last month .

Offical Website | The Chemical Brothers
Purchase: The Chemical Brothers - "For That Beautiful Feeling"

The Breeders - Go Man Go

2023-10-01T14:57:00.002-04:00

Hadn't caught this song or seen this video until now, although it was released back in late June. What a timewarp back to the 90's. New video (featuring the classic lineup of the band) to go with a previously unreleased track by The Breeders, included on the 30th anniversary reissue of "Last Splash". Deets at Stereogum.

The Breeders | Official Website
Purchase: The Breeders - Last Splash: 30th Anniversary - 2LP's with Colored Vinyl 12-Inch

The Breeders - "Divine Mascis"

2023-09-21T09:59:00.004-04:00

Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis takes the reins on vocals on this previously unreleased version of The Breeders' "Divine Hammer" (cheekily entitled "Divine Mascis") which will be included as part of the 30th anniversary reissue of The Breeeders' album "Last Splash". Pitchfork has all the deets. Love this. J, himself, is currently on tour into the new year, for select US, UK, and European dates, celebrating the 30th anniversary of his Dinosaur Jr. album "Where You Been" while The Breeders are also starting their tour today(!) for select US dates through to next summer, including dates opening for Olivia Rodrigo.

The Breeders | Official Website
Purchase: The Breeders - Last Splash: 30th Anniversary - 2LP's with Colored Vinyl 12-Inch (released Sept 29, 2023)
Purchase: Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been (Deluxe Expanded Edition/Double Gatefold/Blue Vinyl)

Fazerdaze - Bigger

2023-09-19T22:23:00.004-04:00

I can't pinpoint when I came across New Zealand artist Fazerdaze - I think it was during the pandemic that I may have come across her on YouTube. Born Amelia Rahayu Murray, Wikipedia describes her as " .. known for creating music that blends dreamy pop elements with grungy shoegaze influences", a more than apropos description for Fazerdaze's newest song "Bigger". Amidst the melody and Murray's dreamy vocals, is a slow, churning grungy guitar riff with some occasional spoken-word verses and interesting keyboard contributions, whirring at times, with a nice, unexpected piano break 3/4 of the way into the song. Murray only turned 30 years of age this past January and it is interesting to note that she had taken a 5-year break, due to burnout, between her debut album "Morningside" released through Flying Nun in 2017 and her return in 2022 with her EP "Break". So she doesn't have a tonne of music so far, but what I've heard so far is a fine addition to New Zealand and Flying Nun's terrific pop music catalogue. No word yet on a new album, so in the meantime, delve into her music on YouTube.

Fazerdaze | Official Website
Purchase: Fazerdaze - "Morningside"
Purchase: Fazerdaze - "Break" EP

Broken Social Scene - Looks Just Like The Sun

2023-09-17T14:36:00.003-04:00

Toronto stalwarts, Broken Social Scene returned to Hamilton to play Supercrawl [setlist] this past Friday Sept 8. It's been over a decade since I saw them live and the last time was also at Supercrawl in 2011 when the band was embarking on a hiatus from playing live, at least locally. While the band returned to active duty in 2013 that coincided with my departure from blogging and my sort of disconnect with music over all. I set aside, even listening to music, to focus on other life priorities. But being over a decader older, and wiser, and with a few life goals achieved, I'm reconnecting to music again, even if it's sometimes nostalgic. I have no effort to review the show, but would like to add a few comments - BSS are as musically tight and proficient as ever (my God, Andrew Whitemen's guitar-picked tones on "Meet Me in The Basement" are glorious); the addition of Kevin Drew's song "Out In The Fields" (from his upcoming new solo effort "Aging" in tribute to the passing of Kevin's mother was nice, with vocals being performed by Dwayne Gretzky vocalists Jill Harris [a current BSS member] and I believe Tyler Kyte. Broken Social Scene live shows were meant for end-of-summer celebrations and when Andrew Whiteman took a turn on vocals for their song "Looks Just Like The Sun", it was dream-like brilliance.

Broken Social Scene - "Looks Just Like The Sun"
(from the album "You Forgot It In People")

From the information posted at the YouTube page:

Sameer Cash captured our July 2023 shows in Yellowknife and Whithorse in glorious 8mm. The footage was edited to “Looks Just Like The Sun” by Colin Medley. Please consider donating to the northern communities that have been affected by the devastating wildfires this summer:

https://tinyurl.com/Super8relief

Broken Social Scene | Official Website
Purchase: Broken Social Scene - "You Forgot It In People"

Kevin Drew - Out In The Fields

2023-09-04T22:05:00.002-04:00

All the deets over at Pitchfork with regards to Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew's upcoming new album "Aging".

Ahead of thew new album, Kevin has released a couple of new tunes to sample below - "Out In The Fields", a vibrant, melodic song sounding a bit like a stripped down BSS, and the melancholy, introspective piano gaze of "Party Oven".

Broken Social Scene play Hamilton, ON's Supercrawl and will headline the TD Stage on Friday September 8.

Kevin Drew - "Out In The Fields"

Kevin Drew - "Party Oven"

Kevin Drew | Official Website
Purchase: Kevin Drew - "Aging" (cd//vinyl out September 22, 2023)

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait

2023-08-27T20:05:00.002-04:00

Back in the 80's as pre-teen and teen, the public library system was my introduction to a lot of music and bands I wouldn't have heard otherwise and one of those band's was The Replacements and specifically their album "Tim". Not knowing their Mineaopolis, or Twin Tone / punk roots, I took The Replacements at face value as a terrific, major-label rock band. Had I been less of an Anglophile-centric music listener at the time (having been a fan of The Smith, The Cure, New Order, etc) I'd have probably dug The Replacements a lot more. As music videos rose to prominence in the 80's, it was a hoot to see the band release the same video for "Bastards of Young" and "Left of the Dial" as a fuck-you to the record company. But I was barely acquainted with the band even through to the late 80's as well as when the band broke up in the summer of 1991. I can't pinpoint when I started to reacquaint myself with the band (maybe the late 90's, or possibly early 2000's) but I was interested and fortunate enough to see them live when they played Riot Fest in Toronto in August 2013. Stereogum has all the deets on the upcoming box-set reissue of "Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)" being released September 22 through Rhino Records, which will include a number of bonus tracks including a previously unreleased cello version of "Can't Hardly Wait" as well as a newly remastered version of "Left of The Dial" amongst other unreleased recordings:

via Stereogum

via Stereogum

The Replacements | Official Website
Purchase: The Replacements - "Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)"