This week’s selections were influenced by my trip over New Year’s to party in Manchester to ring in 2007. Acquired about 40 CDs of smashing new hits: these are a sample of what’s to come in a promising musical year.

1. “Purple Prose” — Mystery Jets (MAKING DENS / 679 Recordings)
2. “Annie, Let’s Not Wait” — Guillemots (THROUGH THE WINDOWPANE / Polydor)
3. “So This Is Great Britain?” — Holloways (SO THIS IS GREAT BRITAIN? / TVT Records)
4. “War of the Worlds” — Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly (THE CHRONICLES OF A BOHEMIAN TEENAGER / Atlantic)
5. “Low Happening” — Howling Bells (HOWLING BELLS / Bella Union)
6. “Kingdom of Doom” — The Good, the Bad & the Queen (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN / Parlophone)
7. “Let’s Get Out of this Country” — Camera Obscura (LET’S GET OUT OF THIS COUNTRY / Merge)
8. “Starz in Their Eyes” — Just Jack (OVERTONES / Mercury)
9. “Sexy in Latin” — Little Man Tate (ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW / V2)
10. "Fa-Fa-Fa” — Datarock (DATAROCK / Yap)
11. “Death at the Chapel” — The Horrors (STOLEN TRANSMISSION / Loog)
12. “Recover” — The Automatic (NOT ACCEPTED ANYWHERE / Polydor)

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Besides being a very cool indie rock record label, Chicago-based Smog Veil Records have recently unveiled their plans for a very cool green headquarters. "I really want to be an example of sustainability in our business," Smog Veil Records owner Frank Mauceri recently told a Chicago Tribune reporter (feature ran October 16, 2006). According to a recent press release:

Smog Veil Records will unveil the all green, all sustainable building they have been working on since 2006 in July of this year. The building features a revolutionary design for a green roof with power-generating wind turbines. In order to implement the design Mauceri had to get the City of Chicago to pass an ordinance allowing such a structure on the roof. With the use of sustainable construction, the building is designed with numerous eco-friendly features. This live-work space will be the centerpiece of the company’s efforts to be greener. The building is designed so that about 40 to 45 percent of the structure¹s electrical needs will be wind and solar generated. The building may in fact end up selling electricity back to the cities power grid if these numbers are exceeded. The structure’s Green Strategies include 80% recycling of demolished materials; three Wind Turbines and 30 solar panels on roof; Geothermal Heating and Cooling; Terrazzo floor containing recycled glass and owner supplied (Smog Veil) vinyl albums. The building has been selected to be one of the City of Chicago¹s Green Building Case Studies by the City of Chicago Green Permit Program.

Very cool and similar to efforts that labels such as SubPop are pursuing. Once again the indies are leading the way!

Later.

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To celebrate the U.S. release of Sloan’s “Never Hear the End of It” on Yep Roc they have started a 30 Days of Sloan video Podcast on YouTube that started January 30th, 2007. You can view the podcast at the following links:

Podcast: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=213783808

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/group/30daysofsloan (Group)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiknjOWO0M8 (Video of the Day)

Sloan will also be appearing at SXSW during the Yep Roc Showcase on March 16th at The Dirty Dog and March 17th at the Chunklet Magazine Party.

Check them out. A great Canadian band.

Later.

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To celebrate the U.S. release of Sloan’s "Never Hear the End of It" on Yep Roc they have started a 30 Days of Sloan video Podcast on YouTube that started January 30th, 2007. You can view the podcast at the following links:

Podcast: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=213783808

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/group/30daysofsloan (Group)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiknjOWO0M8 (Video of the Day)

Sloan will also be appearing at SXSW during the Yep Roc Showcase on March 16th at The Dirty Dog and March 17th at the Chunklet Magazine Party.

Check them out. A great Canadian band.

Later.

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Always a favourite of mine, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be releasing their follow-up to 2005’s “Howl” on May 1st, 2007. Called “Baby 81″ the full track listing is as follows (courtesy of Aversion):

Took Out a Loan
Berlin
Weapon of Choice
Window
Cold Mind
It’s Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
All You Do Is Talk
Lien on Your Dreams
Need Some Air
Killing the Light
American X
Am I Only

Later.

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Always a favourite of mine, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be releasing their follow-up to 2005’s "Howl" on May 1st, 2007. Called "Baby 81" the full track listing is as follows (courtesy of Aversion):

Took Out a Loan
Berlin
Weapon of Choice
Window
Cold Mind
It’s Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
All You Do Is Talk
Lien on Your Dreams
Need Some Air
Killing the Light
American X
Am I Only

Later.

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(Press Release) James Blunt, The Kaiser Chiefs, Editors, The Darkness, Jamie Cullum and KT Tunstall are among the internationally successful British recording artists that have been introduced to the United States through British Music at SxSW showcases in recent years.

The heritage continues at this years SxSW with a new look, feel and creative concept plus an increase in official networking events and parties to enable UK acts and delegates to make the most of the event.

The UK will be presenting four separate receptions under the British Music at SxSW umbrella as well as nations and regions parties and showcases from Wales, Scotland and the regions of England, plus showcases from British music brands such as BBC Radio and NME. The official UK artist line-ups will be released in on February 12th.

This year’s event is branded with The Duke, a character created by renowned British DC Comics graphic artist Jock (Batman, The Losers, Judge Dread). The Duke will be seen on the SxSW delegate bag and in the trade show hall marking a new bespoke stand for British delegates and their guests.

(more…)

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(Straight from the always entertaining and informative Audities list)

113 ballots this year, which is more than last year, and a mix of old faves and few new bands make for a nifty list. Without further ado (with point totals beside each entry):

1. The Nines – Calling Distance Stations (536)
2. Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – Land Of Pure Imagination (455)
3. L.E.O. – Alpacas Orgling (431)
4. The Feeling – Twelve Stops And Home (365)
5. The Format – Dog Problems (356)
6. Cheap Trick – Rockford (348)
7. Chris Brown – Now That You’re Fed (344)
8. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Under The Covers, Vol. 1 (323)
9. Pernice Brothers – Live A Little (313)
10. Jon Auer – Songs From The Year Of Our Demise (274)
11. Belle And Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (264)
12. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (242)
13. Bob Dylan – Modern Times (236)
14. Sloan – Never Hear The End Of It (212)
15. The Winnerys – Daily Urban Times (211)
16. Cloud Eleven – Sweet Happy Life (198)
17. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers (188)
18. Wisely – Parador (185)
19. Lindsey Buckingham – Under The Skin (179)
20. Josh Rouse – Subtitulo (178)

and the rest of the Top 50:

(more…)

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(Straight from the always entertaining and informative Audities list)

113 ballots this year, which is more than last year, and a mix of old faves and few new bands make for a nifty list. Without further ado (with point totals beside each entry):

1. The Nines – Calling Distance Stations (536)
2. Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – Land Of Pure Imagination (455)
3. L.E.O. – Alpacas Orgling (431)
4. The Feeling – Twelve Stops And Home (365)
5. The Format – Dog Problems (356)
6. Cheap Trick – Rockford (348)
7. Chris Brown – Now That You’re Fed (344)
8. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Under The Covers, Vol. 1 (323)
9. Pernice Brothers – Live A Little (313)
10. Jon Auer – Songs From The Year Of Our Demise (274)
11. Belle And Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (264)
12. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (242)
13. Bob Dylan – Modern Times (236)
14. Sloan – Never Hear The End Of It (212)
15. The Winnerys – Daily Urban Times (211)
16. Cloud Eleven – Sweet Happy Life (198)
17. The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers (188)
18. Wisely – Parador (185)
19. Lindsey Buckingham – Under The Skin (179)
20. Josh Rouse – Subtitulo (178)

and the rest of the Top 50:

(more…)

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Dirk Dirksen "The Pope of Punk" Memorial Auction on eBay sponsored by H.E.A.R.- Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers at http://www.hearnet.com/auction.html

San Francisco, CA January 26, 2007

Musicians and music fans who love the roots of PUNK will want to check out this eBay auction sponsored by H.E.A.R. Rare photos, posters, artwork, books, rare punk mags and vinyl from the Mabuhay Gardens and other important venues when Devo, Blondie, Dead Kennedys, Avengers, The Tubes, Ramones, SVT, Crime, Black Flag, Social Distortion, Vktms, The Contractions, Flipper, Mutants, Roky Erickson and others were baby bands circa 1977-1984. No telling what rare piece of PUNK history you will find.

Historic Punk bands, artists, photographers, friends and fans of the late Dirk Dirksen have gone into their personal rare roots PUNK collections to contribute to Dirk’s Memorial Auction on eBay.

New items are posted regularly. Here are just some of the rare collectibles you will find:

- Original Dead Kennedys artwork by Winston Smith "Winnebago Warrior" the illustration that accompanied song "Winnebago Warrior" on Dead Kennedys album "Plastic Surgery Disasters".
- Autographed Ramones poster circa 1979 donated by Prairie Prince of the Tubes.
- Autographed copy of the The Tubes’ "White Punk" on Dope" single.
- Original copy of the famous First Issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, featuring John Lennon on the cover.
- Original B/W art photograph of the Avengers band circa 1978 by Marcus Leatherdale handprinted in 1978 (aprox.11"x 14") and signed by Penelope Houston and Greg Ingraham. This is a very rare item.
- Original copy of the PUNK GLOBE w/ Dirk Dirksen on the cover.

Auction held during the month of January 2007.

Auction page: http://www.hearnet.com/auction.html For more information contact: Kathy Peck: mailto:hear@hearnet.com phone: 415-409-03277

We are excepting contributions for Dirk’s Memorial Fund and auction items. Send to : H.E.A.R. 1405 Lyon St. San Francisco, CA 94115.

For more info on Dirk Dirksen events and auction photos: Dirk¹s message online board: http://fuzzmonsterrecords.com/dirk/

About Dirk Dirksen: LA Times: Dirk Dirksen, 69, a punk music impresario who ran San Francisco’s Mabuhay Gardens "Fab Mab" nightclub during its heyday in the 1970s, died Monday November 20,2006 in his sleep. Considered the godfather of the city’s punk rock scene, Dirksen presented a who’s who of punk acts in his more than 10 years of running the club. Acts included the Dead Kennedys, the Mutants, Flipper, the Contractions, Mary Monday, Vktms, Nuns, Crime, Avengers, Devo, Blondie, the Ramones, Pearl Harbor, Black Flag and the Go-Go’s. After leaving the club business in the early 1980s, Dirksen operated a video production firm Dirksen Molloy Productions with partner Damon Molloy producing local TV shows " "Positive Spin and Comos San Francisco", as well as, music videos and documentaries. Dirksen was born in Braunschwig, Germany, in 1937. His family moved to Southern California after World War II and settled in Downey. Dirksen served in the Army and briefly attended San Jose State before dropping out to open a surfing business in Santa Cruz. He found his way into the entertainment business as a tour manager for Ray Charles, the Supremes and Iron Butterfly and worked as a TV producer for famous comedians, Red Skelton "Red Skelton Show" and "Rock to Stardom" with a young Lenny Bruce. Continuing a pattern of helping to break new ground in the arts, Dirksen also works closely with the San Francisco based "Unity Foundation","Recreation Center for the Handicap" and the "H.E.A.R. ­ Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers, Inc. "

About H.E.A.R. : The online eBay auction is managed by H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (http://www.hearnet.com/) a nonprofit dedicated to informing musicians and the public about the prevention of hearing impairment in the music environment and providing hearing services. The auction homepage is http://hearnet.com/auction.html

Source: 2007 Punmaster’s MusicWire  http://www.punmaster.com

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Robyn Hitchcock is without a doubt a genuine rock and roll character and I say this in the nicest possible way. From his days fronting the Soft Boys and the Egyptians he has always managed to embrace rock and roll’s history in a truly reverential yet slightly eccentric fashion, much to his credit I might add.

Olé! Tarantula sees Hitchcock return with yet another band, the Venus 3 which is essentially the Minus 5 minus two members but the results are again some incredibly finely crafted pop songcraft with lyrics that will have you scratching your head consistently throughout. There is no denying that sometimes he can be a bit…..obtuse in his approach to rock and roll but that only makes the end result so satisfying. Whether the soaring jangly Byrds-like pop of “Adventure Rocket Ship” or “Underground Sun” are more to your liking or you tend to side with the lilting country-tinged songs like the title track or “(A Man’s Gotta No His Limitations) Briggs” this album has enough variety to keep any aficionado of true pop songwriting coupled with meticulous production happy. For some reason I have always considered Robyn Hitchcock to be the rightful heir to Syd Barret and that is truly a supreme compliment in my book. A really enjoyable listen for me. It’s nice to see that Robyn is still mixing it up in the new millennium.

Later.

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Robyn Hitchcock is without a doubt a genuine rock and roll character and I say this in the nicest possible way. From his days fronting the Soft Boys and the Egyptians he has always managed to embrace rock and roll’s history in a truly reverential yet slightly eccentric fashion, much to his credit I might add.

Olé! Tarantula sees Hitchcock return with yet another band, the Venus 3 which is essentially the Minus 5 minus two members but the results are again some incredibly finely crafted pop songcraft with lyrics that will have you scratching your head consistently throughout. There is no denying that sometimes he can be a bit…..obtuse in his approach to rock and roll but that only makes the end result so satisfying. Whether the soaring jangly Byrds-like pop of "Adventure Rocket Ship" or "Underground Sun" are more to your liking or you tend to side with the lilting country-tinged songs like the title track or "(A Man’s Gotta No His Limitations) Briggs" this album has enough variety to keep any aficionado of true pop songwriting coupled with meticulous production happy. For some reason I have always considered Robyn Hitchcock to be the rightful heir to Syd Barret and that is truly a supreme compliment in my book. A really enjoyable listen for me. It’s nice to see that Robyn is still mixing it up in the new millennium.

Later.

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I have had the EP from Brighton, England based band Dollar-Sent in my posession for a couple of weeks now but hadn’t really had the chance to get to listen to it until last week. The perfect opportunity finally presented itself and man was it a revelation. I was stuck on the runway in a 737 during an ice storm in Toronto waiting for de-icing so I started writing about Lester Bangs on my laptop in the meantime. While sitting there I put on my iPod and started scrolling through my playlist and came across Dollar-Sent. As I sat there in this airplane tapping away furiously about Lester Bangs and the MC5, “Girl From St. Mary’s” came blaring over my headphones and I had to stop writing. With Chris Rizzanski sounding like Lemmy after a hard night of drinking, these guys blasted away like it was their only chance to blow people’s eardrums out. But the song that got to me was “Hey Yeah” which had such an effect that I immediately rearranged my playlist for my upcoming Rock and Roll Report Radio show to slot them in as the last song of the night.

Their EP is pretty cool and features six studio tracks and two live cuts (”Mess of Me and Girl From St. Mary’s”). While their brand of rock and roll is pretty heavy theyhave a great sense of melody amongst all that hard rock swagger. And there is substance behind all those Marshall stacks. Take a listen to the lyrics of “Hey Yeah” for proof (you can listen to it on The Rock and Roll Report’s MySpace page).

Great CD. Another keeper. Rock ‘n Fucking Roll indeed!

Later.

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I have had the EP from Brighton, England based band Dollar-Sent in my posession for a couple of weeks now but hadn’t really had the chance to get to listen to it until last week. The perfect opportunity finally presented itself and man was it a revelation. I was stuck on the runway in a 737 during an ice storm in Toronto waiting for de-icing so I started writing about Lester Bangs on my laptop in the meantime. While sitting there I put on my iPod and started scrolling through my playlist and came across Dollar-Sent. As I sat there in this airplane tapping away furiously about Lester Bangs and the MC5, “Girl From St. Mary’s” came blaring over my headphones and I had to stop writing. With Chris Rizzanski sounding like Lemmy after a hard night of drinking, these guys blasted away like it was their only chance to blow people’s eardrums out. But the song that got to me was “Hey Yeah” which had such an effect that I immediately rearranged my playlist for my upcoming Rock and Roll Report Radio show to slot them in as the last song of the night.

Their EP is pretty cool and features six studio tracks and two live cuts (”Mess of Me and Girl From St. Mary’s”). While their brand of rock and roll is pretty heavy theyhave a great sense of melody amongst all that hard rock swagger. And there is substance behind all those Marshall stacks. Take a listen to the lyrics of “Hey Yeah” for proof (you can listen to it on The Rock and Roll Report’s MySpace page).

Great CD. Another keeper. Rock ‘n Fucking Roll indeed!

Later.

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I have had the EP from Brighton, England based band Dollar-Sent in my posession for a couple of weeks now but hadn’t really had the chance to get to listen to it until last week. The perfect opportunity finally presented itself and man was it a revelation. I was stuck on the runway in a 737 during an ice storm in Toronto waiting for de-icing so I started writing about Lester Bangs on my laptop in the meantime. While sitting there I put on my iPod and started scrolling through my playlist and came across Dollar-Sent. As I sat there in this airplane tapping away furiously about Lester Bangs and the MC5, "Girl From St. Mary’s" came blaring over my headphones and I had to stop writing. With Chris Rizzanski sounding like Lemmy after a hard night of drinking, these guys blasted away like it was their only chance to blow people’s eardrums out. But the song that got to me was "Hey Yeah" which had such an effect that I immediately rearranged my playlist for my upcoming Rock and Roll Report Radio show to slot them in as the last song of the night.

Their EP is pretty cool and features six studio tracks and two live cuts ("Mess of Me and Girl From St. Mary’s"). While their brand of rock and roll is pretty heavy theyhave a great sense of melody amongst all that hard rock swagger. And there is substance behind all those Marshall stacks. Take a listen to the lyrics of "Hey Yeah" for proof (you can listen to it on The Rock and Roll Report’s MySpace page).

Great CD. Another keeper. Rock ‘n Fucking Roll indeed!

Later.

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The always entertaining Glorious Noise has put together a cool list of the Best Legal MP3s of 2006. Go ahead, download away. Won’t cost ya nothin’.

Later.

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The always entertaining Glorious Noise has put together a cool list of the Best Legal MP3s of 2006. Go ahead, download away. Won’t cost ya nothin’.

Later.

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As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the always amazing This is Rock and Roll Radio was going through a rough patch with Syracuse Community radio station WXXE FM with the end result being that they have split away from them and will be going web only in the near future. All the details of the webcast are still being ironed out but its nice to know that the "best 3 hours of rock and roll radio on the friggin’ planet" will live on and continue to show the rock and roll way. Dana and Carl have the passion for radio and rock and roll. Its so refreshing!

Later.

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David Bash knows his rock and roll. As a long time music journalist and the creative force behind the International Pop Overthrow festivals, he lives and breaths rock and roll. So every year I like to post his “Best of” list for the year because it is always a handy thing to have when trying to decide on which CDs to buy this week. Check it out and take notes. I interviewed David last year so if you are not aware of the man you can read the interview here.

Favorite Albums of 2006

Contemporary Categories

I. Top 100 Albums

1. Chris Brown-Now That You’re Fed (Self-Released)
2. The Nines-Calling Distance Stations (Self-Released
3. Mellowmen-Tomorrow’s Sound Today (Self-Released)
4. The Green And Yellow TV-Sinister Barrier (Records Records)
5. The Winnerys-Daily Urban Times (Rainbow Quartz)
6. Roger Manning-Solid State Warrior (Pony Canyon)
7. The Mayflowers-Pop A Doodle Doo? (Wizzard In Vinyl)
8. The Sexies-Midnight Raving Angels (Self-Released)
9. Nigel Clark-21st Century Man (Hijack)
10. The Anderson Council-The Fall Parade (Groove Disques)
11. The Junior League-Catchy (Self-Released)
12. Linus of Hollywood-Triangle (Franklin Castle)
13. Nelson Bragg-Day Into Night (Side B Music)
14. Marykate O’Neil-1-800-Bankrupt (Self-Released)
15. The Feeling-Twelve Stops and Home (Universal)
16. The Adored-A New Language (V2)
17. Evan Hillhouse-Evan Hillhouse (Striped Rock)
18. Blue Cartoon-September Songs (Aardvark)
19. The Capitol Years-Dance Away The Terror (Park The Van)
20. Household Names-Picture In My Head (Self-Released)
21. Monkeeman-Monkeeman (El Muto)
22. The Corner Laughers-Tomb of Leopards (Sandbox)
23. The Handcuffs-Model for a Revolution (OOFL)
24. The Now People-The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair (Bird Song)
25. The Skies of America-Shine (National Recorder)
26. Vanilla-Vanilla (Charlatan)
27. The Vinyl Skyway-From Telegraph Hill (Self-Released)
28. The Higher State-From ‘Round Here (Teen Sound)
29. Cheap Trick-Rockford (Big 3)
30. Shy Nobleman-Beautiful Life (Noble Tunes)
31. The Bees (U.S.)-High Society (Self –Released)
32. Feel-Steps To Reach A Human (West American)
33. Silver Sun-Dad’s Weird Dream (Excellent)
34. Ed James-…In The 21st Century (Jam)
35. The Lightyears-Mission Creep (Self-Released)
36. L.E.O.-Alpacas Orgling (Cheap Lullaby)
37. The Tearaways-Beat Yer Own Mersey (Fried)
38. Bowling for Soup-The Great Burrito Extortion Case (Zomba)
39. Beagle Hat-Magical Hat (Marquis Inc)
40. The Ronelles-Hotel (Neon Tetra)
41. Daniel Saturn-Lakehill Soccer Association (Self-Released)
42. Supraluxe-Supraluxe (Self-Released)
43. Deleted Waveform Gatherings-Complicated View (Big Dipper)
44. The Royal Purple-Transcendental Medication (Umbrella)
45. The Ladies & Gentlemen –Ladies and Gentlemen… (Self-Released)
46. The Martial Arts-Your Sinclair (Groover)
47. The Pipettes-We Are The Pipettes (Memphis Industries)
48. AlternativA-A Night in Starlight (Alternative Light)
49. Fresh Mowed Lawn-Fresh Mowed Lawn (Not Lame)
50. Semion-Help Me I Work In An Office (Self-Released)
51. Swims-Ride Of The Blueberry Winter (Prison Jazz)
52. Cloud 11-Sweet Happy Life (Kool Kat Musik)
53. The Oohs-Llama Lamp (Oohszone Layer Records)
54. Rainy Day Saints-Diamond Star Highway (Get Hip)
55. The Hazey Janes-Hotel Radio (Measured)
56. Peter Murray-Ants and Angels (Junction Triangle)
57. Stingray Green-Hard Numbers (Self-Released)
58. The Innocents-Pop Factory (Zip)
59. Solo-SoloPeople (Excelsior)
60. The Safes-Well Well Well (O’Brother’s)
61. Wisely-Parador (Not Lame)
62. The Silver Lining- Well-Dressed Blues (Self-Released)
63. The Scheme-Sunset on a Daydream (Sodapop)
64. The Wallstones-Pleasure and Pain (Mariann)
65. Caddy-Go Slow (Jasrac)
66. The Bellyachers-200 Lucky Feet Move The Dragon (Craftphonic)
67. Phamous Phaces-Spider Ball (Bink!)
68. Phil Angotti-East Side Soul (Jam)
69. The Naomi Star-Sunshine Girl (Pleides)
70. The Goldbergs-Hooks, Lines, & Sinkers (Self-Released)
71. The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau-What If It Works? (125)
72. Edmund’s Crown-Regrets of a Company Man (Self-Released)
73. Jaimie Vernon-Time Enough At Last (Bullseye)
74. Twinklehead-Twinklehead (Division)
75. Lolas-Doctor Apache (Wizzard In Vinyl)
76. Puffy AmiYumi-Splurge… (Tofu)
77. Drake Bell-It’s Only Time (Universal Motown)
78. The Men-Return (Self-Released)
79. Peter Berry & the Shake Set-Wildberry Shake! (Teen Sound)
80. The Sheers-Goodbye World (Self-Released)
81. The Sails-The Sails (Rainbow Quartz)
82. Marty Rudnick-More Songs About Cars And Girls (Sandbox)
83. Dog Age-Reefy Seadragon (Rainbow Quartz)
84. The Vinyltones-Memoirs of a Songbook (Self-Released)
85. PoP is ArT-Epiphany (Self-Released)
86. Magneto-Resistance Is Futile (Popboomerang)
87. The Alice Rose-Phonographic Memory (Self-Released)
88. Doug Powell-Four Seasons (Paisley Pop)
89. The Oranges-Teen Rock (Wizzard In Vinyl)
90. The Kickbacks-Motel Stars (Peeled Label)
91. Lane Steinberg-The Return of Noel Coward’s Ghost (Cheft)
92. Junebug-3rd (Planet
93. Andrea Perry-Rivers of Stars (Self-Released)
94. The Shake-Trippin’ The Whole Colourful World (Florynata)
95. Tom Petty-Highway Companion (American)
96. Leave-I’d Rather Not Say (Self-Released)
97. The Shut-Ups-The Stud Album (Self-Released)
98. The Stabilisers-Wanna Do The Wild Plastic Brane Love Thang? (Acid Jazz)
99. The Asteroid #4-An Amazing Dream (Rainbow Quartz)
100. DollSquad-The Rock ‘n’ Doll Sound Of…(Teen Sound)

(more…)

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David Bash knows his rock and roll. As a long time music journalist and the creative force behind the International Pop Overthrow festivals, he lives and breaths rock and roll. So every year I like to post his "Best of" list for the year because it is always a handy thing to have when trying to decide on which CDs to buy this week. Check it out and take notes. I interviewed David last year so if you are not aware of the man you can read the interview here.

Favorite Albums of 2006

Contemporary Categories

I. Top 100 Albums

1. Chris Brown-Now That You’re Fed (Self-Released)
2. The Nines-Calling Distance Stations (Self-Released
3. Mellowmen-Tomorrow’s Sound Today (Self-Released)
4. The Green And Yellow TV-Sinister Barrier (Records Records)
5. The Winnerys-Daily Urban Times (Rainbow Quartz)
6. Roger Manning-Solid State Warrior (Pony Canyon)
7. The Mayflowers-Pop A Doodle Doo? (Wizzard In Vinyl)
8. The Sexies-Midnight Raving Angels (Self-Released)
9. Nigel Clark-21st Century Man (Hijack)
10. The Anderson Council-The Fall Parade (Groove Disques)
11. The Junior League-Catchy (Self-Released)
12. Linus of Hollywood-Triangle (Franklin Castle)
13. Nelson Bragg-Day Into Night (Side B Music)
14. Marykate O’Neil-1-800-Bankrupt (Self-Released)
15. The Feeling-Twelve Stops and Home (Universal)
16. The Adored-A New Language (V2)
17. Evan Hillhouse-Evan Hillhouse (Striped Rock)
18. Blue Cartoon-September Songs (Aardvark)
19. The Capitol Years-Dance Away The Terror (Park The Van)
20. Household Names-Picture In My Head (Self-Released)
21. Monkeeman-Monkeeman (El Muto)
22. The Corner Laughers-Tomb of Leopards (Sandbox)
23. The Handcuffs-Model for a Revolution (OOFL)
24. The Now People-The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair (Bird Song)
25. The Skies of America-Shine (National Recorder)
26. Vanilla-Vanilla (Charlatan)
27. The Vinyl Skyway-From Telegraph Hill (Self-Released)
28. The Higher State-From ‘Round Here (Teen Sound)
29. Cheap Trick-Rockford (Big 3)
30. Shy Nobleman-Beautiful Life (Noble Tunes)
31. The Bees (U.S.)-High Society (Self –Released)
32. Feel-Steps To Reach A Human (West American)
33. Silver Sun-Dad’s Weird Dream (Excellent)
34. Ed James-…In The 21st Century (Jam)
35. The Lightyears-Mission Creep (Self-Released)
36. L.E.O.-Alpacas Orgling (Cheap Lullaby)
37. The Tearaways-Beat Yer Own Mersey (Fried)
38. Bowling for Soup-The Great Burrito Extortion Case (Zomba)
39. Beagle Hat-Magical Hat (Marquis Inc)
40. The Ronelles-Hotel (Neon Tetra)
41. Daniel Saturn-Lakehill Soccer Association (Self-Released)
42. Supraluxe-Supraluxe (Self-Released)
43. Deleted Waveform Gatherings-Complicated View (Big Dipper)
44. The Royal Purple-Transcendental Medication (Umbrella)
45. The Ladies & Gentlemen –Ladies and Gentlemen… (Self-Released)
46. The Martial Arts-Your Sinclair (Groover)
47. The Pipettes-We Are The Pipettes (Memphis Industries)
48. AlternativA-A Night in Starlight (Alternative Light)
49. Fresh Mowed Lawn-Fresh Mowed Lawn (Not Lame)
50. Semion-Help Me I Work In An Office (Self-Released)
51. Swims-Ride Of The Blueberry Winter (Prison Jazz)
52. Cloud 11-Sweet Happy Life (Kool Kat Musik)
53. The Oohs-Llama Lamp (Oohszone Layer Records)
54. Rainy Day Saints-Diamond Star Highway (Get Hip)
55. The Hazey Janes-Hotel Radio (Measured)
56. Peter Murray-Ants and Angels (Junction Triangle)
57. Stingray Green-Hard Numbers (Self-Released)
58. The Innocents-Pop Factory (Zip)
59. Solo-SoloPeople (Excelsior)
60. The Safes-Well Well Well (O’Brother’s)
61. Wisely-Parador (Not Lame)
62. The Silver Lining- Well-Dressed Blues (Self-Released)
63. The Scheme-Sunset on a Daydream (Sodapop)
64. The Wallstones-Pleasure and Pain (Mariann)
65. Caddy-Go Slow (Jasrac)
66. The Bellyachers-200 Lucky Feet Move The Dragon (Craftphonic)
67. Phamous Phaces-Spider Ball (Bink!)
68. Phil Angotti-East Side Soul (Jam)
69. The Naomi Star-Sunshine Girl (Pleides)
70. The Goldbergs-Hooks, Lines, & Sinkers (Self-Released)
71. The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau-What If It Works? (125)
72. Edmund’s Crown-Regrets of a Company Man (Self-Released)
73. Jaimie Vernon-Time Enough At Last (Bullseye)
74. Twinklehead-Twinklehead (Division)
75. Lolas-Doctor Apache (Wizzard In Vinyl)
76. Puffy AmiYumi-Splurge… (Tofu)
77. Drake Bell-It’s Only Time (Universal Motown)
78. The Men-Return (Self-Released)
79. Peter Berry & the Shake Set-Wildberry Shake! (Teen Sound)
80. The Sheers-Goodbye World (Self-Released)
81. The Sails-The Sails (Rainbow Quartz)
82. Marty Rudnick-More Songs About Cars And Girls (Sandbox)
83. Dog Age-Reefy Seadragon (Rainbow Quartz)
84. The Vinyltones-Memoirs of a Songbook (Self-Released)
85. PoP is ArT-Epiphany (Self-Released)
86. Magneto-Resistance Is Futile (Popboomerang)
87. The Alice Rose-Phonographic Memory (Self-Released)
88. Doug Powell-Four Seasons (Paisley Pop)
89. The Oranges-Teen Rock (Wizzard In Vinyl)
90. The Kickbacks-Motel Stars (Peeled Label)
91. Lane Steinberg-The Return of Noel Coward’s Ghost (Cheft)
92. Junebug-3rd (Planet
93. Andrea Perry-Rivers of Stars (Self-Released)
94. The Shake-Trippin’ The Whole Colourful World (Florynata)
95. Tom Petty-Highway Companion (American)
96. Leave-I’d Rather Not Say (Self-Released)
97. The Shut-Ups-The Stud Album (Self-Released)
98. The Stabilisers-Wanna Do The Wild Plastic Brane Love Thang? (Acid Jazz)
99. The Asteroid #4-An Amazing Dream (Rainbow Quartz)
100. DollSquad-The Rock ‘n’ Doll Sound Of…(Teen Sound)

(more…)

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(Via Aversion)

The lineup has been announced for this year’s Coachella Festival. It’s going to be 3 busy days that’s for sure!

April 27: Bjork, Interpol, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Arctic Monkeys, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth, Faithless, DJ Shadow, Peeping Tom, Brazilian Girls, Peaches, Felix da Housecat, Rufus Wainright, Stephen Marley, Nickel Creek, We Are Scientists, Digitalism, Tokyo Police Club, Comedians of Comedy, El-P, Julietta Venegas, Gogol Bordello, Circa Survive, Silversun Pickups, Gillian Welch, Tilly and the Wall, Benny Benassi, Amy Winehouse, David Guetta, Noisettes, Evil Nine, Busdriver, Brother Ali stolen from Aversion.com

April 28: Arcade Fire, Tiesto, The Decemberists, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Travis, Kings of Leon, Gotan Project, Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, Blonde Redhead, The New Pornographers, The Black Keys, !!!, Regina Spektor, Hot Chip, MSTRKRFT, Ozomotali, Fountains of Wayne, Ghostface Killah, Jack’s Mannequin, Peter Bjorn and Joh, VNV Nation, Sparklehorse, The Nightwatchman, Roky Erickson and the Explosives, Cornelius, Coco Rosie, Andrew Bird, The Frames, The Fratellis, Justice, Erol Alkan, Bojones, Pharoahe Monch, Fields, The Cribs, Girl Talk, Mike Relm

April 29: Rage Against the Machine, Manu Chao, Happy Mondays, Air, Willie Nelson, Paul Van Dyk, Placebo, Kaiser Chiefs, Damien Rice, The Roots, Crowded House, Explosions in the Sky, Konono No. 1, Soulwax, Richie Hawtin, Infected Mushroom, Lily Allen, Amos Lee, Jose Gonzalez, Spank Rock, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Against Me, Ratatat, Junior Boys, The Feeling, The Kooks, CSS, Klaxons, Tapes ‘N Tapes, Teddybears, Lupe Fiasco, Mando Diao, Grizzly Bear, Mika, The Coup, The Avett Bros. Anathallo, Fair to Midland

Later

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Well it was nice to kick off 2007 with a great, glitch-free show and last night’s edition of Rock and Roll Report Radio was as usual just a great way to spend an hour. As always, the show featured a bunch of indie rock bands and artists who, for whatever reason cannot seem to get played on commercial "rock" radio for all the usual reasons. I managed to cram in 15 songs into the hour from bands in both Canada and the U.S., the UK and Denmark. There was a mixture of new songs from bands I’ve played before, new bands that I have just come across and some unreleased stuff that is almost about to be on a CD at your favourite independent record store. I also tried to feature my usual mixture of garage/power-pop/hard rock/punky/classic rock in a tasty and satisfying rock and roll stew. Hope you liked listening to the stuff as much as I enjoyed playing it. And don;t forget that for the next week you can download the podcast from the archives. Just select "Drastic Plastic" from the list for January 22nd and have a listen. Here is what I played:

Artist - Album - Song

The Blessings - Bare Bones - Chop You Down
The Fags - Light ‘Em Up! - Back of the Line
Joan Jett - Sinner - AC/DC
The Hedrons - One more Won’t Kill Us - I Need You
High School Sweethearts - Heels ‘n Wheels - Afterschool Special
The 88 - Over and Over - Battle Scar
Dragstrip Kitty - Unreleased - Over
Galore - Amplifier - Favourite Song
The Snitches - Black Book - Let Me Go Round
Helen Stellar - I’m Naut What I Seem - Panic Attack at Breakfast
Poets and Pornstars - S/T - Get Your Kicks
Daphne - S/T - Crush
One Bad Son - Unreleased - Sun-Fire
Kill Van Kull - Edge of Sunrise - Kick ‘Em and Smile
Dollar Sent - S/T - Hey Yeah

Thanks for listening.

Until next month.

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Just a quick reminder to tune in online or over the air to Rock and Roll Report Radio on CKUT 90.3 FM (www.ckut.ca) tonight from 10:00 - 11:00 PM. I’ll be without the other 2 amigos but I will be playing killer rock and roll from The Blessings, Kill Van Kull, Helen Stellar, the Hedrons, Dragstrip Kitty, One Bad Son, The High School Sweethearts and more. Check it out, turn it up and drop me a comment on MySpace if you like what you hear!

Later.

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At the MidemNet Conference in Cannes, France, a new agency representing the “world’s independent music sector” has been created that will work with a lot of the new “Web 2.0” companies allowing independent labels to sell their music on sites like MySpace and YouTube.

Named Merlin, this agency will represent a sector of the music industry that represents 30% of all music sales and so they are referring to themselves as the “fifth major” with Vivendi’s Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group and Warner Music Group representing the major lables who account for the lions share of music sales. It is expected that Merlin will announce a partnership with MySpace in conjunction with Napster creatror Sean Fanning’s Snocap company that will make it easy for labels to sell on the hugely popular social networking site.

The thing that impresses me most about announcements like this is that we are finally getting to see the infamous “level playing field” that everybody has been saying the Internet would provide the indies. My only question now would be what criteria are used to gain admission to Merlin as a lot of the labels that I deal with are pretty small, even by indie rock standards.

Later.

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