Thursday, July 23, 2009

Summer Music and Podcasts

Those of you who know Brock Tyler might be interested to know that someone requested one of his songs, Orange Bus, on CBC Radio 3 this past Saturday during it's Indie music countdown. Brock has some great music. Check him out.

I highly recommend this CBC Radio 3 show by the way. Not all the songs are great, but it lets you know what is going on in Canadian music besides with Shania Twain and old news about The Guess Who. And there is a lot going on. I intend on listening avidly while overseas. Download the podcast or find it here.

Speaking of podcasts, I must say that my favourite podcast this summer has been ESPN's PTI (Pardon the Interruption). Even their discussion of sports I'm only mildly interested in is highly engaging. I've also recently found some podcasts of my future professor John Webster online, and am hearing his lectures even before meeting him. Crazy.

Anyway, speaking of music again, by far my favourite summer album this year is Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus . Their music is fun and upbeat without being the same old pop music, somehow. Lyrics tend to loom large for me when it comes to selecting music. Cliche and fluff doesn't last long on my playlist. But somehow I don't care all that much what Phoenix is saying. Having said that, I was intrigued when I caught the chorus to "Rome" yesterday on my drive home:

Rome Rome focus looking forward
the colosseum
Oh no! What did I say? What can I say?
Rome Rome many tears have
fallen here
I'll be driving and I look the other way.

Kind of a lament without sounding like one. Seems to have some depth worth catching when you've got the headphones on instead of the windows open music blaring. Regardless, some great music there.

So what is your album of the summer, in either the windows-down or the headphones-in category?

8 comments:

Philbert said...

Britney Spears - Baby One More Time

Jon Coutts said...

Yeah right Philbert.

Tony Tanti said...

Phoenix is playing a lot here too, also Plaskett's 3. Saw him again the other night with the Emergency at a free outdoor festival in Surrey. He was awesome and it was only days after he opened for McCartney in Halifax so the band sounded flawless.

Dave M said...

Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career, this album has been incredibly refreshing.

Also, yeah me too, Phoenix. Best album title of the summer too.

Bill Callahan put out an album called 'I wish we were an eagle' that I've been pretty into as well.

Jon Coutts said...

emergency free in surrey? i visited a week or two too late!

camera obscura i have to check out. Isn't bill callahan an irish comedian?

s$s said...

Totale's Turns - The Fall

And I'm just beginning to realize the brilliance of:
Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear

I guess I'm gonna have to check out this new Phoenix album.

Dave M said...

I don't think so, unless there is a side project/nationality of his that I'm not aware of.

Jon Coutts said...

the phoenix album won't change your life, but it is really good. Refreshing, I'd call it.

Oh and Patrick Watson's latest is really catching me too.

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