Author: Megan

This might be the only Leap Day episode we’ll ever get, so it’s go big or go home, one week before the CFMU Fundraiser.

Megan did a blog-scour this week and happened across a bunch of rare-enough’s for a rare-enough February 29th, including Royal Wood injecting some slight winter light into a classic Sam Roberts summer song, and a new track from the upcoming Santigold album. It’s her first LP since her self-titled debut, released last leap year.

We also hear a one-off track Real Estate has done for a Record Store Day release, and brand new music from Great Lake Swimmers, Of Montreal, and Spiritualized.  Here’s a leap day rarity: deciding to lead the new album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, with a cover light that one (above), and a raucous two-part song like this one.

Like we said, the fundraiser is upon us, so please support community radio by donating to 93.3 CFMU’s Raise Your Voice campaign. We’re trying to raise $21,000 to fund independent, community programming in Hamilton. A toonie, a twenty–any contribution counts and can donate through our webpage (the “Donate” button is over on the right —>), or by visiting CFMU’s website.

As always, thanks for listening to myboytheriotgirl, and thanks for supporting community radio in Hamilton!

1. Royal Wood – Don’t Walk Away Eileen (Covers EP)
2. Rhye – Open (Open EP)
3. Andrew Sisk – Pause (Treelines)
4. Regina Spektor – all the rowboats (What We Saw)
5. Santigold – Disparate Youth (Master of My Own Make-Believe)
6. Great Lake Swimmers – Easy-Come-Easy-Go (New Wild Everywhere)
7. Bahamas – Caught Me Thinking (Barchords)
8. Tennis – My Better Self (Young And Old)
9. Sharon Van Etten – Warsaw (Tramp)
10. Real Estate – In My Car (Smuggler’s Way)
11. Women – Eyesore (Public Strain)
12. Chains of Love – In-Between (Breaking My Heart / In Between 7″)
13. Of Montreal – Dour Percentage (Paralytic Stalks)
14. Spiritualized – Hey Jane (Sweet Heart Sweet Light)

We spent last week collecting new releases,  so here’s an hour jam-packed with (bakery fresh!) indie-pop of all varieties.

Things begin with an addictive track from husband-and-wife duo Tennis, then the title track from the new Plants and Animals disc that has these Canadian indie-rock fans salivating. Plus, Andrew Bird is set to release Break It Yourself on March 6, so we hear a track, despite his omission of Hamilton or Toronto on the list of his spring tour dates.

Pronouncing Xiu Xiu (sounds something like shoe-shoe) is probably easier than classifying their sound, which is reason enough for us to play a song off Always, due out next week. And Okkervil River side-project Shearwater have the power-pop sound down so pat, we fit them right next to Noel Gallagher, who still knows that game well.

New music from Sleigh Bells takes a razor blade to electro-pop, and we continue with that vibe with Montreal’s Grimes, then soften it a bit with some music new material from Air, and Silver Swans (shout out to Music Between Friends for that excellent recommendation!).

And lastly, after seeing a bootleg video of Sandro Perri & Co. playing the mind-blowing “Wolfman” from their recent visit to Hamilton, we make up for airing an edited version last year by playing the song in its full 10-minute glory. Seriously, it’s the best song you’ll hear all day, so stay tuned!!!

1. Tennis – Origins (Young And Old)
2. Plants and Animals – The End of That (The End of That)
3. OP8 – If I Think of Love (Slush)
4. Andrew Bird – Eyeoneye (Break It Yourself)
5. Sleigh Bells – Crush (Reign Of Terror)
6. Xiu Xiu – Beauty Towne (Always)
7. Grimes – Circumambient (Visions)
8. Silver Swans – Let It Happen (Forever)
9. Frankie Rose – Know Me (Interstellar)
10. Shearwater – Breaking The Yearlings (Animal Joy)
11. Noel Gallagher – AKA What a Life (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds)
12. Suede – Beautiful Ones (Coming Up)
13. Air – Cosmic Trip (Le Voyage Dans La Lune)
14. Sandro Perri – Wolfman (Impossible Spaces)

Love or hate the Hallmark holiday named after martyrs, it’s awfully hard to avoid the big V-day if you plan on leaving your cave on the 14th.

In a mean-spirited (or well-intentioned) effort to draw out the pain (or pleasure) of the day, we’re getting to our two-hour collection of love(?) songs a week early this year.

C’mon. You know you love it.

We begin by dedicating a memorable Great Lake Swimmers love song to Hamilton and its rocky spine, and also sample some new tracks from Chairlift & Toronto’s Bahamas, who’s newly released album, Barchords is streaming at the Exclaim! website for your listening pleasure.

Some classic tracks from Spiritualized and Massive Attack close out a couple of six-song sets, we also get to listener request for Adam Cohen (yup, Leonard’s son), and the now-defunct California band, Grandaddy.

Before we close out with a fantastic Mountain Goats tune, we duly report on the well-known Hazards of Love, including a heartbreaking song by Brooklyn’s The Antlers.

Mike and I are taking next week off, but will be back in two with a whack of new releases, old favourites, and (as always), no commercials and loooooots of independent music. Thanks for listening!

1. Great Lake Swimmers – Your Rocky Spine (Ongiara)
2. Wilco – 11 – Whole Love (The Whole Love)
3. Feist – The Bad In Each Other (Metals)
4. Chairlift – I Belong in your arms (Something )
5. New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (Brotherhood)
6. Spiritualized – I Think I’m In Love (Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space)
7. Mother Mother – O My Heart (O My Heart)
8. Modern Superstitions – Love That Beats My Heart (All the Things We’ve Been Told)
9. Jim Ward – Take It Back (The End Begins)
10. Lou Canon – The Dancing (Lou Canon)
11. Adam Cohen – What Other Guy (Like A Man)
12. Massive Attack – Protection (Protection)
13. Darren Hayman – Short Skirt On (Table For One – Dessert Menu)
14. jj – my love (jj n° 2)
15. Girls – Heartbreaker (Broken Dreams Club)
16. Bahamas – Your Sweet Touch (Barchords)
17. Grandaddy – Protected From The Rain (Signal to Snow Ratio – EP)
18. The Shins – Turn On Me (Wincing The Night Away)
19. The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love 4 (The Drowned) (The Hazards Of Love)
20. Kathleen Edwards – Empty Threat (Voyageur)
21. Hannah Georgas – Lovesick (This Is Good)
22. Bon Iver – Skinny Love (For Emma, Forever Ago)
23. The Antlers – Two (Hospice)
24. The National – Ada (Boxer)
25. The Vaccines – Family Friend (What Did You Expect From the Vaccines)
26. The Mountain Goats – Love Love Love (The Sunset Tree)

A special moon-themed birthday episode for Jack, starting with Jill Barber singing us to sleep with a lullaby. Then, the inimitable John Maus welcomes the guest of honour by singing along to Molly Nillson.

We sample alt/indie history with some Echo & the Bunnymen, Cat Power, and Radiohead. And we hear Sandro Perri and Mark Kozelek from, See You on the Moon!, the great Canadian indie kids’ album.

Air can never get enough of the moon, it seems, so we wrap it all up with a post-Moon Safari visit to a an intergallactic lounge, because the future should be rad like that.  Send us your favourite anit-/bittersweet/angsty/lovey love songs for next week’s show, and thanks for listening!

1. Jill Barber – Lullaby (Mischievous Moon)
2. John Maus – Hey Moon (We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves)
3. Joel Plaskett – In The Blue Moonlight (Three – Two)
4. Belle & Sebastian – Waiting For The Moon To Rise (Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant)
5. Cat Power – You May Know Him (Moon Pix)
6. You Say Party! We Say Die! – Moon (Lose All Time)
7. Echo & the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon (Ocean Rain)
8. Sunset Rubdown – Silver Moons (Dragonslayer)
9. Kelley Polar – My Beauty In The Moon (Love Songs Of The Hanging Gardens)
10. Feist – My Moon My Man (The Reminder)
11. Glissandro 70 – Voices are Your Best Friend (See You On The Moon! Songs For Kids Of All Ages)
12. Mark Kozelek – Leo and Luna (See You On The Moon! Songs For Kids Of All Ages)
13. Iron & Wine – Half Moon (Kiss Each Other Clean)
14. Radiohead – Sail to the Moon (Acoustic Recording)
15. Air – Le Voyage De Penelope (Moon Safari)

Twenty-twelve’s already got some new releases, and we play a couple: one by synth-pop duo Chairlift, and another by Calgary’s Rae Spoon. Plus, we peer into a frightening future through an oppressive track from Sleigh Bells’ upcoming Reign of Terror. They’re a duo, too, but apparently of the noise-pop variety (that’s a thing!).

We unapologetically err on the side of the female voice this week, but maybe its because we can’t get enough of Simone Schmidt’s shimmering vocals over-top her raucous band-mates, One Hundred Dollars. Dare I say they maybe give fellow Torontonians The Sadies a run for their money?

A brief tour of Europe yields snow in Sweden, and unfortunately no satisfying stop in Paris. But across the channel, Los Campesinos!, Frank Turner, 2:54 cheer us up in different, moody ways, before the Chemical Brothers promote their new concert-film, Don’t Think. The movie screens in T.O. for just one night on Thursday before a wider release in February, but it will apparently blow your mind if you’re lucky enough to see it.

Nighty night!

1. Chairlift – Sidewalk Safari (Something )
2. Rich Aucoin – Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E. (We’re All Dying to Live)
3. Lou Canon – Heart Of (Lou Canon)
4. Taken By Trees – Julia (Open Field)
5. Rae Spoon – Promises (I Can’t Keep All of Our Secrets)
6. Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid (Reign of Terror)
7. Los Campesinos! – Songs About Your Girlfriend (Hello Sadness)
8. 2:54 – Got A Hold (Scarlet EP)
9. Frank Turner – If Ever I Stray (England Keep My Bones)
10. Atlas Sound – Lightsworks (Parallax)
11. One Hundred Dollars – Ties That Bind (Songs of Man)
12. Jennifer Castle – Way of the Crow (Castlemusic)
13. The Elected – Sun, Sun, Sun (Sun, Sun, Sun)
14. Midlake – We Gathered In Spring (The Trials Of Van Occupanther)
15. The Chemical Brothers – Lost In The K-Hole (Dig Your Own Hole)

Kathleen Edwards is everywhere, and we’re no exception (gotta love that cover art too), plus Rich Aucoin, the Decemberists, and Agnes Obel, on the first show of the new year.

We wish the real one would end, but the War on Drugs is pretty good, but I guess Kurt Vile’s like that.

Megan hunts down a new-ish disc by The Rapture (‘member them?), and Mike revisits an under-appreciated Explosions in the Sky release from last year, and send us off: Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.

1. Elliott BROOD – Northern Air (Days Into Years)
2. The War on Drugs – Brothers (Slave Ambient)
3. Rich Aucoin – Living to Die (We’re All Dying to Live)
4. Agnes Obel – Philharmonics (Philharmonics)
5. Twin Sister – Space Babe (In Heaven)
6. The Decemberists – Sonnet (Long Live The King)
7. Gillian Welch – The Way It Goes (The Harrow & The Harvest)
8. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Coldest Days (Departing)
9. Kathleen Edwards – Mint (Voyageur)
10. The Rapture – Roller Coaster (In The Grace of Your Love)
11. Pedro The Lion – Priests And Paramedics (Control)
12. The Silt – Cat’s Peak (Cat’s Peak)
13. The Weather Station – Came So Easy (All Of It Was Mine)
14. Explosions in the Sky – Trembling Hands (Take Care, Take Care, Take Care)

This final episode of 2011 reviews our favourites (such as The Pack AD, Smith Westerns, and Beirut) , and consensus picks (such as M83, Bon Iver, and PJ Harvey) from the popular and no-so-popular presses.

Having to settle on 24 albums (plus two from 2010) in the independent/alternative oeuvre was far more difficult than it sounds. Culture progresses towards the musical singularity unabated, so behold a broadly genre-less future where you have no idea what you’re listening to, but it still sounds pretty damn good! In the end, this show is actually overflowing with music, including a pared down tracks by The Field and Toronto’s own Sandro Perri (and a tip of the hat to Impossible Spaces, which landed on Pitchfork’s list).

This isn’t a countdown, but we do end with our unqualified favourites of the annum: The Vaccines are a presence at the top with their shapely punk-rock re-boot What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?; and No Joy’s fuzzy dream-pop is a nominally Canadian, nominally 2011 release that compliments that sound nicely.

But it’s two ladies who steal the show this year. St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) continued her ascent to the top of the inscrutable-pop-charts, and Little Scream (aka Laurel Sprengelmeyer) emerged out of Iowa to become Montreal’s most well-connected young musician.

We’re on break for a couple of weeks, but here’s one last song for a year that began a Tiger, and ended a Rabbit. Thanks for listening, and all the best in 2012!

1. jj – Still (Kills)
2. Cut Copy – Need You Now (Zonoscope)
3. M83 – Midnight City (Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming)
4. Miracle Fortress – Everything Works (Was I the Wave?)
5. John Maus – The Crucifix (We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves)
6. Atlas Sound – Parallax (Parallax)
7. The Field – It’s Up There (Looping State Of Mind)
8. Beirut – A Candle’s Fire (The Rip Tide)
9. Timber Timbre – Bad Ritual (Creep On Creepin’ On)
10. Girls – Love Life (Father, Son, Holy Ghost)
11. Smith Westerns – Weekend (Dye It Blonde)
12. Sloan – Your Daddy Will Do (The Double Cross)
13. Whitehorse – Emerald Isle (Whitehorse)
14. Dan Mangan – How Darwinian (Oh Fortune)
15. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Helplessness Blues)
16. Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers (Wounded Rhymes)
17. The Pack A.D. – Pieces (Unpersons)
18. PJ Harvey – The Words That Maketh Murder (Let England Shake)
19. Sandro Perri – Wolfman (Impossible Spaces)
20. Destroyer – Savage Night At The Opera (Kaputt)
21. Bon Iver – Towers (Bon Iver)
22. Real Estate – All The Same (Days)
23. The Vaccines – Wreckin’ bar (ra ra ra) (What Did You Expect From the Vaccines)
24. The Vaccines – If You Wanna (What Did You Expect From the Vaccines)
25. No Joy – Mediumship (Ghost Blonde)
26. No Joy – Heedless (Ghost Blonde)
27. St. Vincent – Hysterical Strength (Strange Mercy)
28. St. Vincent – Year of the Tiger (Strange Mercy)
29. Little Scream – Amahl (The Golden Record)
30. Little Scream – Cannons (The Golden Record)
31. Little Scream – The Heron and the Fox (The Golden Record)

The holiday season is a happy and joyous time for community radio, unencumbered by corporate playlists and 50’s Boomer nostalgia, we are free (free! free!!!) to pick/choose/sample from the massive and ever expanding collection of songs about the darkest time of year. With zero commercials and minimal interruptions, we are very happy to present this two-hour holiday episode.

We call this our Christmas show, but up here in Northern climes there are enough cold, wet and gloomy reasons to require a cheer-up at the Winter solstice. It doesn’t matter what festival of lights you celebrate, a strong drink and a pat on the back offered up in the spirit of human camaraderie is always appreciated before the long, trudge home in the moonlit snow.

Speaking of snow, there’s plenty of it this week from ladies who know what they’re talking about. Highlights include a great new Meaghan Smith song that’s making the rounds (she’s from London, she gets snow), and one by Toronto’s Weather Station (who just played Hamilton last week).

We’re in love with a darling little tune by Owl & Mouse with the refrain, “Hiding from my family / In my parents room” that might resonate with some folks, and an aching Frightened Rabbit song evokes some of the bittersweet nature of the season.

Big shout-outs to Zunior (the independent online music store) for offering up annual doses of Canadian indie-rock Christmas music, and to Darren Hayman (of Hefner fame) and Fika Recordings, who released an amazing digital advent calendar of free songs called Christmas in Haworth.

Last show of the year is our Best of 2011, and then we’ll take a few weeks off in January. Have a happy holiday!

More: mbtrg Christmas 2010

1. Belle and Sebastian – O Little Town of Bethlehem (Christmas Peel Session)
2. Meaghan Smith – It Snowed (It Snowed)
3. Hawksley Workman – First Snow of the Year (Full Moon Eleven)
4. The Weather Station – Snow Up to My Window (A Country Blues Christmas)
5. Asobi Seksu – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight)
6. MJ Hibbett & The Validators – Thank Goodness For Christmas (Xmas Advent)
7. Mike O’Neill – Frosty The Gold Rush (Zunior Holiday Blender 2011)
8. Sufjan Stevens – Away In A Manger (Songs For Christmas)
9. Don Kerr, Kevin Lacroix and Dave Wall – O Tennenbaum (A Peanuts Christmas)
10. Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson – Winter Song (Kuschelrock Christmas)
11. Owl & Mouse – Sandwich Day (Xmas Advent)
12. Al Tuck – O’Come, O’Come, Emmanuel (A Country Blues Christmas)
13. Slottet – A Cold Christmas (Xmas Advent)
14. Jill Barber – The Christmas Song (A Peanuts Christmas)
15. Old Man Luedecke – Pretty Little Baby (A Country Blues Christmas)
16. Emmylou Harris – The First Noel (Light Of The Stable)
17. Wayne Petti – What Child Is This (A Peanuts Christmas)
18. The Kelele Brothers – Father Christmas (Zunior Music Sampler 2006 Holiday Edition)
19. Frightened Rabbit – It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop
20. Darren Hayman and the Wave Pictures – Blue Christmas (Xmas Advent)
21. She & Him – Baby, It’s Cold Outside (A Very She & Him Christmas)
22. My Morning Jacket – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (iTunes Christmas session)
23. Raffi – Petit Papa Noel (Raffi’s Christmas Album)
24. Eels – Everything’s Gonna Be Cool This Christmas (It’s a Cool, Cool, Christmas)
25. Lisa Bouvier – Christmas Rain (Xmas Advent)
26. The Wombats – Is This Christmas
27. The Knife – Christmas Reindeer (The Knife)
28. Low – Silent Night (Christmas)
29. Yo La Tengo – Santa Claus Goes Modern (Merry Christmas From Yo La Te)
30. The Magnetic Fields – Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree (Realism)
31. Great Lake Swimmers – When the Snow Starts to Fall (A Country Blues Christmas)
32. Slow Club – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Christmas, Thanks For Nothing EP)
33. Rosie Thomas – Why Can`t It Be Christmas… (A Very Rosie Christmas)
34. Ohbijou – Last Christmas (Egg Nog)
35. Jingle Cats – Good King Wenceslas (Meowy Christmas)

It’s almost your favourite time of year.  Yes, that’s right the Christmas/Holiday/Festive/Seasonal episode of myboytheriotgirl is nearly complete.  I have a few open spots for any last minute requests, so if you have one let me know (comment below).  In the mean time, here are a couple of past episodes for your listening pleasure:

2010  |  2009  |  2006

And a few of my favourites that didn’t make it to the show this year:

Twenty-eleven seems to have been a really, really good year for independent music. In programming these three best of 2011 shows, it became apparent that it would be more difficult than ever before to pick out those few albums that stood head and shoulders above the rest of the pack.

So this week we look back at some of the more notable releases from the past year–stuff that maybe would have grabbed more of your attention if it weren’t such a bumper crop. Mike listened to a lot of Washed Out on train-trips this year, and Austra’s Feel It Break has made its way to the top of NY Mags’ list.

Discs by Radiohead, Mogwai, and Iron & Wine were worthy additions to those bands’ discographies, but maybe didn’t garner all that much attention from fans. Cults came out of nowhere this year to a lot of buzz, and yesterday’s buzz-band The Drums issued a fun and very listenable album in [em]Portamento[/em], an LP that may make Smiths’ fans smile.

We’re going to take a week off next week so I can finish up my two-hour indie Christmas special (commercial and interruption free!), so send in any requests or old standards or new favourites through the website, or tweet us @myboyriotgirl!

1. Washed Out – Echoes (Within and Without)
2. Junior Boys – Itchy Fingers (It’s All True)
3. Austra – Beat and the Pulse (Feel It Break)
4. Jill Barber – Dis-Moi (Mischievous Moon)
5. Cults – Bumper (Cults)
6. The Drums – How It Ended (Portamento)
7. The Cave Singers – Black Leaf (No Witch)
8. The Kills – Future Starts Slow (Blood Pressures)
9. Mogwai – George Square Thatcher Death Party (Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will)
10. Papercuts – Do What You Will (Fading Parade)
11. Radiohead – Feral (King of Limbs)
12. The Antlers – Parentheses (Burst Apart)
13. Iron & Wine – Me And Lazarus (Kiss Each Other Clean)
14. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Strange (Belong)
15. The Mountain Goats – For Charles Bronson (All Eternals Deck)