It’s Friday. The end of the week. I’m exhausted. We’ve had a lot of things happening around here lately. Things-are-a-brewing. Needless to say we are looking forward to a long weekend of good times and good friends. To kick it off, we’ve decided to start a new Friday tradition. This tradition revolves around playing songs of a similar theme BUT for 30 seconds only. We’ve wittily titled this event (in all of our creative genius) the 30 Second DJ. So whilst we work away... we may be whistling too. Today we pulled out the power ballads or well basically anything that was a memorable moment from our past. Hits like Paradise City, Every Rose has its Thorn,  I Want You to Want Me, and Sweet Child of Mine all made an appearance along with classic boy band one-offs like Take That’s, I Want You Back. Ahhh... I can almost picture those long weekends of yore. There is nothing like a musical tour of the 80’s and 90’s to set the stage for making many new memories.

The DJ is in the house so if you have requests please send them our way. Keep those tunes turned high and enjoy your long weekend!

Jackson Browne played the Concert Hall on Saturday night and reminded us what happens when anyone (musicians included) match their product to their values.

In these days of pre-fab, insert city-name here, concerts that we’ve grown so accustomed to, Browne put on a show that made Winnipeg concert-goers from the day remember what it was like to actually interact with a performer. For those of you who don’t know, bands used to stop in Winnipeg because of the reputation of our crowd - that we knew music and we knew how to make an artist feel appreciated. The challenge was always to get them out for the third encore, and many times, out at the Winnipeg arena, they did.

That doesn’t happen much any more. But on Saturday, we saw a genuine performance. A few songs in, Browne admitted there’s no real set list, because he’s lazy and he likes it that way.

So people started calling out songs to play. Now, I don’t know how, or if, this works in other cities. But as usual, Winnipeg music fans knew what they were talking about - calling for a few hits - but lots of requests for album cuts.

A while later, Browne says he’s hitting a few off notes because he’s distracted - by his shirt. He’s worn it quite a bit, apparently, on this tour, but somehow, tonight, it’s not right (even though, we’re assured, he washes it regularly). So off stage for five minutes, a change of shirt and back to it.

He moves regularly from the keyboard to one of his eighteen guitars, as he plays through almost two dozen songs. Some I haven’t heard and now need to get, and a few that I forgot I knew. Each time, it was like finding $20. that I didn’t know I’d lost.

For those who know, here’s a partial song list: Rosie; the Load Out; Love Needs a Heart; Take it Easy; The Pretender; Peaceful Easy Feeling; Cocaine, the Rehab mix - including Ron and Nancy just say no references; These Days; Doctor my Eyes; Running on Empty; In the Shape of a Heart; I’m Alive and The Naked Ride Home.

Browne looks great without the beard, sounds a little more breathy than he did on vinyl and emits an integrity that reminds us of those days of high ideals, but now includes the wisdom of time.

Somewhere near the end, he says, ”There’s a whole bunch of songs I usually play that I didn’t get to do tonight.” I believe we received a truly unique concert. Like the best brands in the world, this actual experience was in every way consistent with what I had hoped for on the way in.

Just imagine stepping off a bus at the break of dawn, in the middle of a freezing cold desert, where someone offers you coffee and a warm blanket. As you stand there in silence, you take in the cool, fresh air and wait for the music to start playing. Sound fantastic? I think so. That's exactly what 2 buses full of people did after the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) Conference in Las Vegas. Stillmotion was there to film the 3am set-up and capture the performances of Jesh de Rox, Kelli Schaefer and The Ravishers. We need to do this in Manitoba... except not in February... and substitute the remote desert with a remote wheat field surrounded by nothing but sky.

Well, it's official – The White Stripes are no more. 14 years, 6 albums, countless tours and millions of fans vanished up in smoke this past Thursday, leaving many die-hards with a giant, colour co-ordinated hole in their hearts. That's not to say you can't find your fill of Jack White (et al) elsewhere. In fact, I'll be the first to tell you to run out and pick up Consolers of the Lonely, crank up the volume and listen to the sweetness that is Carolina Drama. I will just as willingly tell you to send the neighbours packing for the weekend so you can enjoy Sea of Cowards as loudly as your speakers (and eardrums) will possibly let you. Although these are great records, and there are more that have and will be recorded by Third Man Records, I once again can't help but feeling a part of my past has disappeared. 14 years is a helluva long time. 6 albums, each one great in it's own right, is no small accomplishment either, and has been denied by many a great band. But knowing the Stripes have run out of tricks to tell and songs to sew leaves me pining for more. It's rare for a group to come out with as much passion, respect, longevity and importance as the Stripes, and one wonders how long it will be before the next authentic (insert debate here) thing comes along. Perhaps Neil Young had the right idea. Perhaps it truly is better to burn out then to fade away. I don't know, you tell me.

Here's a little preview of the new Kings of Leon album for your weekend listening pleasure.

In a follow up to Friday's blog posting of new tunes, I'd like to provide a few links and a couple thoughts on some of my favourite bands. First of all, the line-up for Bonnaroo has been posted, and is outstanding once again. This past month saw amazing releases from The Dead Weather, The Black Keys and LCD Soundsystem among others (see Hold Steady, New Pornographers) which would make going to Bonnaroo for the first time – to me – heaven. Throw in Blitzen Trapper, She & Him and The xx and then sprinkle some hilarity on top with Conan O'Brien and Aziz Ansari and you've pretty much achieved perfection. Now, if you're not convinced, check out the absolutely amazing (HD) performances featured at From The Basement, a favourite site of mine dedicated to the the performances of a talented group of musicians. If you're still not sold, then watch this video. If that doesn't work, nothing will.

[vimeo 8897610]

Well, this week in music for me anyway. It's been a pretty good spring, CD-release wise. Unfortunately, if you still buy authentic copies of albums like myself, it's not so good on the pocketbook. Either way, here's a couple favourites from this weeks purchases.

It's been awhile since I last posted, and I have a huge backlog of articles and opinions to catch up on. It's Friday, however, and no one really has the mental capacity to listen to me anyway. Instead, I've decided to post a few tunes from the latest few albums I've picked up.
I hope you enjoy.

First of all, I love all things vintage. Vintage packaging, however, is my absolute achilles heel. I find it rather serendipitous that I stumbled onto a fantastic collection of vintage European matchbooks this morning a few months in advance of our journey to Europe this fall. My fiance and I are already small time collectors of matchbooks (among other things) and I find myself constantly amazed at the simple solutions artists and designers alike are able to fit on such a small amount of real estate. Truly graphic design in its purest form. If you like matchbooks, here's a little video by Navigators I found sometime late last week which fits nicely into the "match" theme.



[video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxrN93Xbpg]

I had the privilege of attending a show last night at the West End Cultural Centre for The Wooden Sky and headliners Rural Alberta Advantage. If you haven't listened to The Wooden Sky before, you're missing out. Great live, great vocals, great songs. Simply put, I like them and I enjoy their cover art.