2011 in Music

"Twee Time" is my little radio show wherein I spin under-appreciated music for the part time punks who play their records very loud, and pogo in the bed room in front of the mirror, but only when their mums gone out (and for the pop kids who know what song I nicked this description from). Check it out live every Friday 20:00-21:00 in Montreal on CJLO 1690AM / CJLO.com.

List also published in the CJLO Magazine. This is the unedited version.

Band of the Year

It was very difficult for me to come up with this "2011 in Music" synopsis. The only band that has been on my mind all year is JEFF the Brotherhood. And We Are the Champions, as much as I liked the album, does not do these guys justice.

You must see brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall perform live to really experience the filthy, fuzzy binding of all the music that I love: garage, punk, psych, rock, and pop. It's unbelievable what JEFF can do with only three drums, three cymbals, and a three-string guitar. I don't believe in pedal effects, this sound comes straight from the soul.

JEFF the Brotherhood - We Are the Champions

Listen to: Ripper / Shredder / Wastoid Girl (or how about the whole thing? Yeah!)

Fave 2011 Releases

Twee Time's favourite albums of 2011 (in no particular order), with selected tracks.

01. Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip

Listen to: Imagine Hearts / So High

02. Kids on a Crime Spree - We Love You So Bad

Listen to: I Don't Wanna Call You Baby, Baby / To Mess with Dynamite

03. Bearsuit - The Phantom Forest

Listen to: Cut Loose / Please Don't Take Him Back

04. The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

Listen to: Austere / Whirring

05. Cults – Cults

Listen to: Abducted / Go Outside

Fave Old Releases

On repeat in 2011.

01. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.

02. Peach Kelli Pop - Peach Kelli Pop

03. Nobunny - Raw Romance

04. The Feelies - The Good Earth

05. Red Mass - 7-Song EP

Live Shows to Remember

01. JEFF the Brotherhood with Uncle Bad Touch and Peach Kelli Pop (Club Lambi)

02. JEFF the Brotherhood with The Spits and Neil Hamburger (Club Soda, vice.com launch party)

03. The Strange Boys with White Fence (Il Motore)

04. Parlovr, The Barr Brothers, Passwords (Arlene's Grocery, M pour Montréal CMJ Showcase)

05. Nightseeker with Metalian (Katacombes)

Other Memorable Moments

01. Seeing JEFF the Brotherhood for the first time

02. Nobunny materializing on stage at Casa del Popolo to the sound of squealing girls

03. Non-stop, 48-hour, no-sleep, espresso-shot-partying with the CJLO peeps in New York City

04. Meeting Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch from FUBAR/Nightseeker

05. The return of The Adam Brown (Royal Phoenix Bar, Pop Montreal)

Most Annoying Moment

Being too poor for Osheaga.

Biggest Disappointment

The Rapture

Twee Time Dance Party!

Friday December 16, 2011 right after the news at 8PM: Tune in to CJLO for a very special Twee Time Dance Party and Record Giveaway!

Sing a little sweeter, and love a little longer with Twee Time and guest CJLO DJs Shakter the Reaktor (The Reaktor), Lady Oracle (The Limelight), and Sugar Face Nene (Beat the World).

Dance with your kitty to music by Go Sailor, Blanket Arms, the Smittens, Tullycraft, and more!

In the second half of the show, call in for your chance to win a rare 7" vinyl record by Boyracer, courtesy of the Twee Time gang and Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records from Athens GA.

Boyracer - It's Not True Grit, It's Real Dirt 7"

# HHBTM068

Careful What You Wish For

9 To 5 Style

It's Love

Whatever Gets You Thru The Day Is Fine With Me

The track "It's Love" is a cover song, originally by The Softies, so you can't get anymore Twee than that.

Only 500 copies of this little record were pressed, and one of them can be yours! So be sure to brush up on your "Tweevia" (Twee-trivia), 'cause we're not gonna let this one get away that easy.

Wherein I apologize to Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch

It was Friday December 2, 2011. Dean "The Deaner" Murdoch of FUBAR fame was on his way to Montreal; booked to perform with his band Night Seeker and guests Metalian at Katacombs the next day, and to screen FUBAR 2 with live commentary! I was all set to fill in as host of the Go-Go Radio Magic Show on CJLO.

To promote the event, I was given a live interview with The Deaner. It must have been about 4 years since I had interviewed anyone (let alone a fictional character), but I had to seize the opportunity and just Give'r. I mean, what an amazing stroke of luck, right?

Well, I totally blew it. Here's how...

At the time of the interview I had only seen the first FUBAR movie, and almost a decade ago at that. Instead of staying up late to actually watch FUBAR 2, I read the synopsis on freaking wikipedia. I know. Idiot.

The plot summary on wiki is dry and matter-of-fact; let me paraphrase:

Beer, Fort McMurry, town slut, infidelity, worker's compensation, bilateral orchiectomy, marriage, lost friendship, suicide pact, and attempted murder. But everything works out OK at the end because of Santa.

So this is what I had in mind when I was coming up with questions. The synopsis takes what's obviously a damn hilarious movie and gives the reader the impression that it's a dark and depressing tale of morality and the spirit of Christmas.

I have the freaking DVD at home! What was I thinking?! Why didn't I just watch the movie?! Anyway, we make do with what we have at the time.

I left work at 16:30 to make 100% sure I'd be at CJLO in time for the interview. The Go-Go Radio Magic Show starts at 18:00! The damn metro was down, which turned a typical 25-minute B-M-W ride into 1.5 hours sweaty crowded travel time.

But I made it to CJLO breathless and quite frazzled, with 15 minutes to spare. I frantically searched the CJLO vault to retrieve the FUBAR 2 soundtrack with all those rockin' Night Seeker tunes.

The CD was gone. We had no Night Seeker to play! What a clusterfuck.

Either it was in the wrong section (I checked them all; soundtracks and compilations, rock, metal, punk, jazz...), or it was somewhere in the office to be ripped to our digital archive, or someone nicked it for themselves.

I was livid. My mood went from just a little tired to straight-up bitchy. I KNEW the CD existed at the station, because I had played it on my own show before. Argh. Luckily I could snag their Genie-nominated song No Place Like Christmas off youtube.

So I called The Deaner and was able to get him on the phone just after 20:15.

I became painfully aware after my first question that I had asked the wrong thing. My remaining questions were boring and ridiculously uninformed. To add insult to injury, I ran out of questions. It was so awkward.

Another problem was, I edited myself. Plus, I was unable to ask obvious questions about beer and drinking, or getting drunk. You know, the fun stuff. I knew that wouldn't fly at CJLO, or on AM radio. And I worried so much about being "professional" that I forgot about the fun and couldn't come up with good things to talk about. I even went so far as to neglect the fun!

I'm so sorry Dean. Please forgive me. I was rusty and sober as hell.

To end the interview, I invited The Deaner to CJLO and said that he was more than welcome to come in and spin some tunes with the Go-Go Radio Magic Show.

So what happened next?

We went there. Oh yes, we did. We talked about ways to sneak in alcohol. And he stopped to buy beer live on the air.

I'll probably get in real trouble for that, but honestly... our short discussion about alcoholic beverages took the edge off, and in retrospect I think the interview ended on a better note. I played Iron Maiden for him, so hopefully The Deaner and I are all good.

Here's a video of Night Seeker, taken back in October...

Next post: Interview highlights on MP3, and a Night Seeker show review. Stay tuned.