Jay Farrar Friday

Son Volt's latest album American Central Dust came out on Tuesday, July 7. I haven't fully digested this one yet, but it sounds like Jay and the boys are playing some great country-folk. Lots of pedal steel and classic country guitar on this one. Me likey. They are on tour right now, specifically in Snowbird, Utah, today. But the only Canadian date is in Vancouver (July 21)! I've never seen Son Volt live, and it doesn't look like I will get this this year either. You can follow them on their tour blog.

Son Volt - Roll On.mp3
Buy: American Central Dust (2009)

Here's killer instrumental from Uncle Tupelo. This track is from their third album, which was recorded live and produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. The liners notes list the song as being co-written by J. Farrar and J. Tweedy.

Uncle Tupelo - Sandusky.mp3
Buy: March 16-20, 1992 (1992, reissued 2003)

This track is from a Jay Farrar live album which I found on eMusic. It was recorded in September and October of 2003 while Farrar was on tour with the backing band Canyon. The album comes with an 11-track live DVD, which was recored at Slim's in San Francisco.

Jay Farrar - Like a Hurricane.mp3
Buy (eMusic): Stone, Steel & Bright Lights (2004)
The CD/DVD combo can be found new at Amazon.ca, but Amazon.com only has used copies or expensive imports.

Dave Carroll Takes on United Airlines

Note: I posted this story yesterday on the Canadian music blog NxEW.ca, but I can't get enough of it so I am reposting it here. If you love Canadian music, NxEW is a great web site. I highly recommend you check it out.

How many times have you been screwed over by a commercial airline, only to feel totally helpless when they say, "there is nothing we can do?" If you are like me, this has happened to you one too many times. And other than complaining to your friends and family, and maybe trashing the airline on the internet, there literally is no way you can get the airline to compensate you, financially or otherwise, for mangled luggage, missed connections, or ruined vacations.

Last year Halifax musician Dave Carroll and his East Coast Music Association award-winning band Sons of Maxwell had the unfortunate experience of getting their gear trashed by United Airlines. Specifically, Carroll's $3500 Taylor guitar was rendered unplayable by United's ground crew. After getting the runaround from Untied and spending nine months trying to get compensated for the damage, Carroll gave up and decided to extract revenge using his musical talents. He promised United customer service agent Ms. Irlweg that he would write, produce, and release three songs and accompanying videos about his experiences with United, and post them for all of the world to see. You can read about the entire saga on Carroll's web site.

The first video was posted on YouTube on July 6 and it is hysterical! And the tune is quite catchy. Before you point out that Carroll could have purchased another guitar with this amount of money put into making this video, all of the video production was donated. Carroll's goal is to have one million hits on this video in the next year. I cannot wait for songs two and three! Thanks for sticking it to "The Man," Dave!

(Sorry for the weird sizing of the YouTube video. My HTML skillz are lacking and I don't know how to resize it for my page.)

When I posted this yesterday morning the video had 150,000 hits. Right now (9:30am Eastern Time) its approaching 500,000 hits. By yesterday afternoon the Los Angeles Times had picked up this video and reported that United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said that “this has struck a chord with us.” Pun intended? She added that “his video is excellent, and we plan to use it internally as a unique learning and training opportunity to ensure that all our customers receive better service…. This should have been fixed much sooner.”

The video was subsequently picked up by CNN, CBS, and CBC. The Toronto Star had a nice article yesterday too. I sent this video to a family member who is a former United employee, and he said, "I think it is great. I see there is no change at UAL. They could go out of business as far as I am concerned."

Looking at Carroll's Twitter feed, he has interviews lined up today with Toronto's Breakfast Television, Fox Radio, Canada AM (Canada's largest morning show), EZ Rock in his hometown of Timmins, ON, a Chicago radio station, and Global National (another Canadian TV station).

This video would not have taken off had the song not been so catchy and well-written, nor the video so funny and well-done. I crack up every time I see the chalk outline of the broken guitar. I was humming "United Breaks Guitars" all day yesterday, and probably will today too. I hope Mr. Carroll will post the song for purchase, and I hope he gets on Letterman or some other show. Plus, I hope his musical career takes off! I'm ordering his album Perfect Blue pronto ($20 CND from his website, $15 USD from CD Baby, and on iTunes).

Soup du Jour

I'll take an extra large bowl, please.

Amy Millan - He Brings Out the Whiskey In Me.mp3
Buy: Honey from the Tombs (2006)

Corb Lund Band - Time to Switch to Whiskey.mp3
Buy: Five Dollar Bill (2003)

Hank Williams, Jr. - Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound.mp3
From: Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound (1979, out of print)

Willie Nelson - Whiskey River.mp3
Buy: Shotgun Willie (1973, reissued 2008)
only $4.97 US on Amazon!

I miss the USA

On Wednesday, July 1, (Canada Day up here), the New York Times ran a fun Op-Ed piece written by various Canadians who now live in the US on what they miss most about home. Actor/comedian Rick Moranis leads the essay with a little history, followed by musings on loonies, toques, and "demure" Canadians. Others talk about cold, snowy winters, Franophones, Second Cup, hockey, "colour," free health care, Coffee Crisp, and other northern specialties. I actually can't believe that no one mentioned Tim Hortons, although that franchise has migrated to border states.

That article got me thinking about what I miss most about the good old US of A. Here is a quick list of things that I miss about my homeland.

• Target - no Target in the Great White North. I shop there every time I am back in the states. Canadian Tire just does not cut it.
• Getting a big Sunday paper. For some reason, the large edition "Sunday" paper is delivered on Saturdays. It drives me crazy.
• Imperial Units- Fahrenheit, Miles per Hour, Dollars per Gallon. I weigh 130 pounds, not 59 kilograms.
• Gallon jugs of milk. Its either bags of milk, or litre cartons.
• Good Pizza. In the New York Times article, musician A.C. Newman complains that there is no good pizza in Canada. He is correct.
• ESPN - Yeah, they have sports networks here like TSN (same parent company as ESPN), but every edition of Sportscentre (French spelling), regardless of the time of year, leads off with a hockey story. I miss having more than one sport to be fanatical about.
• College Sports - University athletics in Canada is an afterthought. All of the really good athletes either play hockey, or get sports scholarships to US schools. I miss watching US college football and basketball. Sure, my cable system gets the US networks, but there is only so much of the Nortre Dame Broadcasting Company that one can watch.
• Timely Cable - Due to some broadcast agreements that I don't understand, Canada gets many cable shows months after they air in the US. For example, I get episodes of South Park two months after their US broadcast.
• Buying booze at grocery stores or gas stations. In Ontario you can only buy liquor, wine, and beer at government run stores such as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) or The Beer Store ("Where the Beers Are"). Its a total pain in the ass. I know some states in the US have this policy too. I hope I never live in one.
  

Believe me, there are plenty of things that I love about Canada, and I will get to those things some other time. Today I just want to wish everyone a happy, safe, Independence Day. Most of my family is either vacationing in Tennessee, or bar-b-queing in Wisconsin, and I miss them very much. Please have a Miller Lite and a Johnsonville Brat for me!

Here are some tunes that describe the hope, fear, love, pride, frustration, and joy about the country that is America.

Ray Charles - America the Beautiful.mp3
Buy: A Message from the People (1972, reissued 2009)
The definitive version. If you listen to the Celine Dion version today, you lose your citizenship.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - American Girl.mp3
Buy: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (1976, reissued 2002)
My anthem.

Vigilantes of Love - America.mp3
From: V.O.L. (1996, out of print)
Questioning the country is a very important part of being a citizen of it.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - This Land is Your Land.mp3
Buy: Live: 1975-85 (1986, reissued 1997)
The Boss's version of the Woody Guthrie classic speaks for itself.

Jimi Hendrix - Star Spangled Banner.mp3
Buy: Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (1998, reissued 2007)
I know everyone is posting this track today, but too bad. It rules!

NPR is streaming a Mix for America that includes a mix of genres like rock, jazz, punk and symphonic music, nearly as diverse as America itself. No Depression has a nice list of songs about America.

Canada Day Fireworks

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the 1 July 1867 enactment of the British North America Act, which united Canada as a single country of four provinces. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally.

The below song is quintessentially Canadian. Its by a band that is wildly successful in Canada, but never really made much of a dent in the US music scene (asides from border cities and ex-pats attending their shows). Its an upbeat, poppy, love song, but it name drops Bobby Orr. And, surprise, they often play it at the end of outdoors shows so that fireworks can blast in the background! I saw them perform at Edgefest in 2003 at Molson Park in Barrie, Ontario. Great rock band.

The Tragically Hip - Fireworks.mp3
Buy: Phantom Power (1998)

2009 Half Way Report

Here is a list of 2009 album releases which I have very much enjoyed so far this year. They are in alphabetical order per how they appear on my crappy Zune. So far, I think I that the Justin Townes Earle album Midnight at the Movies is my favorite, but we still have a lot of good music to get through before the end of the year.

• Ben Nichols - The Last Pale Light in the West.mp3
  Buy: The Last Pale Light In The West
  
• Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Beware!
• Doug Paisley - S/T
• Eilen Jewel - Sea of Tears.mp3
  Buy: Sea of Tears
  
• Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels
• Ha Ha Tonka - Novel Sounds from the Nouveau South
• Hayden - Never Lonely.mp3
  Buy (Maple Music): The Place Where We Lived
  
• Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - S/T
• Joel Plaskett - Three
• John Doe and The Sadies - Country Club
• Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
• Leeroy Stagger - Everything is Real
• Mark Olson and Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
• Phosphorescent - To Willie
• Steve Earle - Townes
• Tim Easton - Porcupine
• William Elliott Whitmore - Hell or High Water.mp3
  Buy: Animals In The Dark
  

I'm looking forward to these albums that were just released, or are to be released later this year.

• Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day (June 23)
• Drive-By Truckers - The Fine Print: Oddities and Rarities (Sept. 1)
• Levon Helm - Electric Dirt (June 30)
• Magnolia Electric Co. - Josephine (July 21)
• Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (June 23)
• Richmond Fontaine - We Used to Think the River Sounded Like a Freeway (Aug. 17)
• Son Volt - American Central Dust (July 7)
• Wilco - Wilco (The Album) (July 7)

What have I missed?