Ministry of Indie

Last Night's Gig: Attack in Black/Shotgun Jimmie

2009-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Since April 14, I've been interning at CBC Radio 3, here's a blog that I posted on cbcradio3.com. See it here in its original form.

Admittedly, I do not go to as many shows as I should lately. Until I came to Radio 3 to do my internship, the last gig I had been to was way the heck back in early November, when I saw John K. Samson do a solo set at the Pyramid Cabaret in Winnipeg. George Bush was still president back then, it was a scary world.

Luckily, I've broken that horrible months-long streak since landing in Vancouver. Because if I hadn't, I would have missed a fantastic show by Attack In Black and Shotgun Jimmie that took place last night at the Biltmore Cabaret.

I arrived fashionably late, and unfortunately missed the beginning of Shotgun Jimmie's set. But the last 2/3 of it that I saw sounded great. Jimmie has this great way of playing his guitar, or rather, playing an extension of himself. Every strum had a bluesy/Neil Young-ish aura to it and I found myself closing my eyes every once and awhile trying to let the notes soak in. Aside from the one dude slam dancing by himself (wtf?) it was a good first set to lead into the headliner.

Having not even heard of Attack In Black until last week, I wasn't sure what to expect from their live set. But the 100 or so fans who showed up knew what they wanted, and AIB delivered. Bassist Ian Kehoe kindly dedicated "Leaving Your Death in a Flower Bed" to Radio 3 before launching into the track. Again, I found myself trying to soak in all the music at once because it did sound that good. The only lower points to the set were an unfortunate bass tuning error (resulting in an entire track being played out of tune) and the decision by AIB not to play "Young Leaves", which many fans in the crowd very clearly wanted to hear.

But other than those small points (and "Slam Dancer" later snogging some chick at one of the tables...wtf?) it was a very energetic and enjoyable show to be at. Go see them when they some around, you won't be disappointed.

Fleet Foxes are Godly on SNL.

2009-01-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

Your brain will explode when you watch these two performances by Fleet Foxes on SNL this past Saturday. Now if these guys would only come to Winnipeg...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bJC330fBPM&eurl=http://videogum.com/archives/sketch-comedy/snl-just-the-funny-parts-and-f_046491.html&feature=player_embedded

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3PvB06VUZ0&feature=related

Cheers.

Merriweather Post Pavilion: Album of the year already?!

2009-01-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Greetings fellow music fans. How were all of your holidays? Have you sufficiently made new year's resolutions and broken them all by now? That's what I thought.

But the subject of this post does not have anything to do with broken promises and bulging waistlines, the subject is the new Animal Collective album Merriweather Post Pavilion. Now 2009 has barely cleaned the placental goo off itself, but this album is already being pegged for album of the year.

It seems the blogosphere (which is actually in the shape of a cube) is ready to just hand AC the award, complete with flowers and teary eyed acceptance speech. But to me this just begs the question: WTFlip?

Have these people completely forgotten about other bands coming out with albums? Lily Allen? Bon Iver? The New Pornographers? Any of these artists on top the countless others releasing albums this year have the chance to take the top nod if they make their albums right. Even the Doctor himself is releasing an album, and who's to say that he doesn't drop some inexplicably hot, Fleet Foxes, beat-boxing-esque rhymes and blow us off our feet? So why is Merriweather Post Pavilion making blogs and music sites collectively and prematurely jizz their pants?

Granted, Animal Collective are good. They've earned the buzz and the hype. They've earned the hookers, booze and life-time supply of Sham Wows. But do they deserve this type of praise so early on in this year of music? The answer is no.

I just happen to have gotten my hot little hands on a vinyl version of this album (which has been released before it hits the shelves in electro magnetic disc form on January 20th) and listened to it a good 5 times as to provide an honest viewpoint. Is it good? Yes. Does it make you think that you took too much LSD when you look at the cover? Check it out for yourself. (it's freaky) Does it make your brain explode a little bit more every time you listen to it due to sheer awesomeness levels? No. The long and short of Merriweather Post Pavilion is that it's an ok album. It's competently made, sounds great, and they even try a few new things that make for cool, dynamic sounding tracks. But is it the best of the year? No, not at all.

How about all bloggers and music sites out there do us all a favor and make a resolution to hold off judgments until December 2009, and maybe give some other artists a chance to blow our heads off with greatness.

y2k9.

2008-12-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

I was ~~pleasantly surprised~~ dumbstruck to find out that in this crazy jumble of pornography and occasionally amusing LOLcat, someone has been reading this blog and for the first time, I realized I had some sort of audience. So I pledge to you, the dozen or so readers out there, that I will attempt to make this blog more readable and foremost, update it more often.

To those of you who have been reading, thank you, and please continue to do so.

As some of you may know, this Friday's show is going to be a year end round up where I'll be playing from the best this last year has had to offer us. Recently the founder of The International Mixtape Project, Ryan "Mixtape" asked all members to send in their top ten albums and singles from this past year and being the loyal citixen of the music community, immediately obliged. If a Seth Cohen still existed, this next batch of albums would be included in his next "Seth Cohen Starter Pack." Any and all of these albums should be immediately purchased. Without further ado, here is my top ten for 2008:

1. Fleet Foxes-Fleet Foxes
2. Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
3. Tokyo Police Club-Elephant Shell
4. Born Ruffians-Red, Yellow and Blue
5. Coldplay-Viva La Vida
6. Elbow-The Seldom Seen Kid
7. MGMT-Oracular Spectacular
8. Flight of the Conchords-Flight of the Conchords
9. Ra Ra Riot-The Rhumb Line
10. Tegan & Sara-The Con

Tune in this Friday to hear my top ten singles of the year as well.

Peace out.

your new marching orders.

2008-12-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

South-Londoners Exlovers are set to release an album early on next year, but they've decided to tease us bit with a single they are releasing next week. The single will include two songs on it including "Just a Silhouette." Your new orders indie fans, are to infiltrate thier myspace site, listen to their music, and possibly support this emerging band by purchasing their single. It makes a great Christmas present to you!

Cheers, and as always, listen to the Ministry of Indie every Friday from 12-3pm to get the latest in independent rock from here and around the world!

http://www.myspace.com/weareexlovers

The music industry takes a hit.

2008-10-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

I recently read a post at Law of the Game, a blog that deals with legal issues surrounding video games, regarding a new act called the PRO-IP act recently put forth in the United States. Some of the things the act does is give the government more powers to go after average-joe downloaders, and also introduces stiffer penalties for pirating works by giving individual songs the label of indivudual works, for example. This means someone caught downloading an album could be fined for each track in an album they have downloaded.

The article goes on to explain the reason that this legislation hurts the music industry, here's a small preview:

"Ultimately, the way this hurts the music industry isn't in practical enforcement. They backed this bill because it helps their enforcement. It's an issue of image, and as the bad publicity keeps falling on the RIAA, more and more consumers are taking their entertainment dollars elsewhere. It's insulting to the consumer that the RIAA would even suggest that ripping a CD you purchased so you can put it on your iPod is illegal, even though they haven't tried to enforce that idea at this time."

Read the whole article at Law of the Game.

New Music!

2008-09-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

As you may have seen on the Kick FM website, we just got a whack of new tunage on the playlist. This means tomorrow at 2pm I'm going to feature a good chunk of those artists during my last hour. It's gonna rock, you know it will, so if you're planning to tune in for only one hour, choose this one, you'll enjoy it, I promise.

Oh and just FYI, the songs indicated in bold have been provided and/or recommended by yours truly. I've got your musical education in mind everybody.

Keep on listening! You guys ROCK!

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Nicole Byblow - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (ManCon) [Neil Young cover]
Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma
Mates of State - The Re-Arranger
Record of the Week Club - Walkman (ManCon)
The Zutons - What's Your Problem
Black Kids - Look at Me (When I Dance Wichoo)
Born Ruffians - Kurt Vonnegut
Conor Oberst - Souled Out !!!
Mystery Jets - Half in Love With Elizabeth
Lily Allen - Naive [The Kooks cover]
John Blackwood and the Housewives - Michael Faraday (ManCon)

health etc.

2008-08-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. For the few of you who read this post and listen to my show I'd like to apologize for ma absence these last couple of weeks. On August 14th I was stricken with an illness, and to this day symptoms remain. Doctors haven't been able to figure out if it has been caused by some sort or virus or infection, or even something neurological. Tests are ongoing to try to figure out what is exactly wrong with me, but until I've figured that out, or the symptoms simply disappear, my appearance on this blog or on the radio may be intermittent.

Thanks for continuing to listen to the Ministry of Indie and 92.9 Kick FM. You guys, the listeners, are the best.

Here's an Okkervil River tune I've been listening to lately, it's got the same effects of a warm blanket or cup of cocoa.

Okkervil River-Listening to Otis Redding at Home...

Cheers.

Song of the week: Naive-Lily Allen

2008-08-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

I've most likely mentioned at least a couple of hundred times in the past that I love the Kooks. I'm a huge fan of "Inside In Inside Out" (but not so much with "Konk," but that's for another ramble) and there was probably a period of at least a month last year when I played "Naive" on the radio every chance I could get. Well Imagine my surprise when I found a cover on the internet by none other than Lily Allen, the Brit songstress who has arguably one of the sexiest voices on the planet.

So let me break this equation down for you. If x=rockus song and y=sexy voice of Lily Allen, then:

x + y = Killer track! (or z)

Enough with the half-assed algebra though, enjoy this cover of Naive by Lily Allen.

Naive-Lily Allen
Via Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good

Cut Copy: Track of the Day

2008-08-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Due to some technical issues, I was unable to do my regular show this afternoon, I can't tell you how disappointed I am, I had a couple of killer tracks to share with you guys.

I won't let some crappy computer network databases stop me though, my love for you knows no bounds. Right, sorry for the awkwardness there, so I'll get on with it then.

Cut Copy are to put it simply, awesome. If I were to put it in complicated, less easily understandable terms, I would say that they are the equivalent to standing on top of a building in a thunderstorm with your pants down and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I know, it's a little harder to understand. Anyway, Cut Copy are a product of Melbourne, Australia, and just rippin it up here in terms of their sound. Their latest album, Lights & Music, is one of the best indie dance albums I've heard since Justice came across the pond and lay waste to North America's collective cerebellum, and this little cut I'm giving to you, Strangers in the Wind, is only a very small sample of the brilliant audacity found on this album.

So without further ado, please enjoy this track courtesy of theyellowstereo.com.

Stay tuned, I have a killer Kooks cover for you coming up next week.

Album Review: Fleet Foxes

2008-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Honesty. Keep that word in mind as you read this review.

Emerging in early 2008 with their first EP Sun Giant, Fleet Foxes fail to disappoint in their first full-length album. The album opens with a short tune within a tune titled "Red Squirrel," which is a great precursor to the rest of the album. I recently read a review on Amazon.com from a listener who thought this moment at the beginning was the most off putting part of the whole album, in my eyes, he/she couldn't be more wrong. That 5-second moment is the moment that I believe describes Fleet Foxes the best: Honest and endearing. The initial 5 seconds then melts into the first full track, "Sun it Rises," which may leave you wondering if they can hold the standard established in the first 3:12. Rest assured, they can.

The biggest draw to this album by far has to be the vocals. Each track has been written and tailored to show off their harmonies as well as front man Robin Pecknold's beautifully haunting vocals. Even when they try their hand at a lyric-less tune in "Heard Them Stirring," their vocals still make a lasting impression. Perhaps the most moving part of the album is at the end of their final track, "Oliver James," when Pecknold's a Capella vocals leave you on a cliff-hanging moment to the point where you'll want to restart the album all over so you can experience it again. I'd attribute the final lyrics to standing at the threshold of your girlfriend/boyfriend's home, a kiss still lingering on your lips, wishing the night will never end.

The aesthetic of this album is distinctly different than most and is the thing that makes me repeat this album over and over again. Remember that word honesty? This is where it really comes into play. Fleet Foxes use of reverb makes it sound like it could have been recorded in an old church hall in any small town in North America, a distinctly rural feel. This is why Fleet Foxes is so honest, because it sounds like it was recorded in your own back yard. There are no pretentious lyrics or fancy instrumental tricks, it's guitar, a keyboard, drums and harmonizing vocals. Raw, simple, wonderful.

Fleet Foxes is an album that has many unexpected surprises on every track. From the spooky, Grimm Brothers-esque fairy-tale lyrics of "White Winter Hymnal," to the staccato piano on "Blue Ridge Mountains," this album stays interesting the whole way through and by the final reverberating echoes of "Oliver James," will leave you begging for more.

Elephants Have Shells?

2008-04-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

OK yeah, weird title, but if you have been following the exploits of Tokyo Police Club over the past little while, you might have caught that little reference to the name of their first full length LP, Elephant Skin, to be released on April 22nd.

I have some great news to all you listeners out there. I have recieved an advance copy of Elephant Skin, and this week I'll be bringing those new tunes to KICK FM. Listen in on Friday too, there will be a killer tunage track straight off this new album.

Remember, you heard it first on KICK FM.

Success!

2008-03-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my badgering and constant annoyance to station boss Rick Baverstock, two tracks that I handed to him are now playing on the air waves of 92.9 KICK FM. Check out both Said the Whale-This Winter I Retire and Two Hours Traffic-Backseat Sweetheart, now on the KICK FM playlist.

Backseat Sweetheart just happens to be this week's song of the week, so stay tuned this Friday on the Ministry of Indie for that. See you then!

-Gaetan

Killer Tunage Track, Said the Whale: March 8/08

2008-03-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

Ahoy thar everyone!

Busy times here at the Ministry of Indie, I've been had at work trying to procure as many copies of fantastic Canadian bands' music as possible. Unfortunately, some in the Canadian Government (mainly those bastard conservatives) think that the Ministry of Indie doesn't deserve the funding to purchase said music. They said something about needing it to buy "weapons grade plutonium" and "to keep the gays from marrying." Whatever Stephen Harper.

Anywho, last week's song of the week is by a band that comes from the swash-buckling shores of British Columbia, and the "collective brainchild" of Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft. They recently turned into a 5-piece band and are now touring Canada. I got the opportunity to see them last weekend at the Albert (best venue ever) playing with Two Hours Traffic and The Paperbacks, and these guys definitely kick some ass. I think it says a lot about a band when their bio is written in proverb form.

From saidthewhale.com: " When the moon was young and the month was May I came across a great animal seven leagues off the shoals of the Grand Banks, amidst high winds and high seas. For nineteen days we'd been sailing, and ne'er the sight of anything larger than a dolphin, let alone a Blue over twice the length of our schooner."

Wow, read the rest at their website saidthewhale.com

This week's Killer Tunage Track of the Week is called This Winter I Retire, and it's by Said the Whale.

Where I Find Fantastic Music

2008-02-26T12:51:00.001-08:00

I am a huge music lover as many of you (or all 3 of you) may already know, because I'm assuming you're reading this blog page cause you listen to my radio show every Friday on KICK FM. I'm always on the lookout for the next great indie artist, and although being a DJ at KICK helps me discover some truly great music, the biggest contributor to the broadening of my music knowledge comes from CBC.

A couple of years ago after obtaining my first iPod, I discovered these great little things called podcasts. From there I found a weekly podcast from CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence and downloaded it almost religiously. From there I found CBCradio3.com and newmusiccanada.com
veritable gold mines of great music. So, while I recommend listening to KICK FM, if you're looking for another source for your insatiable indie fix, I would strongly recommend you do one or more of these three things:

1) Download Grant Lawrence's podcast from iTunes, new episodes released weekly.
2) Go to CBCradio3.com and listen to their web radio and search for your fave Canadian band.
3) Acquire a Sirius Satellite Radio and listen to their station on Channel 94.

Now you know my secret, my source. Go forward music freaks, and listen to your heart's content!

[End Transmission]

More Canadiana! Feb. 26/08

2008-02-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

Continuing the trend of fantastical Canadian Indie music, this week's band comes from possibly the most Canadian city in the country, (probably cause it's our capital) Ottawa, Ontario. The Acorn have made huge inroads in the Canadian music scene since the release of their latest album Glory Hope Mountain in the fall of 2007 and are now touring in the States with some planned tour dates in Manitoba for the Folk Festival. I got the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of their album last year and instantly fell in love with it. Although I had been a fan of Rolf Klausener and the rest of his band mates since I discovered them on a CBC Radio 3 Podcast in 2005, I was unsure of what they would be able to bring to the table in their next album. I need not fear, however, because The Acorn brought beautiful, thoughtful lyrics (based on the life of Klausener's Honduras-born mother Gloria Esperanza Montoya) and varying musical themes to make a simply solid album. This week's Killer Tunage Track brings some traditional aboriginal music themes and blends them with an upbeat tempo and simply sublime guitar. Please enjoy Flood Pt. 1.

The Acorn Official Site
The Acorn MySpace
The Acorn Band Page at CBC Radio 3

Songs of the Week 2/15 and 2/22

2008-02-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

Apologies to the 3 people who read this blog regularly, I had been having problems logging into my Blog account, but it seems those problems have now been resolved. Without further ado, here are the Killer Tunage Tracks of the Week from the last two weeks.

February 22: I noticed that my last 3 songs of the week had all been imports, and that is not acceptable, since there are so many great Canadian bands out there, so here is the first Canadian band, and certainly not the last, to make it to my song of the week. Malajube is a band based in Montreal, Quebec and despite performing only in French, have made huge inroads in English Canada and even the US. They have had their song featured in two commercials in Canada, and a Radio Shack commercial in the States. (yowza!) This week's song of the week, Montreal -40, was featured in a Rogers Wireless commercial, and is being played this week as a tribute to our recent cold snap, and the Festival du Voyageur. He Ho!

Malajube Official Site
Malajube MySpace

February 15: This band has been on my iPod and in my head for a couple of months now, and thanks to that I now own all six of their albums and four EPs. Spoon started in 1993 in Austin, Texas. They've had their music played on shows like The O.C. and have played on late night shows like Conan O'Brien, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Their latest album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, was released in July of 2007 and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, and they've also had a song featured on the Will Ferrel movie Stranger Than Fiction. That song is called The Book I Write, and is this week's Killer tunage track of the week.

Spoon Official Site
Spoon MySpace

Join me this Friday for another Canadian tune, cause they deserve the most play time.

-The Minister of Indie Music

Song of the Week: February 8/'08

2008-02-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Another week has passed and because of that, it's time for another killer tunage track of the week. This week's band was formed in 2003 in Brazil. Their band name, CSS or Cansei de Ser Sexy, comes from a quote from Beyonce, who reportedly said she was "tired of being sexy." This song of the week is an older one, it had been used for iPod touch commercials back in 2007 and made it to number 12 on Billboard magazine's Canadian Hot 100.

This week's song of the week is Music is My Hot Hot Sex. Download it, it's great.

CSS MySpace
CSS on iTunes

Contest!

2008-01-31T12:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. As you may have noticed, this blog is pretty bare bones. It lacks a certain, zing, bang or what have you. I have determined that this problem could be remedied with a simple logo placement.

So here's the deal. Make a logo for the Ministry of Indie and send it to the official Ministry of Indie email (ministryofindie@gmail.com) and I'll pick a winner in about a month. It has to be tasteful, and awesome. If I pick your design, you'll get glory beyond imagination, and the chance to get a track of your choice played on the M.O.I show. So get crackin, you only have a month left! Contest closes February 29th, 2008.

Out.

Welcome to the Ministry of Indie!

2008-01-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well here it is, the inaugural post for the Ministry of Indie blog page. It certainly is exciting to be coming to you via the internets, and of course as always on 92.9 KICK FM from 12-3 each Friday afternoon. I hope everyone listens to the show this week, it's gonna be a gooder (as it always is) and I'll also be introducing a new segment to my show. I like to call it "The Ministry of Indie's Killer Tunage Track of the Week." Well that's really long so I'll just call it, "Killer Tunage Track of the Week."

Well lets start the segment off. Every week on this blog, I will post the track of the week, as well as provide some links to band pages and ways to download the tune.

This week's Killer Tunage track comes to us all the way from France. Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay form the electronic sounds of Justice. Their debut album Cross is up for three Grammy awards this year including one for Best Dance Recording which happens to be none other than this week's Killer Tunage track D.A.N.C.E. Tune in during the first half-hour this Friday to hear it. I guarantee it'll make you want to dance.

That concludes this week's transmission, thanks for listening and supporting the show everyone, check you next week.

"Justice" MySpace page
Download "Justice" on iTunes