Shivaree, a band I've been boosting since their debut back in 1999 with I Oughtta Give You A Shot In The Head For Making Me Live In This Dump, released a wicked covers album this year of love songs made famous by folks with something less than authority on L-U-V. They don't all work as well as this one, but this one is pretty effin' ace.
Not much to say, except that I discovered this song on someone else's blog, and I can't remember which. Probably one of the cooler ones. Without a doubt this is one of the best songs you'll hear today. It has so much going for it that I don't even want to give you any expectations. Small Sins are from Toronto, which is where my youngest brother lives, though he's at home today. I don't know if he knows them, but Ben did once see Kenny of Kenny vs Spenny walking a goat (and then last week, Nicole saw an episode where they were tied to goats, so everything came full circle) through his neighbourhood.
I've already said a ton about the Howling Hex and their new album XI, so I'm gonna shut up now. Except to say that if you like the riff from "American Woman", or hate it, you'll dig "FDJBG".
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 3 - I haven't finished Vol. 2, and I haven't finished my second post about the series either, but sooner or later I'm going to have to have this. Might as well get it for free.
Anything by Raymond Sokolov - A fantastic writer, who writes mainly about food. He even wrote a biog on A.J. Liebling!
Honestly, that's really all I want. I've got lots of stuff. What I really need is more time to enjoy the stuff I already have. And maybe a generous and forgiving publisher.
If you're shopping for someone who is a bit like me, but not me, here's some other ideas:
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life - The first chapter in an amazingly rewarding graphic novel series by Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley. At first it reads like yet another Toronto-based relationship comic (see also excellent works by: Jeff Lemire, Chester Brown, Hope Larson, Michael Noonan, Paul Rivoche, Maurice Vellekoop, and many, many other cartoonists who gravitate around Toronto, which might be the world capital of awesome comics in the 21st Century), but rather quickly reveals itself to be something quite extraordinary.
Threshold, the new album by Roger Dean Young & the Tin Cup. Fan-freaking-tastic. Any roots/americana lover in your life should have their own copy of this record/cd to cherish in private and public moments.
"We used to have such an organized party," sings Michael Brown at the opening of this track from the Parkas' second full-length album Put Your Head in the Lion's Mouth. It's a pretty frenetic song that sometimes seems like it's been put together of scraps from other songs. There are several times where Brown shouts out what you'd think would be a recurring chorus, but great lines like "Now this is fighting!" (which happens to be the name of the Parkas' first album) only happen once and then they're gone. There's a weird intro that has nothing to do with the rest of the song. It's a Frankenstein song, a lumbering whole of unconnected slogans and riffs and it's awesome.
