The girl goes canoeing: notes on Volume 11

1- Rockaway Beach – Sahara Hotnights

I had a hard time picking a song to kick off my CD but this one does the trick. I’d wanted something poppy & upbeat – it’s a plus that it’s about summer and going to the beach.

2 – Summer – Modest Mouse

It’s old but I still love this song even though the “damn, who’s paging me now?” dates it terribly.

3 – That Time – Regina Spektor

Hey, remember that time I didn’t eat cheese for a year?

4 – Hey Boy – The Blow

The Blow blew me away when I saw her at Sneaky Dee’s recently, aided in part by her playing this song.

5 – Chop ‘em Down – Matisyahu

A track by the “popular Jewish reggae artist.”

6 – BLJH – Hank

Does anyone know what BLJH stands for?

7 – Alive with Pleasure – Viva Voce

2 songs in one, which was my complaint when I saw this duo open for Sleater-Kinney at the Commodore in Vancouver, but it’s since grown on me.

8 – Islands Gone Bad – Shapes and Sizes

Another double song – this version is from a CBC Radio 3 studio session the Victoria band did.

9 – Illuminate the Girl – Holy Microphone

I head this song played on Definitely Not the Opera and downloaded it two minutes later. Really only included because it namechecks one of my favourite Toronto restaurants for breakfast.

10 – Bad Things – Boycrazy

11 – Bad Seeds – Barcelona Pavilion

12 – I’m So Low – The Minders

13 – [insert Japanese characters] – The Secret

Not meant to be a “secret song” – I just couldn’t reproduce the characters. Not that it matters since I don’t know what the title translates as anyway. (If I’d included a Bontempi track, there would have been two ex-Plumtree songs on my CD)

14 – Wonderin’ – Neil Young

From Neil Young’s “rockabilly” album.

15 – Give Me the Chance to Fall – Gentleman Reg

I fell. It didn’t work out because of “A” (listen to Track 4)

16 – Naïve Melody – Arcade Fire

17 – I Will Never See the Sun – Great Lake Swimmers

An ode to the Toronto subway system.

18 – In California – Neko Case

From “Canadian Amp” – oddly includes the line “Take a walk to Bonnie Brae,” which is the name of the street I live on…

19 – What We’ll Admit – Jessica Jones

A gem off a Portland comp CD.

20 – Skinny Boy – Amy Milan

21 – SandP – The Phonemes

 

TOO MUCH INFORMATION: an exercise in autobiography

I know what you are thinking: "She couldn't possibly have anything more to say about this cd".  I know I wrote way too much, but there are still a few things I want to say:

1)  I will not be posting my liner notes on the blog. You already have them with the cd, and, more importantly, I don’t want them on the internet. When I made the cd, I was perfectly ok with everything I had written. However, when it came time to mail the cds, I became hesitant, embarrassed, nervous. I don’t reveal any secrets in my liner notes, but I still feel a little exposed, a little naked.

2) I made the cd and wrote the liner notes a long time ago. I had forgotten what I had written until I assembled the booklets this past week. I did not write the notes in order. Instead, I randomly annotated songs, in no particular order. It was only after writing all of the notes that I added song numbers. As always, my intro was written last.

3) I wrote the liner notes in less than an hour and did not proofread them. There are typos. I did some white-out business, but I think I left the run-ons and comma splices. From what I gather, most of you are in the business of writing, so I apologize if I have offended your sensibilities.

4) The cd was ordered based on songs not people. That means I organized it by the way songs flowed together rather than by chronology of events or association of people and experiences. I think this is important to note, considering the way certain people were put together. The men on this list, for instance, with whom I have had relationships/relations are lumped together in the middle of the cd. Their proximity was completely accidental, as was the back-to-back liner notes about lesbian tendencies. These are coincidences.

5) I am sorry to have repeated so many artists. I guess I am not as original as I would like to be.

6) I feel slightly guilty for not including a song about the man I am with now. To be fair, I made this before we really got together, but I still feel a little bad. So, to appease my nagging conscious, here is the bonus track I would have included for him:

Ozomatli- "?Donde Se Fueron?"

Adrian, 26

This song reminds me of our first date. Adrian took me to a chamber music concert that featured a piece by Brahms (my favourite). So how does Ozomatli remind me of that? Afterwards we went to Café Sarajevo, and there was a band playing music that instantly reminded me of Ozomatli. We danced, talked, drank, and kissed, and it was my best first date ever…possibly my best date ever. How could I not fall for a man who is smart, funny, and interested in music?

7) I don’t really know why I felt the need to attach the ages of those included within. Part of me feels like I put the numbers in there because age is something tangible and objective; maybe I attached ages to provide a balance to the obviously subjective interpretations of relationships and experiences included in the notes. It is kind of silly, though, especially considering that Duncan, Ali, Omar, Steph, and Ken are all having birthdays within the next month and a bit. Lauren just had hers. Perhaps before you even listen to the cd or read the notes, the one 100% factual, indisputable detail will no longer hold true. This is why I love autobiography: you never know why people include certain things, how valid they are, and what they mean for your interpretation of what is included.

Ok, I will finally shut up.  Enjoy. 

 

1) Spoon- “Merchants of Soul”

apologies for this being the second spoon song.

 

2) Brian Jonestown Massacre- “My Life”

 

3) TV on the Radio- “Young Liars”

 

4) Tom Waits- “Way Down In the Hole”

 

Dusty Springfield- “Spooky”

 

6) Mel Torme- “Comin’ Home, Baby”

 

7) Lyrics Born- “I Changed My Mind”

another double up on the musicians.  damn you all for liking the same bands as I do!

 

8) Atmosphere- “Get Fly”

I found it funny that Steph, Rach, and Ken ended up side by side by side, as Rach and I went to New York to see Ken and Steph before they went to Brazil. They didn’t come with us to the Lyrics Born show (they went to a hockey game instead), but they were there for a lot of the other adventures we had.