From Blown Speakers

Wednesday, December 30, 2020
good news

I'm sure this will come up a lot as this exercise goes on, but that Bad Channels record really made me nostalgic. I actually played with them (with a different band--we just shared a bill) twice in 2012 and these days I barely pick up my guitar. Also, Brent remains a great friend and around this time last year, I "DJ'd" he and his wife Cindy's 10th anniversary party at the ANZA.

As for the music, it's exactly the type of music I think of when I think of Brent. He actually has a really wide range of things he likes, but these poppy punk songs that straddle the line between modern and classic sound like the amalgamation of what I think his favourite sounds are (minus Motorhead).

Going through all of these records in alphabetical order made me realize I actually don't own Julien Baker's sophomore record, Turn Out the Lights. I was going along thinking that I was still buying all the records I really, really liked in the era of streaming, but that was definitely one of my favourites of 2017 and I never ended up picking it up.

It's been awhile since I sat down with her debut and I honestly couldn't remember how much I'd listened to it when it was released. Turns out, it was a lot, as every song was instantly familiar. And while she's grown a lot as a songwriter in the last 5-years, it's still a strong listen front to back.

now playing: Julien Baker - Ballad of Big Nothing

posted by Quinn @ 1:37 a.m. Comments:0

Tuesday, December 22, 2020
hey meet me in the city

I have to admit that I had the Babe Rainbow EP running at the wrong RPMs, but even (not chopped, but) screwed Cam's weirdo instrumental jams are something I like a lot. It's not the type of thing I'm going to wear out nowadays, but definitely a record that I can see myself going back to more often than some of the harsh noise records that have/are yet to come.

Whenever I think of the Babies first record, I think of New York, because "Meet Me in the City" was on a playlist that I listened to more or less on repeat as I zipped around the 7 boroughs, the first time I was there in 2011. And that song in particular, makes me think of the L train emerging from underneath the East River as it rumbles into Manhattan. Which is a long way of saying, both of these albums made me feel a hit of nostalgia.

Kevin Morby's songwriting's become more refined over the decade since, but back then he could still write a helluva hook and they're all over both of these albums.

now playing: Boldy James feat. the Alchemist and Benny the Butcher - Scrape the Bowl

posted by Quinn @ 12:35 a.m. Comments:0

Thursday, December 17, 2020
in the red

This isn't the type of music I'll ever get sick of. And further to that, 10-months after the last indoor show that I've seen, listening to this pair of B-Lines records, made me long for being crammed into a sweaty venue, where beer cans are flying and beer may or may not be being spit into the air.

As I continue the march into middle age (I'm 39 tomorrow), a typical B-Lines show is the type of thing I figured I'd be less and less inclined to attend, but after being cooped up in the house for months, it'd be a dream to be able to let loose and fire back the same kind of adolescent energy that these songs are firing at you.

now playing: Chubby and the Gang - Chubby and the Gang Rule, Ok?

posted by Quinn @ 11:56 p.m. Comments:0

Tuesday, December 15, 2020
and since there's no one else around, we let our hair grow long

I remember the months before Funeral came out--or maybe even the months before it leaked--because there was so much clamour for this band from Montreal. And it's the first time I really remember music blogs driving this hype cycle that, before that, was mostly the realm of the British music press. I can't remember if I felt like it lived up to that hype, but I do remember being thrilled to grab tickets to their two shows in Vancouver, one at the Commodore and an all-ager at the Mesa Luna (RIP).

I can't remember the last time I listened to an Arcade Fire record, and while I've for sure heard songs on the radio when I'm running errands in an Evo or in the supermarket, I haven't really felt compelled to do it for years. With that said, other than When the Pawn..., it's probably the record I've enjoyed the most from front-to-back on this journey so far.

From the three today, Azure Ray's third record was the biggest surprise though. I remember it was very soft sounding and very emo and I wasn't really expecting much, as I threw it on between work meetings. But I liked revisiting the record a lot more than I thought I would and "These White Lights Will Bend to Make Blue" is a song I'd forgot about completely, but as it turns out, still love.

I don't know what else to say about the B-52's debut. It still sounds incredible. Simultaneously of a time and somehow exciting. P4K did a nice job of revisiting it a couple of years ago, so I'll leave it at that.

now playing: Katy Kirby - Cool Dry Place

posted by Quinn @ 11:55 p.m. Comments:0

the way things are

We're four records in and it's gonna be down hill from here for me for quite awhile.

I feel like in a lot of ways, I was a pretty stereotypical boy in 1999, but for some reason I was lucky enough to both listen to Fiona Apple's 2nd record and not stupidly write it off. And over two decades later, I can't think of many albums that I love more than this one.

When the Pawn... is actually the only Fiona record I own on vinyl and it didn't get an LP release until this year (when she happened to bless us all with another masterpiece).

This album's so good, I really can't think of much to say, other than: it still sounds as fucking great as it did in 1999, maybe even better on vinyl.

now playing: Fiona Apple - I Want You to Love Me

posted by Quinn @ 12:44 a.m. Comments:0

Sunday, December 13, 2020
what are your influences

Hello, we've reached the part of this endeavour ** checks notes ** a whole 3 records in, where I realized I, in fact, did not have these things in alphabetical order.

Anyhow, AIDS Wolf's City of Glass, which should've been before All Dogs, is, unlike that All Dogs record, an album I haven't listened to in years. I still like this kind of challenging, noisy, experimental music and I think I've always felt like I needed to be in a certain mood to enjoy it. With the difference being, I think I'm less prone to being in that mood. I fired this up while I was still working and had to turn it off til after work, cause I was finding it hard to concentrate. Still, if you're craving something in this vein, you could definitely do worse and after all this time, it'd still be hard to do better.

I feel like I must've listened to Apollo Ghosts more since this record came out. I've definitely seen Adrian play live, but other than "I'm in Love with the USA," I really couldn't remember a lot of these succinct, pop gems. The Ghosts have always been a band that I've liked a lot but haven't gone back to a ton and I don't see that changing much in the future, but it was nice to hear this again.

now playing: Benny the Butcher - Deal or No Deal

posted by Quinn @ 6:00 p.m. Comments:0

Thursday, December 10, 2020
if you're wanting something else, than i hope you find it

Here's one I've actually listened to recently. And enough in recent years that my first thought was, "oh this just came out a couple of years ago." But it was actually 2015.

I'm still surprised this didn't get a bit more attention when it was released, considering how much similar hooky, emotional pop music was receiving praise at the time. That combined with the GBV style production basically makes it catnip for me.

I could see this going out of rotation for me one day, but it's not going to be anytime soon.

now playing: All Dogs - Georgia

posted by Quinn @ 10:12 p.m. Comments:0

and from inside, I heard a bird singing

Inspired by my friend Kevin, who's been taking advantage of the fact that we're still all mostly stuck at home by listening to every record he owns, I decided to do the same and also document it here.

First off, I'm reserving the right to skip over some records that I know I don't care to listen to--I own a Kiss record and a couple Fleetwood Mac records that came in "you want these records I found in the garage" deals and those are two bands I can't stand. But unless I'm absolutely sure I'm going to hate something, there's going to be a lot of rediscovery and a lot of, I'm sure, very different opinions from 5, 10, 15-years ago.

Right off the bat, we open the debate about whether "The Abramson Singers" should be filed under A or T, but rather than talk about that, I'll talk briefly about Leah's 3rd full length.

I wore the hell out of Bedroom/City and The Abramson Singers (both of which weren't released on LP), so when I say this is my least favourite of her three records, it means I just love it slightly less than the other two.

Later Riser does a great job of splitting the difference between the first two records sonically, bringing a bit more polish than her debut, but not centring around the multitracked, chorus style vocals that anchored her sophomore effort. Like the first two records though, it's an incredible document of one of the city's best and perhaps one of Vancouver's most under-appreciated songwriters.

I've been listening to too much Spotify over the past few years. And while I've definitely discovered a lot of great music, a negative consequence of that is that records like this just never pop up. As soon as the vocals on the first song hit, it was just great to hear Leah singing again for the first time in who knows how long.

now playing: The Abramson Singers - Skull & Crossbones

posted by Quinn @ 1:00 a.m. Comments:0