Today we will be looking at the Juno nominees for Album of the year. The category contains some major international superstars. a tough category for myself as I am not a big fan of a few of them. I will keep that to myself. The nominees are:
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Tuesday was a big day for Canadian music as it was the day that the Juno nominations were announced. The Juno Awards are Canada’s Grammy Awards and the competition is stiff every year. This year, the show will be coming from Ottawa, Ontario, the nation’s capital. Every year, the festival has grown bigger and bigger. It’s now a week-long event. This year it begins on March 26, culminating in the actual award show on April 1. As an added bonus, William Shatner is hosting this year.  I remember it in Saskatoon a few years ago, when we lived there. Every possible venue was filled with fans and musicians listening to Canadian music on stage. A real celebration. This year will be no different.
I will be presenting a number of posts over the next week or 3 highlighting the nominees in each category. Nothing fancy, just the category, the nominees and a video. If you like, follow the link to their website, or head off to iTunes or Amazon and get the music.
I start with:
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Canada has scored 12 Grammy nominations this year. The contingent is led by Drake with 3, as has Deadmau5. Melanie Fiona followed with 2, while Sum 41, Vincent Morisset, Levon Helm and,yes, Justin Bieber each garnered 1 nomination.
The categories are:
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Best of luck to all nominees, although there can only be one winner in each group.
It’s Tuesday and time to run down the latest in Canadian music. A very active week it is as well. I have also added an International release of the week as, apparently, there is other music in the world besides Canadian music.
First up, we have Bahamas new release, titled Barchords. Bahamas is actually Afie Jurvanen. Born and raised in the Toronto, he has played with such people as Feist and Zeus. This is his second release. The song I have added here is titled Lost in the Light and is a live rendition.
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Next up is alternative band Rococode and their new album “Guns, Sex and Glory”. That name should bring me a few hits off search terms. They are a 4 piece band out of Vancouver. This is their first full length album. the song I chose to showcase is dynamite. Enjoy “Empire”.
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The next is a live album by one of my favourites, jazz pianist Michael Kaeshammer. The album is simply titled Kaeshammer Live. This guy is great. I saw him live once so when you view the attached video, imagine yourself sitting in the front row, no stage and the drummer about 6 feet away from you. The best seats we ever had for any concert. the song is called Lovelight.
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Next we have The Experimental Tropic Blues Band and their new album, “Liquid Love”, which should also generate a few search hits. A rocking blues band out of Quebec, their album promises to be a rollicking good time. The song is a live version of Keep This Love.
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My international pick for the week is the new release from The Fray. Their new album is titled Scars and Stories. The Fray is from Denver, Colorado who have enjoyed major success since the release of the “How To Save A Life” album in 2005. Good band. I have inserted “Heartbeat” from the album. The song is true to their style.
Fred has recorded since 1980 with many incarnations. A great songwriter, this is a live version of one his finest ballads.
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This classic rock band recorded this song in 1986. It reached number 1 in Canada and number 2 in the USA.
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Pure country, Tommy had his own TV show on the CBC for 27 years. he has recorded since the early 60’s.
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Canada’s group of the year in 2009. Pure rockers, including the obligatory shouted lyrics, which works well in this tune.
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The Guess Who’s lead singer goes solo. Great voice. This is a live version from what appears to be 1978 or so.
Happy Tuesday all. What’s that, it’s not Tuesday. What day is it then. Wednesday, no, can’t be Wednesday. I haven’t posted Talent Tuesday yet, so it has to be Tuesday. Well, let’s pretend it’s Tuesday so I don’t have to screw up the title. My blog, my rules. It is Tuesday right here, right now, and will be as long as you are on this post. and we’re off.
The big release of the week, maybe the year is Leonard Cohen. He released “Old Ideas” this week. Not much to say about him, except, it doesn’t get any better than this.
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Next up is an excellent new band (new to me) called Young Empires. They released an EP this week titled “Wake All My Youth”. Hailing from Toronto, they formed in 2009 as a 3 piece unit. The song I have posted is a live version of a single released from this set. This is a band that could become a household name in a hurry.
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My last entry this is week is from Joel Plaskett. This is an interesting concept. Joel is releasing 1 single a week over the next 10 weeks, which will culminate in the release of his new album “Emergency”. I don’t think I have ever seen this done before. The video is not from the album, but is from a previous record, “Make a Little Noise”. If this is the first time you have heard anything by Joel, you are in for a treat. Check him out on YouTube, the songs are great.
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Told you it was good, see you next week, hopefully on Tuesday.
A who’s who of Canadian alt-country/blues scene, each member of this band is superbly talented in their own right. If you like this, follow-up with Stephen Fearing, LEe HARVeY OsMOND and Colin Linden. You will not be disappointed.
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An early French-Canadian artist, this song was released in the mid 60’s. Canada’s answer to Maurice Chevalier.
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A rockabilly style from the late 80’s and early 90’s.
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Another entry by Canada’s number 1 classic rock export. This is another tune written after the departure of Randy Bachman, and was penned by Kurt Winter.
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Another entry from Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace. This is one of their signature tunes and released in the late 90’s.
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Happy Tuesday all. Tuesday is an innocuous day, follows Monday, a day closer to the weekend, seldom a payday. Not very exciting is it, EXCEPT, it is the day when musicians release, (sometimes inflict) new material on the world. And this Tuesday is no exception. Let’s browse the new Canadian releases for the week.
First up we have the Bidiniband and their new entry “In The Rock Hall”.  Dave Bindini was a founding member of the Canadian band “The Rheostatics“. The band was formed in 2007, shortly after The Rheostatics broke up. This is their second album. The song “Last of the Dead Wrong Things” is off the new release, and performed in my favourite format, LIVE.
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Next up is a new EP from K’naan, titled “More Beautiful Than Silence”. He is the man who created the theme song for the 2010 World Cup, “Waving Flag”. Quite an honor for the man, and quite the elevation as a worldwide star. He was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, managing to make it through the 1991 Civil War and getting the hell out of there. He arrived in Canada via the USA. Quite the life, and success story. The song off the album I have chosen is called “Is Anybody Out There” and features another Canadian star, Nelly Furtado.
That wraps up the week for us up here in the Great White North. Keep your stick on the ice.
It is Sunday and time for the next 5 of Canada’s best music. In this edition, we have an alternative/folk player, some classic rock and some unidentifiable pop.
A classic tune from one of Canada’s current day rock heroes. This is a live acoustic version of I’m A Window, in 2007.Â
An Alt-Rock group from the 1990’s, Ontario’s Junkhouse enters my list with an excellent tune called “Shine”.Â
Coney Hatch, from Toronto, is an 80’s classic rock band. Moderately succesful, they released 3 albums during their run in the sun.
A further entry to the list by Canada’s biggest selling band. This is a live version of Bus Rider, performed by the original band on a reunion tour in 2001. This song was actually a collaboration between Cummings and Kurt Winter. Kurt and Greg Leskiw were tapped to replace Randy Bachman when he left the group. Not that it took 2 players to replace him, just a change in philosophy as the band evolved, utilizing some additional flexibility.
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A second entry by 90’s rockers, The Headstones.
After a lengthy drought, ostensibly for Christmas, Canadian artists have begun to release new music once again. Just in time, as we are now deep in the throes of a Canuck cold spell and need some new stuff to keep the blood flowing.
The first album to look at is by John K Samson, and is titled “Provincial”. He hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Some may know him as the front-man for the Weakerthans, a folk-punk band that has enjoyed some success in recent years. This album is part of a series on Manitoba’s provincial roads. An interesting subject.
The song below is from the album and performed live.
Next we have a highly anticipated release by Kathleen Edwards. The album is titled “Voyageur”, and as with all her releases, is very good. If you are interested, she is David Letterman tonight. I have posted on her in the past. I put the link to this post in the related articles, New Canadian Music Releases – December 6, 2011.  I simply say, download and or pick up this disc., You will not be disappointed. The song I have attached is simply called Mint, and is a live version. Enjoy.
My last release for the week is a new set from Luke Willms, called “Atlasphere”. Currently based in BC, his sound has a familiar feel to it. I could not find much biographical material on him, so the description will be short. The tune I have posted is off the album.