LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX. And by sex, I really mean this band:
Unless you've been living under a rock of musical abstinence, you will know that Mother Mother released their fourth record yesterday. I travelled across cities to get it. OK, not exactly. Here's how it all went down. I went from Surrey to Burnaby on the skytrain. I got off at Metrotown and ran down the stairs of the station, pushing everyone that was in my way and barging into the HMV like I owned the place (which I technically do, I go there so often that I swear my footsteps have imprinted/fossilized themselves on the store floor). I grabbed a copy of the record, marched to the register like a motherfucking North Shore sasquatch, and slapped my credit card on the counter confidently like I had the money to buy it (even though I really don't). Then I went home and listened to it and I don't think I've really stopped since then. Everything about this band and their music is just sexy as hell. I'm not joking, I swear these guys are like human aphrodisiacs. Like lobster only not eaten with butter. I don't know if it's just the way they present themselves, or the way Ryan Guldemond writes those fucking lyrics or the way they play those instruments, crashing through every song like it's this orgasmic sound fuck party, but whatever it is, they exude it very naturally and effortlessly both on and off stage. Like one time, their drummer Ali smiled at me at the Vancouver 125 party and I swear, FIFTY SHADES OF FUCKING GREY happened to me.
Anyway, long story short, put down your Twilight fanfiction and go grab Mother Mother's The Sticks. I promise you, IT WILL TEACH YOU THINGS. It will teach you things that bad BDSM smut cannot. Also, their Canadian tour to promote The Sticks ends with a Vancouver show on December 19th at the Orpheum Theatre. So all you people who want to see the best band from Vancouver in the best venue in Vancouver, here's your chance.
Now that summer is over, I think it's about time we took a trip across Canada. And just because we don't have enough money or time to hop on a VIA Rail train does not mean that we cannot get this done. This is a trip across Canada through music - a new series featuring amazing bands from each and every one of our provinces and territories. The first of this series will be on Atlantic Canada, the second will be on Eastern-Central Canada, the third will be on the Prairie Provinces, the fourth will be on the Pacific Province and the fifth will be on Northern Canada. For those of you who don't know anything about Atlantic Canada, it refers to the provinces east of Québec, at the farthest coast of the country that touches the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Canada consists of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador - not to be confused by the Maritimes, which refers to all of the Atlantic Canadian provinces minus Newfoundland and Labrador. There's something immensely romantic about Atlantic Canada. I don't know if it has to do with the fact that we grew up reading or watching Anne of Green Gables and dreaming about red sand, or the fact that deep down inside, all of us just want to eat a moose for dinner, but Atlantic Canada definitely has an untapped beauty to it that makes it one of the most fascinating places in the world.
From New Brunswick... ANDY BROWN, who hails from the capital city of Fredericton. A two-time finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and the 2010 Galaxie winner, Andy's songs have been featured on TV shows from Rookie Blue to Saving Hope.
From Nova Scotia... WINTERSLEEP of Halifax. Winner of the Juno Award for Best New Group in 2008, Wintersleep have gone on to open for Paul McCartney and perform on the David Letterman Show.
From Prince Edward Island... TWO HOURS TRAFFIC, a quartet from Charlottetown. Polaris Prize nominees, this band have been featured prominently on both American and Canadian television.
From Newfoundland and Labrador... HEY ROSETTA! of St. John's. Polaris Prize nominees and East Coast Music Award winners, they are considered to be the most underrated gem north of the 49th parallel.
Personally, I think we'd all be better people if we stepped into Canada's Narnia every once in awhile. I mean, I don't know if it's all the seafood and the moose they eat or what, but dang the music that comes out of that place...
