Not Strictly for the Birds

BBQ Bat house, 2008 by Stuart Haygarth

Last night, London auction house Phillips de Pury & Co auctioned off 34 upcycled bird, bat, and bee houses, made by architects, designers, and artists, using materials the company had discarded, including vintage chairs, plastic food trays, doorknobs, cardboard, and glitter. Hey, glitter... theoretically... shouldn't go to waste.


Bird house, 2008 by David Harrison

It's particularly silly to throw glitter away when, it's possible, with the addition of a certain amount of know-how and some cardboard, paper, stickers, food containers, and wood, to turn it into a ducky little hideaway for your feathered friend. David Harrison went all-out and constructed a sort of Barbie Dream Castle for birds. Or at least a prototype of a dream castle for birds.

In partnership with Adventure Ecology, Phillips de Pury & Co. commissioned prototype bird, bat, and bee houses (including David Harrison's castle-like Bird house) for The Birds, Bats and Bees Charity Auction, held to benefit Adventure Ecology's Sculpt the Future Foundation. The Foundation encourages sustainablity by supporting innovative "youth driven, grass roots organisations" and small initiatives".

Adventure Ecology and Phillips de Pury announced plans to choose three of the prototypes, which they deem most suitable for manufacturing, and, yes, have them manufactured...for sale by "high-end premium retailers and museums." This, too, is a charitable endeavor. "The proceeds of the sales will be donated to protect natural habitats," according to a jointly issued press release.

Protecting natural habitats is a worthy endeavor, but it's somewhat ironic to hold an auction partly devoted to focusing attention on the harmful environmental impact of accumulated waste, and also devoted to finding new goods to manufacture.

Manufacturing goods creates waste, lots of it. The environmental impact should hopefully be lessened if the items are upcycled, but that doesn't mean the items have a negative, or neutral carbon footprint.

It's a nice idea, though, and raises not only money (the auction proceeds haven't been announced yet), but awareness—of bird, bee, and bat habitats, Adventure Ecology, and our society's needless disposal of massive amounts of garbage (including glitter which some clever people may otherwise possibly have been able to use in a reasonable manner.)

Music:

Tu Fawning - Out Like Bats (on the Secession EP, which will be released July 8th.) Bit of an oddball, this one, but in a strongly enjoyable, old-world/post-modern hybrid way. I really like the lilting, warbling vocals, which are right both despite and because of their weirdness. Handclapping added in for good measure. RIYL Beirut.


Set of three bee hives, 2008, Tomoko Azumi

Alltruisms - Birds and the Bees (feat. Rusty Chains) (on the "explicit" version of Clusterbombs—and—warning—this song contains some "explicit" language. The album will be released July 1st. Pre-orders from his record label, Gravel Records will receive a bonus instrumental CD.) Neither rap nor hip-hop are usually my favorite cup of tea, but this is pretty good...

Collections of Colonies of Bees - Fun (the sixth track titled "Fun", that is, on Customer, on which every track is called "Fun" except the closing, "Funeral".) Nifty electronica, really nice. The titling of their album is funny, but the humor in that kind of redundant-titling wears off pretty quickly, and then it's just annoying. It's not realistic to expect people to always listen to an album as a whole.

Sparrow - Mountain on Mountain (on Sparrow) There was a Sparrow song in the last post, so it may seem a bit soon to post them again, but hey, this is quite a good bright pop song.

The Wrens - I Guess We're Done (on Abbott 1135) And here's another one. Go, bands-named-after-birds.

Speaking of which, Doves hope to finish their next album "by the end of summer", and announce some UK gigs in September,



Relient K is releasing a 2-disc album called The Bird And The Bee Sides on July 1st, half new songs and half previously released material—but wait—the old stuff has been remixed and remastered (and if you haven't heard it before, it's "new to you", anyway.)


Dracula's Four Season's Bat Hotel, 2008, Rolf Sachs

Bat for Lashes a.k.a. Natasha Khan offers an MP3 bribe ("Trophy", from 2007's Fur and Gold), in exchange for joining her mailing list. It might not seem that generous, particularly compared to artists who give away several MP3s, recognizing the promotional value in doing so, but considering she performs (partly) under the pseudonym of a bat, merely requesting an email address doesn't seem so greedy. Everything's relative.


Bee Hive, 2008, Michael Sodeau

The Bees arguably offer better value, offering a "TOTAL KILLER AND PREVIOUSLY UNAVAILABLE !!" Ashley Beedle remix of "(This is for the) Better Days" in exchange for signing up for ye olde Bees mailing list. They also call it a "treat" and "a soulful disco midtempo stomper, totally uplifting", adding "DON'T MISS OUT !!" If this music thing doesn't work out, they should try the advertising biz.

Sometime foe of bat, bird, and insect: the Bat Falcon. Bat Falcon would make a good wrestling name (though it sounds equally good followed by Attorney at Law.) Naturally, this presents me with a (must-not-write-"literally") kickass idea for a television program: Bat Falcon: Attorney At Law, about an attorney/pro-wrestler. He's passionate about winning in the courtroom and in the ring. He insists he can keep his two lives separate, but they keep criss-crossing in unexpected ways, to the fresh sounds of today's best new alternative and adult-alternative-friendly artists.

Behold: the fearsome, intimidating sound of the bat falcon.

Summer Lovin' and Wanderlust: Summer Songs Playlist

For fellow Southern Californians, the wretched heatwave that began before the summer solstice marked the unofficial beginning of the season. It doesn't take waves of blackouts or a sudden epidemic of vehicle fires to scream "SUMMER!" Summer also brings to mind an upswing in consumption of icy drinks, along with an increase in how much you treasure them, and how very grumpy, and possibly ill you might get if you don't have enough of them. Am I still on the heatwave? Sorry, so...very...hot.

Does our satisfaction with where we live drop as the temperature rises? In 2005, a group of researchers concluded that the impact of hot weather depends on the season.

The researchers found higher temperatures had no impact in fall or winter. They found a higher temperature or barometer improved moods in the spring, as long as people spent time outdoors while the weather was warm. In the spring, a young man's fancy turns to playing outside? In the summer, high temperatures worsened moods. The more you know...

Summer Lovin' and Wanderlust: Summer Songs:

1. The Legends - "He Knows the Sun" (on Public Radio)

"He knows the sun
All is pretty, oh so pretty

This can't possibly be the place to stay
Everyone wishes they were somewhere else"

[German accent]Poor little Stockholm boy. So very sad. Yet his angst is gorgeous. You just want to roll around in hundreds of pretty, sharp shards of his pain. Also, his song has a good beat and you could dance to it.[/accent].

2. The Pastels - "Classic Line-Up" (on Mobile Safari)

The sunshine's almost an afterthought here. This bloke and his girlfriend have similar musical tastes; they love going to concerts together. This makes the bloke super content. If the guy the Legends were singing about moved next door to the Pastels, maybe he too could find super contentment with an awesome music-loving girlfriend.

3. Music Go Music - "Light of Love" (on Light of Love)

A soaring, joyous ode to love, this song seemed a natural follow-up to "Classic Line-Up." It's heavily influenced by ABBA and the title track from Xanadu, which Olivia Newton-John performed with Electric Light Orchestra. Silly and/or pointless ripoff/throwback or affectionate/cool nod to the past? You be the judge. (I think it's a great, fun throwback.)

4. Stephanie's Id - "Unmistakably Love" (on Grus-Americanus)

It would have been too jarring to have just one cheery, poppish love song, and besides, such songs make perfect driving music. This cheery love song is much more contemporary, and just barely alt-pop. It oozes with so much cheerful, swaying, toe-tapping charm, it would seem an ideal candidate for a crossover to mainstream success. If there's ever a time that those who are usually most resistant to mainstream pop find themselves checking it out, it's summer. Or possibly Christmastime. Okay, summer is probably one of the rare times those who are usually immune to the alleged allure of mainstream music will give it a chance. I've tried listening to mainstream-hit-playin', Ryan-Seacrest-employin' local station KIIS recently, but had to quickly change the station every time. Apparently there's no time of year during which I enjoy listening to Lil' Wayne or Mariah Carey.

5. Sparrow - "This Is How It's Done" (on The Early Years: Sparrow)

A Canadian band singing cheerfully about the beach...and sounding kind of Swedish. Dudes, stop freaking me out! Several (free Sparrow MP3s are available at the band's website. More opportunity for them to confound us, but at least they do not sound anything like Miley Cyrus.

6. Young Fresh Fellows - "Let The Good Times Crawl" (on the band's forthcoming album)

Rawkin' tune sung by frontman Scott McCaughey, also of The Minus 5 and The Venus 3. He's been touring and recording with R.E.M. for many years as well. R.E.M. are very successful, but they also do not sound like Miley Cyrus.

7. Francis Dunnery - "American Life In The Summertime" (on Fearless)

A bubbly, saccharin-infused trifle. It draws a demeaning portrait of Los Angelenos, as a personifican of America, no less, to show why Dunnery won't move to the U.S. or sell out, no siree, not him! Well, if that's your attitude, then "Pfft!" back at ya, Dunnery! Catchy song though. But forget you, pal! Stay on yer island, then. We don't need you. And our American usage of "pay raise" sounds heaps better than the way you use "pay rise" in the song, so there. It's logical. What happened to her salary? It was increased, or "raised". It wasn't "rised". That's just silly-talk. (It's not in the song but I am down with using "lift" for elevator. That's simply adorable, even though elevators don't just lift (American elevator technology isn't that far ahead; the UK does have elevators that descend as well as ascend. If they didn't, Dunnery might be singing a different tune.)

8. Paul Brill - "Paris Is On" (on Harpooner)

Ooh, I've put this track on a few mix CDs for friends, but haven't posted it here before. A great driving song for reasons of both tempo and content (he's driving in in the desert, singing about what sees.) Once again, discontent with one's surroundings and a desire to escape are expressed here, only Brill's song escalates them to the point of angry and even violent thoughts. They contrast with the music's catchy, fun qualities and occasional twinkliness.

Those particularly angry lyrics ("Feel the hate in my heart/wish them dead in the street") are neither very fun nor terribly twinkly, but he is at least being ironic ("I'm so tired of these freaks and their violent streaks") and, arguably, consistent with studies showing warmer weather may lead to aggressive behavior. Brill also seems angsty throughout the song, seeing Paris as the only escape from a litany of miseries associated with the desert. "Pfft!" Off with ya, then, Paul. Hope for your sake they're embracing Americans these days.

9. The Helio Sequence - "Can't Say No"(on Keep Your Eyes Ahead)

A great song with a summery feeling from an American band with no apparent plans to go ex-pat on us. Just sayin'.

10. Radiogram - "Summer Song Summer" (on The Grass Is Always Bluer, a compilation)

Pre-planned alt-country summer hit.

11. Beulah - "What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades" (on The Coast Is Never Clear)

"And what will you do when your suntan is fading and the summer's gone?" A typically thoughtful, lovely song from Beulah.

12. Joseph Arthur - "Echo Park" (on Our Shadows Will Remain)

"Our love won't fade away"

(Sadly, we can't say the same of Beulah...who broke up. Arthur remains steadfastly idealistic about the future in his lovely song.)

13. Jim Bryson - "Somewhere Else" (on North Side Benches)

With this striking song, on Canadian singer-songwriter Jim Bryson's second album, released in 2003, we return to themes surrounding wanderlust, as first addressed in the Legends song that opened this playlist. Fellow Canadian Kathleen Edwards, who covered the song on 2005's Back to Me, unlike Bryson, put lyrics for the song on her website. Unfortunately, while they might be accurate for her version, they're quite a bit off from the original. I couldn't find the original lyrics online, so I transcribed it (see below) and added its lyrics to SongMeanings. A demo version of this track and 11 other free MP3s are available at Bryson's website. He and Edwards are finishing up a European tour at the end of the month.

Jim Bryson - Somewhere Else

I used to look for you out in the daylight
I took highways and side streets and back lanes
Slept under open skies
And life can be cruel
But life can be sweet if I want it to be

The town that I once called home
I just can't hold on to
It's got strip malls and bus stops and people
I would never really talk to
And she says life could be sweet
But life is so cruel 'cause I let it be

And everybody out here
They wanna live somewhere else
I wish I could find a place
And stay there by myself
And bit by bit I swear I think I'm losing
All this city's confidence

And everybody out here
They wanna live somewhere else
And I wish I could find a place
And stay there by myself
And bit by bit
I swear I think I'm losing all this city's confidence
I swear I've lost
All this city's confidence

*bonus track* The Delays - The Sun Always Shines on TV (on Q Covered: Best Of 86/06)

It didn't quite seem to mesh with the other songs, so instead the Delays' cover of "The Sun Always Shines on TV" is here a bonus track (also as a direct download, just not on the playlist.) The Delays are in an uncharacteristically somber mode on this stripped-down cover. If, like me, you're fond of the guys in their cheerful, enormously engaging, Everything's the Rush/"Hooray" mode, you might not take to this tune right away (or, possibly, at all.) It isn't bouncy, happy, or sweet. There's no handclapping and the synth is restrained. They at least deserve credit for not trying to make an a-ha song sound like a Delays song (whether or not it should.) It needed time to grow on me, but now I find their version interesting and kinda groovy.

Hope you enjoy the Summer Lovin' and Wanderlust: Summer Songs playlist. The songs can be played and/or directly downloaded from the list below. Stay hydrated. Use sunblock.

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Rich Aucoin Blankets Canada to Preview and Record "Public Publication"

Blogging, like life, is such a rich tapestry. After I wondered aloud (so to speak) in a recent Good Night, States review, "what Rich Aucoin is up to these days", the alt-pop Renaissance man himself wrote with word of his latest merry exploits, which include recording Public Publication EP/Over The Top! (The Hidden LP): We're All Dying To Live while touring.

However, reeling from the news that a close family member "was being evaluated for cancer" and that the prognosis would be poor if they did have it, I didn't open his email for several days. Instead, I scribbled a mental note to read it when I was up to complex tasks like reading. Fortunately, the relative does not have cancer.

In a hand-to-forehead, "I could've had a V8!" moment, I suddenly remembered: "Rich Aucoin!" while listening to the Winter Hours' "Hyacinth Girl", which xolondon sent (and first mentioned in responding to a Syd Straw post. Yes, it's all a rich, confusing tapestry, a sort of crazy quilt.

What links talented troubadour/multimedia artist Rich Aucoin and the gentle alt-folk of "Hyacinth Girl"? Might an audio/video (video of audio, that is) comparison yield any clues?



Rich Aucoin - At War With the Cynics (on the Personal Publication EP)

Symbolically, the hyacinth represents "constancy"—sincerity if it's blue. Does the song sound "rich", as in "rich tapestry of life" or "Rich Aucoin"? Many theories may be valid. The important thing is that something triggered the memory, so I can finally write this update du Aucoin. Sadly, we've run out of time in this installment...oh, perhaps we can run long, if we just notify our affiliates. First, a recap:

Last summer, while promoting the beautiful, Sufjan Stevensesque Personal Publication EP—my favorite EP of 2007—Aucoin raised money for the Childhood Cancer Foundation during a coast-to-coast Canadian bicycling tour. As part of his fund-raising efforts, at each concert Aucoin invited an audience member to cut off a lock of his hair.

This summer, Aucoin is running half-marathons and raising money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation as he makes his way through Canada, touring and recording his next album with the help of a large, rotating cast of independent musicians, a diverse assortment of instruments (including the mandola), and recorded "choral chants" from concert audiences.

Among the over 50 independent musicians who have contributed to the project so far: Tim Kingsbury Arcade Fire, Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas of the Besnard Lakes, Mike Bigelow of Wintersleep, Taylor Knox of Major Grange, Rolf Klausener of The Acorn, Ben Welland of Sadie Hell, Dan Mangan, and Aucoin's brother Paul of the Hylozoists.

While Personal Publication was written to sync with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, for the new album Aucoin is crafting a film collage from a variety of over 30 movies in the public domain, including "classics" (such as It's A Wonderful Life) and "cult hits" (like Night of the Living Dead). In re-imagined form, these film clips, "tell the album's story about living life."

New songs are being previewed in concert (so as to record those "choral chants), so Canadians can find out a bit more info about that story. Aucoin does hint that the Heart and Stroke Foundation's "philosophy on healthy living coincides nicely with the theme of this particular record."

'Cause when you think "Night of the Living Dead", you think "healthy living".

Yet in a way, when we use the earth's precious resources, aren't we all "flesh-eating zombies"? That's totally it, isn't it? Either that or that zombies prefer to pursue the unfit (they're slower).

Seek further hints on Aucoin's infotaining tour blog, and, for instance, learn what differentiates American and European echo. Use the info as a pick-up line, and once it works take your date to a zombie movie, then out to a (healthy) dinner. Listen to some beautiful music about life, and ponder the nature of serendipity and other odd connections.

Note: While proofreading this post, I followed the link to my year-end review of Personal Publication... Was surprised and annoyed to find this:

"Multi-instrumentalist Aucoin favors a sonic patchwork quilt approach"

Argh. There's only one thing to do. I'm making a mental note to start a band and a blog called Subconscious Quilt Fixation.

Rich Aucoin's Tour Dates:

June 19 - Vancouver, BC - The Railway Club
June 20 - Vancouver, BC The Peanut Gallery (with Brasstronaut)
June 21 - Victoria, BC Sugar – Victoria JazzFest (with Mother Mother)
June 25 - Calgary, AB Sled Island Festival (with Dan Deacon)
June 27 - Calgary, AB Sled Island Festival
June 28 - Winnipeg, MB Royal Albert (with Hey Rosetta!)
July 4 - Halifax, NS The Music Room (with See Rowboats)
July 5 - Halifax, NS Hell's Kitchen (with See Rowboats and The First Aid Kit)
July 19 - Halifax, NS The Marquee – Atlantic Jazz (with Deerhoof)

Weakerthans Release Single, Tour, and... Regret Not Seeking Table-Free Venues?

Time to get that lovable curling anthem stuck in your head again. The Weakerthans have just released a video for "Tournament of Hearts", from Reunion Tour, my favorite album of 2007. "Tournament" "finds a curler eloquently expressing their frustration with life by using the language of their sport":

"'Why can't I ever stop where I want to stay?'
I slide right through the day
Always throwing hack weight
Right off, no never never ever ever
Right off, no never never ever never"

The lyrics are melancholy, but the music is very cheerful; together it produces a cathartic effect. The feel-good impact is perhaps best felt when singing along from atop a sturdy table.

"Tournament of Hearts" will be released as a single in Europe, with an "exclusive" live version of "Relative Surplus Value", recorded last fall, as the B-side. The iTunes release date, "throughout Europe", is June 23rd. It will be released via other ways and means a week later. The band is currently on a tour which coincidently finds them in Europe at present.

The "Tournament of Hearts" video:

Moto boy - "What it Was Like to Be With You", Bowie, Blondie, Dusty Covers

To commemorate the first anniversary of his first single, "Blue motorbike", Moto boy is giving away a new single, "What it was like to be with you". The artist otherwise known as Oskar Humlebo has recorded a lush swirl of post-breakup despair with lyrics that strike a nicely melodramatic note:

"If I wake up tomorrow
I'll paint the city in white and bloody red
Maybe then can I remember
What it was like to
What it was like to be with you"

In the video, Moto boy mournfully sings to a woman as though she's the's the only one in the crowd... which she practically is, and will be if he continues ignoring everyone else (this is supposed to convey to us that he digs her. She looks receptive, and is dressed as a mime. This is to tell us that communication difficulties led to the breakdown of their relationship and that if someone really loves a woman, they will still be attracted to her after seeing her dressed as a mime.) Also, some random people make out (message: making out is awesome), a random woman holds a glass of wine and looks sad (drinking isn't awesome), and a woman, uh, dances around wearing a mask (because... hiding behind emotional "masks" merely "dances" around the truth...which is...that making out is awesome, and breaking up keeps people—people like Moto boy—from making out.)



Moto boy - What It Was Like To Be With You (free single, also on his self-titled album, released earlier this year)

Three more free MP3s are available at his label's website (and, if you're so inclined, check out the downloads page at Songs I wish I had written for more music.)

At present, he's busy on a European tour. When he has some free time, I hope Moto boy follows in Adem's footsteps and releases an album covering songs that inspired him growing up. The idea seems well-suited to Moto boy partly because his own music is steeped in elements of rock's past, and partly because he's already teased us in concert with some amazing covers.

In Malmö, Sweden this March, he sang a stellar "Space Oddity" at a David Bowie tribute concert. Fortunately, someone captured a video of the performance:



Another song Moto boy might include on a covers album: "Heart of Glass":



He often sings "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" in concert; it's just a matter of time before that one's committed to disc. For now, it's just trapped in a sea of cellphones for our YouTube'd enjoyment:



Adem's covers album concept is such a good one, and Moto boy's covers display such talent and range that the idea of a similar record from him seems particularly intriguing. I know, I know. Isn't it a bit greedy to present "suggestions" for an entire album after the bloke has just given us a free single? Yes. Yes, it probably is.

So, hey, for those who haven't heard the song yet, here's the video for "Hotellounge", Adem's first single from Takes, and a dEUS cover: