So I finally signed up for Rdio last week, and so far it's fantastic. I'm not sure of the exact reason I was sort of apprehensive about it, but it probably boils down to me not wanting to be part of the dwindling CD sales problem. Well, that's not an issue; I'll buy CDs until I can't play them on anything anymore (which may not be far away since Apple has stopped putting CD/DVD-ROM drives in their computers, so it's only a matter of time before other manufacturers start doing the same. Are CDs going to start coming with iTunes download cards? HMMM???).
I gotta say, it's pretty sweet having all this music at my fingertips! Or should I say, MORE music at my fingertips! I feel like a kid in a candy store, I'm not even kidding. So far I've only been listening at work, so I've been keeping my choices pretty tame (The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons, Royal Wood, Jenn Grant...), and choosing mostly albums I've already heard. I'm looking forward to listening to the new Green Day albums before putting them on my Christmas list (why I've moved Green Day into the "try before I buy" category is a blog post all it's own).
If you're like me, and are on the fence about getting on board with streaming, I like Rdio so far, and I have friends that use Songza, and say that it's also a good way to find new artists.
What streaming services are you using?
Monday, November 19, 2012
A Sad Goodbye to 92.9 KICK-FM
This post has been sitting in the "drafts" section too long. I think I wrote it in August. Here it is: my lament for KICK-FM.
I have no pointing fingers, nor conspiracy theories to pass along. I just have a hole on my radio dial where my favourite station used to be.
I started listening to KICK around 2004. I loved it because the music was fresh, and I was (and am) so sick to death of the same-old same-old on Winnipeg radio. KICK renewed my faith in radio as the way to discover new artists. It introduced me to Snow Patrol (the first time I ever heard "Run", I was driving through the intersection of Route 90 north at Silver, on my way home from the U of M), J.P. Hoe, Quinzy, Keane, Bloc Party, Fear Zero, Hard-Fi, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and so many more.
Another aspect of KICK that I enjoyed was the DJs, and their obvious love of the music they played. I liked Home Spun and The New Sound, and never missed an episode, if I could help it. KICK was also my primary place to find new local bands that I would then go and check out live.
I had a secret agenda when I enrolled in Creative Communications in the Fall of 2008: I wanted to be involved with the radio station! I hadn't thought of being an on-air personality until I started radio classes, and realized it wasn't so terrifying (I hate public speaking! There, I said it!). No one sees you when you're on the radio. That's public speaking I can handle! Backtracking a little, my OTHER secret agenda was to learn how to run a radio station so that I could grow up one day and manage my own. 'Cause let's face it, Winnipeg radio mostly suuuuucks.
I came to host Home Spun after having noted that for a couple of weeks, there wasn't anyone on-air. I lingered outside Rick the Boss's office for about half an hour trying to build up the nerve to go in and ask him about it. The conversation went something like this: Me, "I noticed there hasn't been anyone on Home Spun for a couple of weeks." Rick, "No, there hasn't. Do you want to do it?" Me, (probably with a bright red face), "Yes." And so I hosted Home Spun for three years. It was awesome because more than anything else, I felt like I was maybe hopefully introducing people to new music, and therefore contributing to what I loved so much about KICK: we were playing different and better music than anyone else in Winnipeg. Thanks for that, Rick the Boss.
I don't know how the station will sound when it starts streaming in the Fall for the new CreComm students, and I don't know who's going to win the coveted 92.9 spot on the FM dial (Please be The Peak!), all I know is that I now subscribe to XM satellite radio because I can't stand the current local offerings (other than CBC, of course). There's a serious need for a station like KICK in this market.
Anyone want to start a radio station with me?
I have no pointing fingers, nor conspiracy theories to pass along. I just have a hole on my radio dial where my favourite station used to be.
I started listening to KICK around 2004. I loved it because the music was fresh, and I was (and am) so sick to death of the same-old same-old on Winnipeg radio. KICK renewed my faith in radio as the way to discover new artists. It introduced me to Snow Patrol (the first time I ever heard "Run", I was driving through the intersection of Route 90 north at Silver, on my way home from the U of M), J.P. Hoe, Quinzy, Keane, Bloc Party, Fear Zero, Hard-Fi, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, and so many more.
Another aspect of KICK that I enjoyed was the DJs, and their obvious love of the music they played. I liked Home Spun and The New Sound, and never missed an episode, if I could help it. KICK was also my primary place to find new local bands that I would then go and check out live.
I had a secret agenda when I enrolled in Creative Communications in the Fall of 2008: I wanted to be involved with the radio station! I hadn't thought of being an on-air personality until I started radio classes, and realized it wasn't so terrifying (I hate public speaking! There, I said it!). No one sees you when you're on the radio. That's public speaking I can handle! Backtracking a little, my OTHER secret agenda was to learn how to run a radio station so that I could grow up one day and manage my own. 'Cause let's face it, Winnipeg radio mostly suuuuucks.
I came to host Home Spun after having noted that for a couple of weeks, there wasn't anyone on-air. I lingered outside Rick the Boss's office for about half an hour trying to build up the nerve to go in and ask him about it. The conversation went something like this: Me, "I noticed there hasn't been anyone on Home Spun for a couple of weeks." Rick, "No, there hasn't. Do you want to do it?" Me, (probably with a bright red face), "Yes." And so I hosted Home Spun for three years. It was awesome because more than anything else, I felt like I was maybe hopefully introducing people to new music, and therefore contributing to what I loved so much about KICK: we were playing different and better music than anyone else in Winnipeg. Thanks for that, Rick the Boss.
I don't know how the station will sound when it starts streaming in the Fall for the new CreComm students, and I don't know who's going to win the coveted 92.9 spot on the FM dial (Please be The Peak!), all I know is that I now subscribe to XM satellite radio because I can't stand the current local offerings (other than CBC, of course). There's a serious need for a station like KICK in this market.
Anyone want to start a radio station with me?
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Video I Like - Of Monsters and Men
I love this song! Weirdly, CBC Radio 2 always manages to play it between 6:50 and 7:15 am (more commonly known as "the time my alarm goes off" and "the time I actually get out of bed"), so it's become my morning jam. The video reminds me of Monty Python.
And now for something completely different.
And now for something completely different.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday Nights are Alright
It's been awhile since I attended two shows in the same night (and in retrospect, probably could have even done three. Sorry Arkells!).
I started the night at the Cavern, where Lost Weekend (for fans of Dragonette, Foster the People, The Limousines...) served up a healthy dose of danceable pop tunes. The Cavern isn't the greatest place for bustin' a move, but it only took half a song to get people out of their booths and onto the floor. Full disclosure: I don't dance because in my mind it looks something like this:
Second stop was Lo Pub for Enjoy Your Pumas (watch their super awesome video for "Walk it Off"!). The first time I saw the Pumas about five years ago, I was on the fence about them, but they have since grown into one of my favourite local bands. Their live show has gotten way better and Rosie is the picture of a confident frontwoman.
Lost Weekend are currently working on their debut EP, and Enjoy Your Pumas are about to set out on the second leg of their cross-Canada tour.
I started the night at the Cavern, where Lost Weekend (for fans of Dragonette, Foster the People, The Limousines...) served up a healthy dose of danceable pop tunes. The Cavern isn't the greatest place for bustin' a move, but it only took half a song to get people out of their booths and onto the floor. Full disclosure: I don't dance because in my mind it looks something like this:
Second stop was Lo Pub for Enjoy Your Pumas (watch their super awesome video for "Walk it Off"!). The first time I saw the Pumas about five years ago, I was on the fence about them, but they have since grown into one of my favourite local bands. Their live show has gotten way better and Rosie is the picture of a confident frontwoman.
Lost Weekend are currently working on their debut EP, and Enjoy Your Pumas are about to set out on the second leg of their cross-Canada tour.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Quinzy: A little bit taller
WARNING: This post is full of unabashed love.
I remember the first time I saw Quinzy: It was Quinzmas in the old West End Cultural Centre, before they even had to prop up one of the walls. I sat with a friend at stage left to watch the show. My strongest mental image is of the boys sitting on the floor whilst House of Doc covered "Mike! Your House is on Fire!". When Quinzy took to the stage, I was swept up in their catchy songs, great harmonies, and (mostly) witty (sometimes awkward) stage banter. I've been to most Quinzy shows since.
I've been to every Quinzmas since 2006, except last year's *sob*.
I've seen them play a bunch of Elton John covers.
I showed up at someone's birthday party at the Academy once (I thought it was a regular show, honest! They let me in, so I didn't think anything of it until there were speeches! lol).
I even spent an afternoon at the mall.
It's safe to say, without hesitation, that I love Quinzy.
Most recently, they played at Festival du Voyageur, where they performed new songs from "The Flats", their latest EP. All I could think about during their set was how much they've grown as a band since the first time I saw them. I don't have children, but I have a niece and three nephews, and I'm always telling them they've gotten taller since the last time I saw them (a total auntie cliche, I know). Well, watching Quinzy this time made me feel like they'd gotten taller. In the years since "Please baby please baby baby baby please", the lyrics have gotten a little darker and more introspective. The melodies and arrangements have become lusher and more complex. The stage banter's gotten better, too. I wasn't watching a different band; I was watching a more mature band. I cried a little bit. And then I bought a CD and a mug.
Never stop growing, Quinzy. And yes, I did just make a reference to a milk commercial.
I remember the first time I saw Quinzy: It was Quinzmas in the old West End Cultural Centre, before they even had to prop up one of the walls. I sat with a friend at stage left to watch the show. My strongest mental image is of the boys sitting on the floor whilst House of Doc covered "Mike! Your House is on Fire!". When Quinzy took to the stage, I was swept up in their catchy songs, great harmonies, and (mostly) witty (sometimes awkward) stage banter. I've been to most Quinzy shows since.
I've been to every Quinzmas since 2006, except last year's *sob*.
I've seen them play a bunch of Elton John covers.
I showed up at someone's birthday party at the Academy once (I thought it was a regular show, honest! They let me in, so I didn't think anything of it until there were speeches! lol).
I even spent an afternoon at the mall.
It's safe to say, without hesitation, that I love Quinzy.
Most recently, they played at Festival du Voyageur, where they performed new songs from "The Flats", their latest EP. All I could think about during their set was how much they've grown as a band since the first time I saw them. I don't have children, but I have a niece and three nephews, and I'm always telling them they've gotten taller since the last time I saw them (a total auntie cliche, I know). Well, watching Quinzy this time made me feel like they'd gotten taller. In the years since "Please baby please baby baby baby please", the lyrics have gotten a little darker and more introspective. The melodies and arrangements have become lusher and more complex. The stage banter's gotten better, too. I wasn't watching a different band; I was watching a more mature band. I cried a little bit. And then I bought a CD and a mug.
Never stop growing, Quinzy. And yes, I did just make a reference to a milk commercial.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
A new favourite band
Bombay Bicycle Club with The Darcys, and Lucy Rose
West End Cultural Centre
Saturday, February 25, 2012
I really like The Darcys, so naturally, when I saw that they were coming to Winnipeg, I was excited. I knew one Bombay Bicycle Club song ("Shuffle") and liked it enough not to mind seeing the band play live. No joke, this is the thought pattern that led to buying a ticket. My philosophy on concerts most of the time is, "Go for the opening band, stay for the headliner." I also prefer to let the live show sway me on bands because if a band sucks live, I won't spend any more energy on them.
Well.
The WECC was packed by the time Bombay Bicycle Club hit the stage, and I was absorbed by the music immediately. I. Loved. It. Every song was gold. I recognized one other song, too ("Leave It"). "Lights Out, Words Gone" gets played a lot when I get home from work. The weakest link was the vocals, but that could have been tour fatigue. The band was clearly happy to be playing to us, a new and enthusiastic audience for the London, England band. I picked up A Different Kind of Fix at the merch table on my way out, and play it quite a bit.
The Darcys put on a great show and if I had hated Bombay Bicycle Club, I still would have been glad I attended. I was disappointed that The Darcys don't have CDs for sale, only vinyl records or free downloads. I'm not saying I don't like free downloads (I do!), but I refuse to buy vinyl. It's a craze that I can't afford to get into! And I don't have a record player. Maybe I should have handed them ten bucks for the free download...would that have been weird?
Lucy Rose began the night. She sat at the front of the stage with her guitar, and had everyone mesmerized. She kept remarking on how quiet and polite we were. We were listening! Her voice is beautiful. I learned once I got home and was reading the liner notes on Bombay Bicycle Club's CD that she sang back-up on a few of their tunes, so that explained why they took her on tour with them. She also performed with them on a few songs.
Overall, I'd say this was one of the best line-ups I've seen in awhile, and so far the standout concert of the year (the year is young, I know). I hope they all come back soon!
West End Cultural Centre
Saturday, February 25, 2012
I really like The Darcys, so naturally, when I saw that they were coming to Winnipeg, I was excited. I knew one Bombay Bicycle Club song ("Shuffle") and liked it enough not to mind seeing the band play live. No joke, this is the thought pattern that led to buying a ticket. My philosophy on concerts most of the time is, "Go for the opening band, stay for the headliner." I also prefer to let the live show sway me on bands because if a band sucks live, I won't spend any more energy on them.
Well.
The WECC was packed by the time Bombay Bicycle Club hit the stage, and I was absorbed by the music immediately. I. Loved. It. Every song was gold. I recognized one other song, too ("Leave It"). "Lights Out, Words Gone" gets played a lot when I get home from work. The weakest link was the vocals, but that could have been tour fatigue. The band was clearly happy to be playing to us, a new and enthusiastic audience for the London, England band. I picked up A Different Kind of Fix at the merch table on my way out, and play it quite a bit.
The Darcys put on a great show and if I had hated Bombay Bicycle Club, I still would have been glad I attended. I was disappointed that The Darcys don't have CDs for sale, only vinyl records or free downloads. I'm not saying I don't like free downloads (I do!), but I refuse to buy vinyl. It's a craze that I can't afford to get into! And I don't have a record player. Maybe I should have handed them ten bucks for the free download...would that have been weird?
Lucy Rose began the night. She sat at the front of the stage with her guitar, and had everyone mesmerized. She kept remarking on how quiet and polite we were. We were listening! Her voice is beautiful. I learned once I got home and was reading the liner notes on Bombay Bicycle Club's CD that she sang back-up on a few of their tunes, so that explained why they took her on tour with them. She also performed with them on a few songs.
Overall, I'd say this was one of the best line-ups I've seen in awhile, and so far the standout concert of the year (the year is young, I know). I hope they all come back soon!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
It's the memory that dies
On a recent episode of Criminal Minds, Reid said that the music you hear when you're 14 is what sticks with you the most later in life. When I was 14, I listened to a lot of Live's "Secret Samadhi". I saw the band once when they opened for Nickelback (trust me, I wasn't there for Nickelback), and when I found out that Ed Kowalczyk was returning to the 'Peg, I was super excited. What I couldn't figure out was why he was playing at Cowboys. Touring bands rarely play CanadInns bars anymore!
Ed was fantastic. He started the set with "The Distance", and went on to play through some solo tunes. The set was mostly comprised of Live singles, which was awesome! Sadly, tunes from "Secret Samadhi" were totally absent, as were other songs from "The Distance to Here". However, I'm not complaining. Ed's voice was spot on and he was clearly having a good time despite the small crowd (he could barely keep the smile off his face). I hope he comes back, and plays somewhere like The Pyramid.
My real beef with this concert was the opening act. Nothing against Marc Labossiere; he's a good performer and kept the crowd entertained throughout his set of cover songs. However, I find it hard to believe that CanadInns couldn't find an available original band to open the night. In fact, I don't believe they tried (feel free to comment, person who books CanadClubs). All I could think about all through Marc's set was how many bands there are in this city, and which ones would have been better choices. I wasn't even being picky with my choices. The thing is, and maybe this is a crazy old-fashioned idea, it's a big deal for opening acts to get gigs with more established artists. Isn't it?
So WTF to CanadInns for an epic fail in putting any effort into this show.
Ed was fantastic. He started the set with "The Distance", and went on to play through some solo tunes. The set was mostly comprised of Live singles, which was awesome! Sadly, tunes from "Secret Samadhi" were totally absent, as were other songs from "The Distance to Here". However, I'm not complaining. Ed's voice was spot on and he was clearly having a good time despite the small crowd (he could barely keep the smile off his face). I hope he comes back, and plays somewhere like The Pyramid.
My real beef with this concert was the opening act. Nothing against Marc Labossiere; he's a good performer and kept the crowd entertained throughout his set of cover songs. However, I find it hard to believe that CanadInns couldn't find an available original band to open the night. In fact, I don't believe they tried (feel free to comment, person who books CanadClubs). All I could think about all through Marc's set was how many bands there are in this city, and which ones would have been better choices. I wasn't even being picky with my choices. The thing is, and maybe this is a crazy old-fashioned idea, it's a big deal for opening acts to get gigs with more established artists. Isn't it?
So WTF to CanadInns for an epic fail in putting any effort into this show.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Awesomest Thing I Heard Today
I'm not going to lie, I like Lana Del Rey. There's something about her lyrics that I just connect with, especially in "Born to Die". I also love Arkells. Hence why I think this is awesome:
Video Games (Lana Del Rey Cover)
Video Games (Lana Del Rey Cover)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
New name, new direction
Hello Blogosphere!
My blog started out as an assignment while I was in CreComm at Red River College. You will see by scrolling that my posts were rather varied in subject matter. I thought about deleting my past posts, but that's not really fair, is it? Some of those entries were alright.
I've decided to take this blogging thing a little more seriously, hence the name change from "Bonnie's (Mostly) Music Blog" to "Concert Goers Anonymous". I go to A LOT of concerts. How much is A LOT? Check out my Flickr page. My new goal is to write reviews of the gigs I attend, and maybe throw in some CD reviews, and music recommendations. We'll see. I know this isn't highly original content; every music blog is about reviews. I'm adding my voice to the conversation.
Welcome! I hope you enjoy my ramblings!
And away we go.
~Bonnie
My blog started out as an assignment while I was in CreComm at Red River College. You will see by scrolling that my posts were rather varied in subject matter. I thought about deleting my past posts, but that's not really fair, is it? Some of those entries were alright.
I've decided to take this blogging thing a little more seriously, hence the name change from "Bonnie's (Mostly) Music Blog" to "Concert Goers Anonymous". I go to A LOT of concerts. How much is A LOT? Check out my Flickr page. My new goal is to write reviews of the gigs I attend, and maybe throw in some CD reviews, and music recommendations. We'll see. I know this isn't highly original content; every music blog is about reviews. I'm adding my voice to the conversation.
Welcome! I hope you enjoy my ramblings!
And away we go.
~Bonnie
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