This week’s EP was curated by Jeremy Sroka, the mastermind behind HI54LOFI, probably the most essential blog/radio station on the internet. Jeremy also runs 95EH, a blog-form homage to his new hometown Kimberly, BC. Check it out and feel jealous that we can’t all live there!

Packing / Unpacking

by Jeremy Sroka

1) Song with a name in the title

Marie – Townes Van Zandt (with Willie Nelson)

I thought that the lack of specific-ness for this song prompt was going to stress me out. I mean, there are a lot of songs with names in the title, so how was I going to pick one? I started off my thinking process by wishing that there would have been a more specific ‘name of famous person’ or something filter, but then I remembered how much I love this Townes & Willie collaboration ‘Marie’. And too think I was briefly considered giving this spot to The Goo Goo Dolls ‘Name’.

2) Song that reminds you of your favourite video game

The Alley (War) – Big Trouble In Little China Soundtrack (John Carpenter)

I have not played video games since I lived at home and had a video game console. I only made it as far as a Playstation 1, but my fondest joystick memories are probably the Double Dragon marathons spent on the Nintendo. And since I just included a metal version of the Double Dragon theme song for my Rigby mix for The Grey Estates  I figured I better go with something else that reminds me of that era of personal peak video gaming. And it turns out it was the soundtrack to Big Trouble In Little China. I guess Kurt Russell fathered a lot of us kids born in the 80s (metaphorically speaking, but maybe literally too).

3) Song that sounds like the bottom of the ocean

Heavy – William Ryan Fritch

When I saw this song prompt I immediately thought of William Ryan Fritch. When it comes to floating & falling, nobody’s music captures those feelings better. I haven’t been to the bottom of the ocean myself, but I imagine it sounds pretty heavy down there.

Aberdeen – Mando Diao

I like to say that I’m an excellent dancer, but the reality is that I’m (probably) not. I figure it’s a mixture of not being much of a ‘dance=y’ person to begin + rarely feeling comfortable being ‘dance-y’ in public even when I’m feeling a little ‘dance-y’ on the inside (i.e. drunk-y). Maybe if places put on tunes like this Mando Diao one, instead of some Top 40 hit that came with instructions on how to dance to it (instructions I haven’t read), maybe I could become the excellent dancer I lie about already being. Or maybe I’ll just continue doing my best dancing at our flat to songs like this.

5) Song you’d play during the apocalypse

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Cat Power

I actually made a little ‘apocalypse ‘ mix on 8tracks a few years ago (well, that was for the rapture, but same difference). Anyways, this song is not on that 8tracks mix, but I can imagine putting it on my headphones and walking cinematically slow down some apocalyptic / raptured high street.

6) Song from at least 20 years ago

Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – Danny O’Keefe

I only came across this gem from ’67 within the last year, which, considering the age I turned in 2016 and the line “yr not a kid at 33’, the timing of this discovery feels timely. Throw in the fact that my girlfriends name is ‘Charlie’ and that we’ve spent the last 4 years hopping around Europe and Canada (including an extended trip back to Denmark due to an unexpected loss in Charlie’s family tree), this song lands a lot of jabs to my head every listen.

Here’s the whole thing in one go so you can hit repeat, sit back, and take it all in.

Be sure to read everything Jeremy Sroka does on HI54LOFI and 95EH, and check back next week for the next Mystery Mini Mix.

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Hip Hatchet

“Speak[s] of that vulnerable core at the heart of every man, and the desperate, ridiculous attempts to suffocate it with cigarette smoke or drown it in whiskey or cover it over with scars”- Philippe Bronchtein weaves timeless folk tales about the vanity and pride of tough guys who have been on the road too long.

Frog

“The U S of A in eleven songs – quirky, joyous, breathless, exhausting, addictive, heartbreaking and downright weird, accelerating towards a distant horizon while keeping its eyes firmly on a halcyon past that sure seems like it should have been more fun.” – some words about Kind of Blah, the excellent, endlessly quotable album from Frog out now on Audio Antihero.

The Modern Folk

“Folk songs don’t require banjos and fiddles, it’s something a little deeper than that” – some bona fide folk music from The Modern Folk.

Kathryn Joseph

“A simple album about things so complicated that it’s almost impossible to put them into words” – we used Marilynne Robinson to describe what makes Kathryn Joseph’s Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled so special.

Island Eyes

“Confronts the uncertainty of every life, admitting his fear about pretty much every possible scenario while finding solace in the fact that this uncertainty binds us all” – The self-titled album from Derek Janzen’s Island Eyes is an epic metaphor for your everyday quests.

Adam Stafford

“Could quite easily make solid, radio-friendly, painted-by-numbers pop music that would be lapped up by the undiscerning masses, but instead endeavours to make innovative, progressive music” – Adam Stafford’s new single ‘Atheist Money’ bodes well for his forthcoming album on Song, By Toad.

Bobby’s Oar

“If you placed Nana Grizol, The Front Bottoms and The Hotelier in a blender and seasoned them with acoustic guitars, throaty emo vocals and the odd mathy flourish…” – The Weeds in Your Garden by Bobby’s Oar is a passionate, defiant slice of pop-punk-folk.

Debris Slide

“Lo-fi rock music that sits at a crossroads between shimmery shoegaze, oddball experimentalism and early nineties noise pop” – some noisy, deranged pop songs from Nottingham’s Debris Slide.

Women in Music Journalism

‘“What’s the big deal? You’re a groupie.” She replied, “I’m a woman who writes about rock and roll.” His answer: “Same difference.” Groupies have proved an enduring stereotype of women’s participation in rock: worshipful, gorgeous, and despised.‘ – Anwen Crawford explains why the world needs female rock critics in The New Yorker.

Spotify: a Good Thing?

“As both an independent musician and a music fan, I’m here to give you a new headline: I believe Spotify is saving the industry” – David McMillin of Fort Francis writes for PopMatters on how Spotify might not be as bad as some would have you believe. We don’t know what to think anymore…

The State of the Music Industry (or, Goodbye Thrash Hits)

“It still pains us to see other, larger organisations dumping content online with little thought to the medium they’re working in or the audience they’re speaking to” – Thrash Hits went on an indefinite hiatus with this closing piece on the state of music industry and journalism in 2015.

Henry Demos / Lewtrakimou / Nice Legs

“I could be wrong here but I have a theory that people want to make loud music everywhere in the world” – START-TRACK spoke to Henry Demos & Lewtrakimou about Nice Legs, solo work and the South Korean music scene.

Fields / Molina

Another week, another great Jason Molina tribute article over at Common Folk Music, this time courtesy of Jeffrey Fields of The Morning River Band. Be sure not to miss the cover of ‘Whip-Poor-Will’ while you’re there.

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

“I was pretty much always nervous in those days. The memories of my awkward, fidgety & depressed early 20’s have come rushing back to me, leaving me feeling awkward, fidgety & depressed all over again” – Owen Ashworth, now of Advance Base, came across an old CD of a radio session he did as Casiotone For the Painfully Alone back in 2001. Check it out on Bandcamp.

HI54LOFI’s Mix Tape Radio

Jeremy over at HI54LOFI posted episode 55 of his Mix Tape Radio series and it’s brilliant as usual.

Swell Tone’s MEGA SUMMER BABES

The cool people over at Swell Tone have put together a great summer playlist which should see you set for the coming months.

And Finally… the 8tracks Playlist of the Week

It’s this one by Annievain. I stumbled across it and it’s really dreamy and cool.

we’re changing from annievain on 8tracks Radio.

The post Week in Review: #3 (25-29th May) appeared first on Various Small Flames.

So what are you waiting for? Run along and tune in to Mix Tape Radio. Tell your friends too – it will make them love you even more.

P.S. Did you see the mixtape we put together with Jeremy a couple of years back?

The post Mix Tape Radio is back! appeared first on Various Small Flames.

We had originally planned for 15 songs each but found it was too difficult to fit in all the artists we felt needed to be included and decided to go with 20 each. Luckily, HI54LOFI included some of our favourites and I think we had some of his on ours, so we helped each other out a bit.

Granted, there are far more than 40 noteworthy Canadian artists out there and there were some hard decisions. Any disappointed acts crying into their maple syrup or taking out frustrations on their teamates on the ice, please don’t despair, there is always next year.

We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making them. These songs certainly haven’t helped banish our romantic view of Canada.

Wake The Deaf side:

1.Docking Guard – Northern Primitive
2. Drop It – NEEDLES//PINS
3. Flyingshot Lake – The Flaming Moes
4. Ask Me Something – Wind & the Wild
5. Left and Leaving – The Weakerthans
6. Snow Ghosts – Paul Stewart
7. Voyageur – Doug MacNearney
8. The Future Of Tradition – Frederick Squire
9. Bruises – Dusted
10. Ben – Tyler Butler
11. Warning – Postdata
12. Margaret Downe – Aidan Knight
13. Coming Back Home – Zachary Lucky
14. Sask – Donovan Woods
15. Young Glass – Hey Rosetta!
16. Lightshow – Plants & Animals
17. And I Thank You – Pink Mountaintops
18. Cloud Of Evil – Blackout Beach
19. Sing! Captain – Handsome Furs
20. Continuous Thunder – Japandroids

HI54LOFI side:

1. Welcome To The Heart – Eamon McGrath
2. Broken Knees. – Different Skeletons
3. Sunset – Two Bicycles
4. Brook and Branch – The Weather Station (featuring Baby Eagle)
5. Skinny Ghost – HAPPY TRENDY
6. Deny, Deny, Deny – Joel Plaskett
7. You’re Cool – The Joe
8. Oh My God (It Still Means A Lot To Me) – The Wooden Sky
9. Necromancy – Jessica Jalbert
10. Scared – The Tragically Hip
11. Family Tree – Evening Hymns
12. Wind Driving Dogs – Chad VanGaalen
13. Were You In Love With Me – Andy Shauf
14. Big Bird In A Small Cage – Patrick Watson
15. I Need You Closer – LadyFace
16. Where are you? – nick everett
17. The Very Best – Mike Tod
18. Vapours – Islands
19. Sugar Mama – The Deep Dark Woods
20. Road Regrets – Dan Mangan

You can find both mixes here as a collection.

EH? – A Canadian Mixtape (Wake The Deaf Side) from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

EH? – A Canadian Mix Tape (HI54LOFI Side) from HI54LOFI on 8tracks Radio.

If anyone can think of any more Canada-themed cliches or stereotypes then please don’t hesitate to let us know for next year’s mix. Going by this collection of songs, being insanely talented might just be one more.

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