People Tell Me That It's A Sin

There’s a new Bob Dylan movie coming out called I’m Not There which looks pretty interesting. The soundtrack came out today (pretty expensive on CD, $16.99 on iTunes), and the track-listing is pretty stunning:

Disc 1
1. Eddie Vedder and the Million Dollar Bashers: "All Along the Watchtower"
2. Sonic Youth: "I'm Not There"
3. Jim James and Calexico: "Goin' to Acapulco"
4. Richie Havens: "Tombstone Blues"
5. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Ballad of a Thin Man"
6. Cat Power: "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again"
7. John Doe: "Pressing On"
8. Yo La Tengo: "Fourth Time Around"
9. Iron and Wine and Calexico: "Dark Eyes"
10. Karen O and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Highway 61 Revisited"
11. Roger McGuinn and Calexico: "One More Cup of Coffee"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"
13. Los Lobos: "Billy"
14. Jeff Tweedy: "Simple Twist of Fate"
15. Mark Lanegan: "The Man in the Long Black Coat"
16. Willie Nelson and Calexico: "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)"

Disc 2
1. Mira Billotte: "As I Went Out One Morning"
2. Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo: "Can't Leave Her Behind"
3. Sufjan Stevens: "Ring Them Bells"
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico: "Just Like a Woman"
5. Jack Johnson: "Mama You've Been on My Mind"
6. Yo La Tengo: "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
7. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova: "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
8. The Hold Steady: "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window"
9. Ramblin' Jack Elliott: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"
10. The Black Keys: "Wicked Messenger"
11. Tom Verlaine and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Cold Irons Bound"
12. Mason Jennings: "The Times They Are a-Changin'"
13. Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers: "Maggie's Farm"
14. Marcus Carl Franklin: "When the Ship Comes In"
15. Bob Forrest: "Moonshiner"
16. John Doe: "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine"
17. Antony and the Johnsons: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
18. Bob Dylan: "I'm Not There"

To put a few more band names in there, that list includes people from Pearl Jam, My Morning Jacket, Pavement, Wilco, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Byrds, The Screaming Trees, and Television. Wow. I’m writing this before listening to the whole thing, since it’s pretty perfect in my imagination right now. The Million Dollar Bashers seem to be a pretty stellar backing band too - members of Sonic Youth, Wilco, Television, along with Tony Garnier, Smokey Hormel, and John Medeski. Wow again.

It looks like you can actually listen to the album online here.

Saturday is YouTube Day

For a rainy day in Montreal, I typed ‘rain’ into the search box in iTunes. Here’s a few of the results:



Leonard Cohen, 1979. I think you can see Jennifer Warnes singing backup there, too!



Neko Case doing my favourite Dylan song - I think she did this cover both times I’ve seen her.



OK, I can’t resist this for a rainy day in November. How come nobody does epic guitar solos on windswept prairies any more? Maybe I’ve been listening to the wrong music.

LATER: As I realized, and Jay pointed out in comments, it wasn't actually November when I wrote this entry. It's not even November now! I think my head somehow convinced the rest of me that November started sometime near the end of last week.

Back in Blue and Grey

Alright, let’s get back to it. Here are some shows I’ve been to recently, with exciting commentary!

Iron & Wine, September 26, Metropolis

I really should stick to my rule of only seeing bands once unless they’re touring on an album I really love. Last time I saw Sam, he was touring with Calexico, and put on a fantastic show. That first show was a bit uneven though - Calexico played first, firing everybody up, so it was a bit difficult settling back down to enjoy I&W. This time around, a Metropolis fully filled with chairs should have led to a setting more conducive to enjoying I&W, but I wasn’t quite there.

I think we saw one of the first shows of the tour, given that the new album was only released a few days before the show. The band was large, tight, and very professional - it included Leroy Bach (formerly of Wilco!), as well as members of Calexico and Califone. But, like on the new album, I found the more complex arrangements detracted from the arrangements, rather than enhancing them. Most, if not all, of the new album was played, and old favourites like “Sodom, South Georgia” were substantially rearranged. In some cases the new arrangements were really interesting, in others not so much.

The highlight for me was seeing Sam perform a solo version of ‘History of Lovers’ - one of my favourite songs, and the only song from In The Reins that was skipped last time. I’ve always loved the idea that, in the aftermath of a knife-fight, the narrators chief worry is whether or not Louise understands the irony of the situation.

United Steelworkers of Montreal / Two-Minute Miracles / The Barmitzvah Brothers / Ox, October 5, Le Gymnase

A full bill of artists from Weewerk Records. Funnily enough, I think I’ve seen or heard almost every band on that label now. I liked Ox a lot - alt-country in the vein of Son Volt, but a little unpolished. The Barmitzvah Brothers seemed to base their whole show around being quirky, which was interesting for about five minutes. Two-Minute Miracles were very interesting - quiet, haunting songs, with lots of space and silence. The lead singer and guitarist had incredibly long fingers, allowing him to play some really crazy chords on his guitar.

The headliners, The United Steelworkers of Montreal, were a real treat. It was a rowdy, hometown show for them, with a great crowd. Their website bills them as combining “country crooners with outlaw rockers”, which sounds about right - lots of songs about waking up with mysterious tattoos.

The National / Doveman, October 7, Le National

The National at Le National! A fairly subdued show in a really nice venue that seems to be getting a lot more good shows recently. Definitely a strong show, with incredible musicianship all around, but their album Boxer is probably better suited to headphones than a concert setting.

Elliott Brood / The Acorn, October 11, Sala Rossa

Elliott Brood (also on Weewerk) have been one of my favourite discoveries this year - dark, dark folk/country music, mainly driven by distorted acoustic guitars and yowling vocals. What’s not to like? The unfortunate thing about this show was that Elliott Brood didn’t take the stage til 11:30pm, so a lot of the audience drifted away during their set. Here’s a video of one of their more upbeat songs:



Katie Loves Pain, October 12, Thomson House

These guys were alright. They seemed a little uptight during their first set, but loosened up a lot in the second as the drink started to flow. Word on the street is that they’ll be playing again in January, after a few of the members finish their qualifying exams!

Creep In Inn

Some young gunslingers are playing a show tonight? Maybe it’ll be good? I think it will be, but I’m biased.