Stranger Than Paradise

Watch This Space


Physical State: achey
Mental State: neutral
Music: Cat Power - Jukebox
Fashion sense: brown t-shirt, jeans

It's been a long time but I will be back soon. this will be year
5 for this blog so it feels like I owe it more attention than it's
been getting. So keep watching this space.

Yellowknife City Where The Grass Ain't Green But The Girls Are Pretty



Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), Canada Day Parade, Yellowknife

Physical State: tired
Mental State: dozey
Music: Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
Fashion sense: green t-shirt, pajama pants

Ok yes it's been months since I wrote anything on this blog. A lot has happened as you may recall from April. I moved to Yellowknife, NWT to work at a radio station and I have been very busy (sometimes too busy) for the past month and a half. But the station gives me lots of opportunities to do things in radio that I might not be able to do in Toronto. Right now I do remotes and production in addition to my regular afternoon shift on the station. I am also being trained to work as a music director. So lots on the go. Yellowknife is a lot different from Toronto, like a small town big town. Also the sun rarely disappears up here, i walked home from a bar at 2 am and the light looked like about 6 pm back home. Weird.

We also have a huge music fest up here, Folk On The Rocks which I have been doing interviews for. In the past week I have talked to Dallas Good of The Sadies, Kytami a violinist and electronic artist from Vancouver, The Bebop Cowboys as well as my friend Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers, seen above). That is a still from his new video done by Roncesvalles Village indie director Scott Cudmore. Great to see both Tony and Scott getting so much exposure. I can't wait to hang out for a beer with Tony up here at Folk On The Rocks.

The title of this post alludes to a great hip hop song by local rapper Godson (who I also interviewed for the station). He's got some great songs that we play on the station.

I've met a lot of cool people up here in a very short time and it feels like a big family up here. There are many talented and interesting people in this town. I have to start looking for a new place to live though which has got me a bit anxious. We shall see what happens.

Well that is it for my first attempt to keep this blog up in north of 60 here.

North of 60



Physical State: achey
Mental State: stressed
Music: Stars of The Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
Fashion sense: blue polo shirt, blue jeans

Well I haven't added to this blog in awhile but I think this might be my last for a few weeks in May. As of May 10 I am leaving Toronto and GTA area to join a radio station in Yellowknife, NT. Yep a long way from home but it's going to be an interesting adventure. I finally decided after many months of looking for radio work that if I wanted to get experience why not do it in an interesting place as well. So I'm gone. Perhaps for a year, perhaps for longer. Who's to say. The station is very popular in the city and you can check it out online at cjcd.ca. It is both troubling and exhilarating to not have to move so much stuff (in fact I am going with two big suitcases and having some important items sent by mail and courier). It's a big step towards being a radio person and I am really looking forward to it. So far the people I have been in contact with are very friendly and I think it'll be interesting to work there.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for more details. Even though it's still in Canada, Yellowknife feels like it's another world away. I am also extremely excited about finally seeing the Northern Lights. Hmm looking up at the sky and listening to things like Stars of the Lid. What a mind blowing experience that will be.

It'll Cost Ya


Captain Chaotic with Henry Phillips (video)


Physical State: creaky
Mental State: murky
Music: Loscil - Plume
Fashion sense: black polo top, blue jeans

This video on YouTube made me laugh. So typical of radio experiences. When you want to say the right thing...

Am I "Mittyesque"?


Bat For Lashes - Prescilla (video)


Physical State: lumbering
Mental State: foggy
Music: Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold
Fashion sense: grey sweatshirt, blue jeans

For the past few days I have had the name Walter Mitty coming up in dreams and when I'm walking around during the day. You know like when you get a jingle from a commercial or some obscure name that you keep repeating over and over again in your mind? (Ok just me huh? uh haha). So Walter Mitty is the name I kept thinking about (or heard in some dream). So today I looked the name up and this is what I found in Wikipedia:

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1941) is a short story by James Thurber. The most famous of Thurber's stories, it first appeared in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939; and was first collected in his book My World and Welcome to It (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942). It has since been reprinted in James Thurber: Writings and Drawings (The Library of America, 1996, ISBN 1-883011-22-1). It was made into a 1947 movie of the same name, with Danny Kaye in the title role, though the movie is very different from the original story.

The name Walter Mitty and the derivative word "Mittyesque" have entered the English language, denoting an ineffectual person who spends more time in heroic daydreams than paying attention to the real world.[1]

I think the last sentence strikes me immediately, speaking about the adjective "Mittyesque". Weird that I would have this name going over and over again in my mind (and in dreams). I should rent the movie. Maybe I should stop daydreaming. I probably read it or heard it referred to on the radio. Strange how this stuff gets in there.

Oh and Natasha Khan (aka Bat For Lashes, above) is this week's new musical obsession. Mix of Cat Power, Siouxsie Sioux, Kate Bush and Pram among other comparisons. Love it!

The Cinematics: Glasgow Strikes Again


The Cinematics - Keep Forgetting (video)


Physical State: headachey
Mental State: cloudy
Music: Luxuria Music (internet station)
Fashion sense: blue fleece, brown shirt, blue jeans

The next Franz Ferdinand meets Interpol are about to be unleashed on North America and they go by the name, The Cinematics. I love the look of this video (reminiscent of Godard and Truffaut's New Wave era). We'll probably hear a lot about these laddies in the next little while.

Obsessed with Lee Hazlewood's "Some Velvet Morning"



Physical State: sleepy
Mental State: druggy
Music: Lee Hazlewood - The Best of Nancy and Lee
Fashion sense: black hoodie, blue jeans

I heard this Lee Hazlewood song again on Coast To Coast AM over the weekend when Art Bell was hosting and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then. What a truly perfect song. My friend Blair talked about having an "art party" that he was thinking of creating where guests would show up with one thing they would talk about to everyone else. Could be a book, a song or a postcard, whateever. Something that mattered to them. I think that this song might be the thing I choose. What an amazing time period this would have been to be making music.

Lee is still at it (despite the fact that his days are numbered with cancer he has been enduring). His new Cake or Death in an amazing new release. Be sure to check it out (including a new version of this classic Lee song, Some Velvet Morning). I think that we'll see more of Lee mania over the next little while.

Thank you for 23 great years, Brave New Waves. I will miss you!


BNW's Augusta Lapaix, Brent Bambury & Patti Schmidt

Physical State: creaky
Mental State: bobblehead-ish
Music: Lee Hazlewood - Cowboy In Sweden
Fashion sense: black hoodie, blue pjs


It is with a bit of sadness that I read this article on Montreal's The Hour newspaper about Brave New Waves. If the show would continue it would have been 23 years old this February. CBC Radio Two and Radio One are going through many lineup changes for 2007 and after managing to avoid the CBC axe many times, Brave New Waves is finally getting the boot. I grew up on this show. I mean literally I started listening to it when it debuted in 1984 and I am now into my late 30s. For many Canadians BNW was one of the few places (long before Pitchfork or other internet resources) to find out about the coolest music that was out there. Many indie bands owe a serious debt to BNW as being the place where they could be heard (when commercial radio wasn't going to touch them with a ten foot pole). The hosts of the show, Augusta LaPaix in its early years, Brent Bambury and it's most recent longest-standing host, Patti Schmidt created amazing radio. It was a place to turn to when you felt like hearing truly challenging music and commentary. Most of the bands that I know and play on my Live365 station were first passed to my ears from this program (especially European electronic bands). Some of the interviews with cultural figures were some of the most inspired and informed that I had ever heard. There was an intelligence and respect to the show that made you feel that you were as much a part of it as it's creators. It was also a catalyst to open your mind to alternative ideas. It's unfortunate that CBC has to mess with this rich history. I believe many bands in Canada were inspired either directly or indirectly by BNW. When they needed inspiration all they had to do was listen to the CBC after midnight and become part of a welcoming community of creators and oddballs who didn't fit into neat round holes. I think with the internet offering immediate exposure to under-represented artists now, the need for BNW to break new sounds isn't as important. But as I remember Patti telling me when I interviewed her once, there needs to be a place where all this stuff can be curated (and put into cultural context). BNW did that. CBC says it supports the arts but this is probably the most "arty" they ever got. BNW has endured many long and valiant fights in the dimly corners of the CBC. They strived to exist when detractors and bureaucrats didn't "get it". But now they've lost the battle.

I have enjoyed your insight, wisdom, friendliness and inspiration for most of my life, BNW. I will miss you and thanks for the memories. You deserve a proper sendoff and not a whimper. But perhaps you should disappear as innoculously as you appeared in 1984, indie cred still intact. You should be proud of your accomplishments because some of us were listening (and enjoying).

Peter Bjorn and John my #1 "missed the bus in 2006" moment


Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks (video)


Physical State: achey
Mental State: sludgey
Music: Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block
Fashion sense: blue fleece jacket, blue jean


Yet another album that seemed to pass me by in 2006 but that I've recently discovered is Peter Bjorn and John's Writer's Block. "Young Folks" has to be the coolest retro-poppy song I've heard in awhile. There is so much great stuff coming from Sweden these days. Love it!

I've posted a new show for February 2007 over at RadioSteven @ Live365 (can you believe it's already February?). Lots of new stuff for 2007, some greats from 2006 and also some classics for you to enjoy. Over 7 hours of music.

Send me an email. Keep respecting the rock and thanks for listening!

Sibylle Baier's "Colour Green", a folk
masterpiece 33 years late.



Physical State: hunchy
Mental State: leaden
Music: Sibylle Baier - Colour Green
Fashion sense: black hoodie, blue pjs


An album that seemed to pass me by in 2006 but that I've recently discovered was actually recorded in 1973. But it wasn't until 2004 that J Mascis heard a tape copy that there were any chances for the world to hear it. Sibylle Baier had had some songs in Wim Wenders films like Alice In The Cities (which is totally appropriate after some consideration) but never persued a music career opting for raising a family instead. One wonders what music would have been like if she kept it up. She recorded this album at home in 1973 on a reel-to-reel tape deck and never released it. Well finally 33 years later we can all enjoy this artist who sounds like a sad Joanie Mitchell or a distinct contemporary of Leonard Cohen, Nico or Vashti Bunyan. Cat Power fans will probably really dig this classic as well I think. I think that Orange Twin (a label run by Elf Power) have released an incredible treasure here that should be heard. Kudos to them for getting it out there. You can find out more about Sibylle by clicking here.

Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power)
on The Hour tonight



Physical State: aching back (thanks gym)
Mental State: felty
Music: Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Fashion sense: black hoodie, blue pjs


CBC's The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos has the amazing Cat Power on his show tonight (Thursday Jan.11). It goes without saying that I love this artist (I've been managing a fan mailing list since the late 90s). Be sure to check her out. 8pm on CBC Newsworld and 11pm on regular CBC. You can also check out the entire show tomorrow in archive on their site.

In other news yes I joined a gym before the new year and man is it hard getting physical (insert Olivia Newton-John joke here). I am working out about 5-6 days of the week and taking a day off. I'm alternating two days of cardio and one day of weights and usually I'm in there for more than an hour per day. My body is in a weird transition where it both appreciates the excercise but hates me for causing it discomfort. But each day becomes a little easier so now I have to just stick with it.

If it wasn't for the ipod (yes I finally broke down and bought one over the holidays) then I'm not sure that I would enjoy the gym as much. It helps a lot to have music to do the treadmill and elliptical to. So far the repeat offenders on the workout playlist are Vitalic, Tiga, Hot Chip, The Rapture and Shout Out Out Out Out. Anyone who has any suggestions should pass them along in the comments.

Life On Mars Rocks!



Physical State: gym aches
Mental State: lazy
Music: CBC Radio 3
Fashion sense: black sweatshirt, blue sweats


Life On Mars is my newest British show to check out. I have been faithfully watching every episode on Showcase here in Canada since it debuted. I think it is a really great show and I can't wait for some dvd action as well.

Life on Mars is a cop drama with a twist. Manchester police officer Sam Tyler (played expertly by John Simm) is a cop who, after having an accident, is thrown back in time to 1973. He makes his way as a cop who has all the new techniques of 2006 but must act like he's living in the 70s. His ways of working as a detective make him both an outsider (because he's so different to a cop in the 70s) but also regarded, quite reluctantly, as something of a guru among his force. Every now and then Sam get's a window into modern day when he hears a radio broadcast or has a dream. In 2006 he is in a coma and he must one day make it back.

While the concept sounds truly bizarre it works. As an outsider to 1973, Sam takes notice of the things that most people of that time would take for granted: the fashions, the music (and the soundtrack is awesome btw) as well as the outmoded ways of investigating. But at the same time he is becoming a better cop because he is humbled by his restrictions.

Set in Manchester, this BBC show is one of the coolest Brit shows to come along in a long time. I think that Showcase will be rerunning it again by next Spring. Keep your eyes open for it.

Happy new year to everyone!

My Top 40 of 2006


Physical State: cold
Mental State: groovy
Music: RadioSteven on Live365
Fashion sense: black hoodie, blue sweats


After much deliberation, constant listening, fevered whittling down and many hours of rearranging I have finally posted my favourite albums of 2006 at Live 365 (link above). In this show you'll hear two tracks from each of my favourite 40 albums of 2006. This is followed by a seasonal compilation of Christmas tunes for y'all.

Here is a list of the albums that made a difference to me in 2006 (not the order that they appear on the playlist btw). In fact there is no distinct order in the playlist, just as I saw them going together sonically. Be sure to check out this show which will be up for a month at least for you all to enjoy. While you're checking it out perhaps you can email me some of you favourites that I should check out (nothing like that year end list when you realize you missed something crucial, ha ha).

01. Ms. John Soda - Notes and the Like
02. Broadcast - Future Crayon
03. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
04. Gentlemen Losers - s/t
05. Boards of Canada - Trans Canada Highway
06. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
07. Amy Millan - Honey From The Tombs
08. I'm Not A Gun - We Think As Instruments
09. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
10. Mojave 3 - Puzzles Like You
11. Asobi Seksu - Citrus
12. The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
13. 120 Days - s/t
14. Joanna Newsom - Ys
15. Au Revoir Simone - Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation
16. James Figurine - Mistake, Mistake, Mistake, Mistake
17. Cat Power - The Greatest
18. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
19. The Rogers Sisters - The Invisible Deck
20. Audrey - Visible Forms
21. CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy
22. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
23. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
24. The Long Blondes - Someone To Drive You Home
25. Hot Chip - The Warning
26. Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
27. Beirut - Gulag Orkester
28. The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes
29. Chad Vangaalen - Skelliconnection
30. M. Ward - Post-War
31. The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love
32. Delta 5 - Singles and Sessions 1979-1981
33. Be Good Tanyas - Hello Love
34. The Black Angels - Passover
35. Shout Out Out Out Out - Not Saying Just Saying
36. Isan - Plans Drawn In Pencil
37. The Pink Mountaintops - Axis of Evol
38. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain
39. The Boyfriends - s/t
40. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of the Country

Thanks so much for listening. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Steven

RadioSteven #4: Nov. 25 - Dec. 12 Playlist


Here is my previous playlist for December for my station over at Live365. Check out the list above for what will appear in the new show (not in the order it's displayed).

Live365/stations/radio_Steven - Nov.25/2006

Track - Artist - Album

Music To Watch Space Girls By - Leonard Nimoy Orchestra
Future Resident - DJ Me DJ You - L'âge D'or De Tricatel
Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy Vs. James Bond - Pizzicato Five - Made In USA
Race For The Prize (Remix) - The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Doctor Blind - Emily Haines - Knives Don't Have Your Back
Specialist - Interpol - Interpol ep
Broken Plates - Magenta Lane - Dancing With Daggers
Headstream - Cities - s/t
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind - Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
No Satisfaction - Black Mountain - s/t
How Can I Love You (If You Won't Lie Down) - Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
This Year - The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree
Old Fashioned Morphine - Jolie Holland - Escondida
House Of The Rising Sun - The Be Good Tanyas - Chinatown
He Stopped Loving Her Today - Knoxville Girls - s/t
In The Pines - Smog - A River Ain't Too Much To Love
Forget Marie - Lee Hazlewood - Cowboy in Sweden
Alone Again Or - Calexico - Convict Pool
Amour Fou - Vetiver - s/t
Running With You - Mojave 3 - Puzzles Like You
Trying to Find a Home - Tindersticks - Waiting for the Moon
Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
Streets Of Your Town - The Go Betweens - 16 Lovers Lane
White Collar Boy - Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
The Coast Is Alway Changing - Maxïmo Park - A Certain Trigger
Warsaw - Joy Division - Substance 1977-1980
What Difference Does It Make? - The Smiths - s/t
Blue Boy - Orange Juice - The Glasgow School
Return The Gift - Gang Of Four - A Brief History Of The 20th Century
Jimmy Jimmy - The Undertones - The Very Best of The Undertones
No Tomorrow - The Boyfriends - s/t
Comedienne - Cinerama - Va Va Voom
Twist Barbie - Shonen Knife - Let's Knife
Locket Love - The Ramones - Rocket To Russia
White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground - Velvet Underground
Sparta #2 - The Fall - Real New Fall LP
K-O - Shesus - Narnack Records Is... A Fist-First Sampler Of New Music
Ping Pong Affair - The Slits - Cut
Le Pain Perdu - Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman
Sugar Your Mind - Swallow - Blow
Baby Astrolab - Drugstore - s/t
Fait Accompli - Curve - Pubic Fruit
Play For Today - The Cure - Seventeen Seconds
Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy - Deep
Pull The Wires From The Wall - The Delgados - Peloton
Goodbye - Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Fine Friend - Pale Saints - Slow Buildings
Wide Awake - The Meeting Places - Find Yourself Along The Way
The Worst Taste In Music - The Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Ex-Cowboy - Mogwai - Come On Die Young
The Fleeting Skies - Samara Lubelski - The Fleeting Skies
Here - Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted
When It Flows - Great Lake Swimmers - Bodies And Minds
The Greatest (eMusic Solo Version) - Cat Power - eMusic Session EP
Song For Nico - The Angels Of Light - How I Loved You
In the Drugs - Low - Trust
November Tree - Tanakh - Dieu Deuil
'Til The Death - The Places - Call It Sleep
Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes - Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities
Cosmia - Joanna Newsom - Ys
The Fucking Bleeding Hearts Brigade - Remote Viewer - Let Your Heart Draw A Line
Gold Dust Afternoon - The Gentlemen Losers - s/t
Where Youth And Laughter Go - Broadcast - The Future Crayon
Through the Backyards - Au Revoir Simone - Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation
Grin and Bear - Lali Puna - Faking the Books
Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone - 120 Days - 120 Days
No. One - Ms. John Soda - Notes And The Like
55566688833 - James Figurine - Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
Sheltered Life - Erlend Oye - Unrest
Eple - Röyksopp - Melody A.M.
Get The Balance Right (Combination Mix) - Depeche Mode - Remixes 81-04
Blue Monday - New Order - Substance
Mondo '77 - Looper - The Geometrid
Disconnected - Funkstörung - Disconnected
Solo Buttons for Joe Meek - Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
Recording A Tape… (Typewriter Duet) - Bell Orchestre - Recording A Tape The Colour Of The Light
Turbo Dreams - Ellen Allien & Apparat - Orchestra of Bubbles
On My Mind - Colder - Heat
Wheneveryouready - Clickits - Express Gifts
Twentytwofourteen - The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place
Lilac Wine (The Album Leaf Remix) - Nina Simone - Verve Remixed 3
As Far As Forever Goes - I'm not a Gun - We Think As Instruments
Lonely Lonely (Frisbee'd Mix) - Feist - Open Season
As Serious as Your Life (Remix) - Four Tet - Remixes
Swarming - Efterklang - Tripper
Saturday Afternoon Plans - I Am Robot And Proud - The Catch
Pae Paoe - Bola - Fyuti
Da. Viromint - Proem - Socially Inept
Monster - Piana - Snow Bird
Triton - Loscil - Submers
Sun Drugs - Stars of the Lid - The Ballasted Orchestra