Arts & Crafts To Release Tobais Jesso Jr.’s Debut Album March 17

Feb 4, 2015

Tobias Jesso Jr.’s upcoming debut LP, Goon is set for release in Canada on March 17 via Arts & Crafts with True Panther Sounds releasing the album in the rest of the world. Goon, has already been named one of the most anticipated albums of 2015 by Time, Pitchfork, WXPN, and Stereogum. “Hollywood” and “True Love” were named as Pitchforks’s Best New Tracks and were included in Pitchfork’s and The Fader’s Best New Tracks of 2014. The Grant Singer directed video for “How Could You Babe” has now premiered courtesy of NPR.

Written on a piano at his parent’s house in North Vancouver, Goon, is an honest document of a modern songwriter. Drawn in by the strength of Jesso’s songwriting, producers Chet “JR” White (Girls), Patrick Carney (Black Keys) and Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Sky Ferriera, The XX), strove to find the way to honour the songs’ emotional pulse, without overpowering their rawness.

“In 2008 I moved to LA to play backup bass for a pop singer,” says Jesso. “That job didn’t work out, but I ended up staying in LA for four years. I returned to North Vancouver because my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. She’s better now. I wrote most of the songs on my album Goon about my time spent in LA. It was a reflection that included, like the most popular of love cliches, a tough break up.

In my haste returning to Vancouver, I had left all my instruments in a storage locker in LA. My sister had moved out and left her piano at my parent’s house, an instrument I had yet to explore. The first song I wrote on that piano was ‘Just A Dream’. It was also one of my first attempts at singing. I have yet to come to terms with my singing voice, but at the time I was left with no other option.”

Tobias will embark on his first North American headline tour in March including shows in Toronto (March 22) and Vancouver (March 30). Goon is now available for pre-order and all tour dates are listed below.

TRACK LIST

01 – Can’t Stop Thinking About You
02 – How Could You Babe
03 – Without You
04 – Can We Still Be Friends
05 – The Wait
06 – Hollywood
07 – For You
08 – Crocodile Tears
09 – Bad Words
10 – Just A Dream
11 – Leaving Los Angeles
12 – Tell The Truth

INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES

Mar 22 – Toronto, ON – The Drake
Mar 24 – Washington, DC – Sixth & I
Mar 25 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
Mar 26 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
Mar 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
Mar 28 – Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs
Mar 30 – Vancouver, BC – Electric Owl
Mar 31 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
Apr 1 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Apr 3 – San Francisco, CA – Brick + Mortar
Apr 4 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo (early show)
May 1-4 – Leeds, UK – Live At Leeds
May 6 – London, UK – The Courtyard Theatre
May 7 – London, UK – The Courtyard Theatre
May 8 – Manchester, UK – Night & Day Cafe
May 10 – Dublin, Ireland – Unitarian Church
May 12 – Paris, France – Cafe Carmen
May 13 – Brussels, Belgium – TBD
May 14-16 – Brighton, UK – The Great Escape
May 19 – Hamburg, Germany – The Sage Club
May 20 – Berlin, Germany – Grüner Salon in der Volksbühne
May 28-30 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound Festival

Erykah Badu’s How to Make it in Music as a Female

Feb 4, 2015

Erykah Badu’s How to Make it in Music as a Female is a tongue-in-cheek but what I’ve heard, of course, quite accurate depiction of what women have to go through in the music business. I’d be crying if I wasn’t laughing.

I think.

1. Get breast implants.
2. Get butt implants.
3. Buy a new scalp. Hair extensions are so early 2000s.
4. Get calf implants.
5. Wear stilettos. This is apparently a must. The taller the better.
6. Do some “ho sh*t.”
7. Kiss another woman.
8. Just be naked.
9. Sell super deluxe tampons.
10. After all of that, try to squeeze in some actual music…
…wherever and however you can.

http://youtu.be/skEvdFYtj4A

Zakk Wylde Guitarist of the Year – 4th Annual Loudwire Music Awards

Feb 4, 2015

Kudos to guitar great Zakk Wylde, who further cemented his musical legacy by being voted by Loudwire’s readers as the 2014 Guitarist of the Year in the 4th Annual Loudwire Music Awards.

It turned out to be one of the tightest and most competitive races of the 4th Annual Loudwire Music Awards as less than 1 percent of the vote separated Wylde from his closest competitor, Slash. Meanwhile, Sixx: A.M / Guns N’ Roses guitar slinger DJ Ashba and Linkin Park’s Brad Delson finished third and fourth respectively.

Wylde enjoyed a stellar year, as Black Label Society returned to the music scene with one of the year’s better albums, ‘Catacombs of the Black Vatican.’ The disc offered the frontman a chance to show off his guitar mastery, bringing the heavy, bluesy, swampy and moody in equal parts on the disc. Wylde also stepped outside the group for a handful of solo performances as well, including an appearance on Motorhead’s Motorboat Cruise.

Congrats to Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde on being voted as Loudwire’s 2014 Guitarist of the Year in the 4th Annual Loudwire Music Awards. Fans in Europe will be able to catch Wylde riffing and rocking throughout the spring and during a portion of summer at these stops.

Via Loudwire

Canadian Arts/Media Job Posts For February 4, 2015

Feb 4, 2015

St. Francis Xavier University is seeking a talented Web Developer/Designer to play a key role within their Communications and Marketing Team.

Quinte Mall seeks an individual to fill the role of Guest Services Supervisor within the shopping centre.

Applications are being accepted online at www.markham.ca for the Summer student position in the Sustainability department.

Canadian Partnership Against Canada is seeking a Strategy Analyst accountable to support ongoing development and near- and long-term planning, implementation and measurement of the Partnership’s strategy.

Hootsuite’s Online Revenue team is currently looking for a Web Analyst that will help discover insights that will take Hootsuite to the next level.

Cision in Toronto is looking for a Marketing and Public Relations Associate will have the responsibility to support the company via a variety of marketing initiatives, including marketing based communications and internal communications.

The City of Leduc is looking for a Promotions Administrator that will collect, organize and compile information to support the City of Leduc’s Recreation and Community Development operations and services.

The City of Coquitlam has an opening for a Communications Coordinator.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries has an opening for a Marketing Assistant.

Toronto French School is looking for a University Relations Coordinator who will work closely with students, counsellors and faculty to provide administrative support and data management relating to university and scholarship applications, standardized university admissions tests, event planning and the Senior School Guidance Program Grades 6-12.

The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is one of North America’s largest investors, owners and managers of commercial real estate, and they’re looking for a Manager, Digital Marketing.

The City of Calgary has an opening for a Communication Advisor.

Evergreen in Toronto has an opening for a Director, Marketing & Communications.

The Globe and Mail is expanding its mobile and interactive news team. They are looking for smart, versatile journalists to help craft the future of digital storytelling on tablets and smartphones.

Pythian is a global data systems and outsourcing company that specializes in optimizing mission-critical, high-availability data systems based in Toronto, and they have an opening for a Marketing Coordinator.

Unison is seeking a Project Coordinator to plan, deliver and evaluate “In The Know”, an HIV/AIDS Prevention program for African, Caribbean and Latin American communities in North Western Toronto.

Accenture has an opening for a Media Relations Specialist to create the media relations strategy, aligned to Canadian business and marketing plans.

Noise Digital is actively seeking a community manager to join their Toronto Office.

SapientNitro is seeking a Director, Brand Strategy-Digital to play an integral part in the development and growth of our strategy capabilities, as well as the continued partnership and growth of their clients.

The Calgary Foundation exists to nurture a healthy, vibrant, giving and caring community that values diversity and supports all people, and they’re looking for a Communications Coordinator.

The Region of Peel serves a vibrant and culturally diverse community of more than 1.3 million residents and 88,000 businesses in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga, and they have an opening for a Specialist, Community Safety Programs.

Lululemon athletica’s Guest Education Centre (GEC) is seeking a passionate, guest experience-driven, and enthusiastic individual to join their team.

Q92 in Sudbury is looking for someone who is creative, fun and totally gets social media and listener engagement.

Rogers Radio is seeking a Program Director to manage the Country/CHYM Radio Stations in Kitchener. Reporting to the Regional General Manager, this individual will play an integral part in ensuring the success of Country/CHYM Radio stations by motivating, coaching and managing the station’s Announcer, working closely with other departments of the station and ensuring CTRC compliance.

Top Writing Tools of Famous Authors

Feb 4, 2015

Have you ever wondered how your favorite books were written? The writers must have spent endless hours conceptualizing the characters and events that leave you sleepless on rainy nights.

Everybody loves reading books (or watching the movies based on them), but we rarely dig deeper into the work of the writers we admire. What is the first scene that comes to your mind when you imagine a contemporary author working on their novels? A powerful laptop and a peaceful coffee shop, perhaps? Wrong!

You would be surprised that most writers don’t appreciate high-tech devices as much as we do. Some of their writing methods are traditional, whereas others are a proof that a person with such extraordinary imagination cannot work in a usual way.

When you think of it this way, maybe we should all reach out to a piece of paper and a pen from times to times? You wouldn’t mind doing that if your pen was as cool as Neil Gaiman’s exceptional writing gadget. And if you have an old typewriter lying around somewhere in your home, do not get rid of it by any means! Someone could still use it.

From Mark Twain to everyone’s favorite George R.R. Martin, here is what some of the most famous writers used to produce their works!

Via NinjaEssays

A Child’s Introduction to Jazz by Cannonball Adderley, with Louis Armstrong & Monk

Feb 4, 2015

In 1961, Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, the jazz saxophonist best known for his work on Miles Davis’ epic album Kind of Blue, narrated a children’s introduction to jazz music.

Part of a larger series of educational albums for children, this 12-inch LP offered an “easy-going, conversational discussion of the highlights of the jazz story,” highlighting the “major styles and great performers” that began in New Orleans and spread beyond. Included on the album are some legendary jazz figures — Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet, Thelonious Monk, and, of course, Cannonball himself. The album, A Child’s Introduction to Jazz, has long been out of circulation.

The team behind this record, Bill Grauer Productions, writes, “This is one of a series of 12-inch long-play records designed to take children into a delightful and exciting world of entertainment. They can learn wonderful things from these albums, but it never has to seem like learning. That’s part of the magic – for on these recorded tours into our “Wonderland” your children’s guides are celebrated performers, including some of the most famous and most sparkling names in the entertainment world: actors, singers and musicians whose skill and charm are well known to both children and grownups.

The story of jazz is the story of an exciting and truly American art form – a music bursting with the vitality of American life. Characterized by a regular beat and a direct emotional appeal, jazz can-if properly presented-have deep fascination and rich meaning for young children from the time they first begin to show an interest in music.

To insure such proper presentation, we have enlisted the aid of one of today’s most famous jazz musicians – Julian “Cannonball” Adderley, who is also noted as a highly articulate and well-informed writer in this field. His commentary is neither an over-formal history nor a technical ‘music lesson.’ Instead, it is an easy-going, conversational discussion of the highlights of the jazz story in terms of the major styles and great performers from New Orleans Up to the present-illustrated at every step of the way by excerpts from the celebrated Riverside catalogue.”

Included are such notable jazz names as Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Sidney Bechet, Thelonious Monk, and Cannonball himself.

Adderley wrote in the liner notes, “This record is concerned with telling you, and letting you hear, something about what jazz is. Not in a ‘music lesson’ way, but something about what jazz sounds like, and why it sounds that way, and about some of the many people who have played it and are playing it…

One thing that you should remember in listening to this album, and to any jazz you hear anywhere, is that jazz is very much a matter of people expressing their feelings, their thoughts, their ideas about life, and doing it of course through their music.

Via Open Culture

Awesome Mash-Up: A Flock Of Seagulls Vs Black Sabbath

Feb 3, 2015

Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” meets A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran (So Far Away).”

Vintage Monster Valentines From 1966

Feb 3, 2015

From Freddy In Space:

Waaaay way back in 1966, Topps put out a series of trading cards called Frankenstein Valentine Stickers, 44 sticker cards in total that featured the likenesses of iconic movie monsters, along with messages of love that ranged from clever to downright creepy. The stickers were painted by artist Norman Saunders (he also did art for the Mars Attacks and Wacky Packages cards), and the individual 5 cent packs of five cards each came with a stick of gum, as was the norm for Topps back in the day.

Though the box the packs were housed in labeled the cards as ‘Frankenstein Valentine Stickers’, the packs for whatever reason were emblazoned with a graphic that simply read ‘Frankenstein Stickers’. Just in case you were wondering why the pack above doesn’t have the word ‘Valentine’ in it.

No matter what ya want to call them, they’re pretty awesome. Check out the whole series below, which comes courtesy of the late Norman Saunders’ website!

Douglas Coupland: “I’m starting to forget what it felt like to be pre-internet”

Feb 3, 2015

From CBC:

Vancouver artist Douglas Coupland has been holding a fun-house mirror up to society for decades — but a major survey of his work has only recently been mounted. The sprawling exhibit, Everywhere is Anywhere is Anything is Everything, opened this past weekend in galleries at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum and theMuseum of Contemporary Canadian Art.

The colourful collection — featuring everything from painting and posters to plastic lids — explores, in the words of one reviewer, “the 21st-century condition, Canadian cultural identity, the power of language and the pervasive presence of technology in modern life”.

Coupland joined CBC’s Q guest host Daniel Richler to discuss his fading “pre-internet” brain, the acceleration of our accelerating world, and why — despite the non-stop parade of terrifying headlines — we may be living in a golden age.

Click here or on the listen button above to hear the full segment (audio runs 0:21:50). Plus see some highlights from the exhibit below.

Jah Cure Signs To VP Records

Feb 3, 2015

Jah Cure, the Jamaican singer who has long been recognized as one of reggae’s greatest voices, inks a new deal with VP Records to release multiple albums, including The Cure slated for Spring 2015.

Jah Cure expresses his enthusiasm about signing to the label. “It is time for me to sign with an official company. VP is the largest distributor of reggae music and that is a fact, so I am happy to say I am in the best place right now for me. I look forward to build together and feel and sense good things to come,” he says.

The artist has a history with VP Records. He released two albums – Freedom Blues (2005) and True Reflections…A New Beginning (2007) – with the label, but was not officially signed as an artist.

VP Records is thrilled to finally have the reggae icon on their roster. The company’s A&R, Neil Edwards, mentions that he has “worked with Cure for over 13 years now, so this has been in the making for some time.” He continues, “Cure’s sound is so unique. It resonates with roots reggae listeners and r&b lovers alike.”

The highly anticipated LP The Cure will be a return to roots reggae and lover’s rock with pop fused elements. Consisting of production from the island’s legendary Clive Hunt and Llmar “Riff Raff” Brown (amongst many others), the collection will feature Cure’s brand new singles as well as current hits like “Rasta,” his John Legend cover “All of Me,” That Girl” and “Life We Live.”