Local webmag SoundProof recently polled local music-types asking for their top 20 Toronto albums of all time – I was asked to participate but it’s not a question I’ve ever really thought about so I wasn’t able to get a decent response together by their deadline and so the the final list lacks my input.

The exercise is interesting but the results rather dubious, with some of my main points of contention based more on the basis of whether I’d consider an act particularly “Torontonian” rather than their actual musical merit. For example, The Constantines are from Guelph and Guelph is not Toronto (as every Guelphie will tell you) and while Feist may have a mailing address here, she’s from Calgary originally and makes her records in France (I won’t comment on both her last two albums being included). And when I think of Neil Young, I simply think of Canada – and if I had to narrow it down to a city, it’d probably be Winnipeg.

But Toronto. Reading over the comments in the pertinent posts at Torontoist and Zoilus offer some good and lively discussion on the topic and for my part, I find it unfathomable that any such list would exclude records like Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet’s Savvy Show Stoppers or ANY Blue Rodeo (I would submit Diamond Mine, for the record). But most glaring is the omission of what is for me, for all time, the most ineffably Torontonian record ever – The Lowest Of The Low’s Shakespeare… My Butt.

It cannot be overstated how important this record was, and if I think about it probably still is, to me. Released in 1991, it didn’t reach my ears till 1992 when local “alt” radio station CFNY was playing it hard (there was a time when radio was actually a good way to discover new, local talent. Seriously.) and their blend of folk and rock served with punk attitude and literary lyricism that was simultaneously sardonic and heartfelt, personal and political, was like a light going off in my head like a million-watt bulb. The bands I’d loved to this point – the REMs, the U2s – were wonderful but they were international superstars, they belonged to the world. For a 17-year old kid in the suburbs of Toronto, the Low were real and local and they were mine alone.

They sang about life in a Toronto from a barstool in Sneaky Dee’s, about doomed romantic liasons on Bathurst St, about wasting days under the Carlaw Bridge. Places that I knew of or had even been to or by, and yet were made mythical through these songs. Theirs was the Toronto I wanted to live in, writing manifestos on bathroom walls, playing in bands and drinking away UI cheques whilst debating the Spanish civil war… and instead I got an engineering degree in the city that gave the world the Blackberry, learned I had the capacity for alcohol of a 12-year old and I’ve still never been to The Only. But I digress. I literally wore out my cassette of Shakespeare… in high school and though technically the CD should have been better, with it’s two extra tracks, it lacked the perfect side A/side B sequencing, with the former closing on Ron Hawkins’ solo performance on “Subversives” and the latter opening with the note-perfect heartbreaker of “Bleed A Little While Tonight”, a song that still rends me a little every time listen to it. I can still hear the auto-reverse on my cassette deck tripping between those two songs.

They were the first band I went out of my way to see live, starting with the Canada Day 1993 Edgefest. I went on my own and spent the day perched on one of the concrete supports of the old Ontario Place Forum, watching the cream of the Canadian indie scene at the time (The Waltons, The Watchmen, Crash Vegas, hHead, Odds amongst others) play on the venue’s revolving stage. It’s not exaggerating to say they would be the soundtrack of my life for the next couple years, not to mention a staple of my wardrobe – the “High In The Low ’90s” t-shirt I got at that Edgefest got worn almost to rags, and even then I remember one night at the Horseshoe six years ago or so a guy offered to buy it off my back. True story.

But they weren’t just mine, and as their profile and fanbase grew, they eventually signed a deal with A&M Records – a big deal for a band that had flown the indie banner so long and proud – and the resulting record, Hallucegenia, was released in early 1994. It got a bad rap at the time for reasons both musical and not, deserved and not. Some of it was the predictable “sellout” backlash but it’s true the record simply wasn’t as good as Shakespeare. While there’s still some stone-cold classics on it, Hallucegenia was darker and more riff-rocking and lyrically, it seemed that the band’s romanticism was turning a bit cynical. The tension evident on the record reflected the interpersonal dynamic of the band and in September of 1994, just over a week before they were due to play my university, the band split. I was gutted beyond words and for the next four years, the bus-shelter sized poster for that cancelled show was a staple of my bedroom wall wherever I lived. But as disappointed as I was, there was a part of me that appreciated the quintessentially rock’n’roll arc of the band’s career and that they’d burned out without anyone having to die.

Post-Low, lead singer/songwriter Ron Hawkins went on to a decent solo career, both under his own name and fronting his new band The Rusty Nails – his pen remained sharp and they were entertaining live, but for me and others – and unfairly so – he was never able to escape the shadow of the Low. The other guitarist Stephen Stanley, whose limited songwriting contributions to the two albums were always highlights, was said to be working on solo material forever but it never seemed to surface and bassist John Arnott started a new band called The Pollyannas from whom I think I still have a CD kicking around somewhere. But mostly the band became a fond memory and Shakespeare fell out of heavy rotation in my listening, replaced by newer, more “now” records. Time, as they say, munched on.

And then in 2000, unexpectedly, I got an email from a friend of mine asking me if I was getting tickets for the Lowest Of The Low reunion show. At first I thought it was a joke or a mistake, but indeed – hell had frozen over and they were getting the band back together for a one-off show at the Warehouse in November of that year. And while it’s true you can’t go home again, for that one night I did and it was amazing – I’d finally gotten that show they’d cancelled on me six years prior. I even got another LOTL t-shirt to potentially wear to death over the next five years.

But the buzz didn’t last – I was in the midst of discovering a slew of new bands from around the world (the internet was finally being useful) and it didn’t seem fashionable to devote valuable listening time to a band I’d loved in my high school days and who hardly rated as cool amongst the hip and beautiful indie kids whom I’d wished as my peers. The Lowest Of The Low shirt with the weiner dog on it seemed like it’d be out of place amongst the suits and skinny ties at the Britpop dance parties so it mostly stayed in the closet. And when the reunion ended up sticking, yielding first the Nothing Short Of A Bullet live record in 2001 and then the third album of new material, Sordid Fiction, in 2004, I gave them a pass. Partly because of what I think was the band’s perceived (lack of) fashionability, and more legitimately, a fear of watering down the perfect legacy they had in my memory. Whether this opinion was justified, I can’t really say – I still haven’t heard the new album and I’ve missed enough live shows since the reunion that the 1994 me would be tearing his hair out in disbelief. And while the band remains technically intact – John Arnott has apparently again left the band and there are two new additions, making it a five piece – it’s currently on hiatus while the band pursues solo projects. Stanley’s solo record That Thin, Wild Mercury came out in 2003 and Hawkins released a new solo record Chemical Sounds earlier this year.

But since I began thinking of doing this post, I’ve been spinning the first two records and goddamn do they hold up. I’m sure part of that is thanks to the petroleum jellied lens of nostalgia but also these songs are just that good. I still know all the words, unconscious and by heart, even the ones I got wrong, and could probably still botch the opening solo to “Bleed A Little While Tonight” just as well as I could fifteen years ago. And as I listened and reminisced, I had to wonder if this album was released today, if it’d still capture the hearts and minds of myself and Toronto as it did a decade and a half ago? Or would it be too simple and straightforward to catch on with the hyperkinetic and ADD nature of the present-day zeitgeist? Maybe it’s me being naive, but I’d like to think it would. This three-fingered devil salute goes out to the Lowest Of The Low. I’m wearing the weiner dog shirt to work today.

Chart, who’d always given the Low the respect they deserve including naming Shakespeare the 6th greatest Canadian album ever in 2000, found out what the band did with their “lost” years prior to the six-night club crawl they staged in 2001 on the occasion of the record’s 10th anniversary .

MP3: The Lowest Of The Low – “Bleed A Little While Tonight” (from Shakespeare… My Butt)
MP3: The Lowest Of The Low – “Subversives” (from Shakespeare… My Butt)
MP3: The Lowest Of The Low – “The Dogs Of February” (from Hallucegenia)
MP3: The Lowest Of The Low – “The Unbearable Lightness Of Jean” (live) (from Motel 30 single)
Video: The Lowest Of The Low – “The Last Recidivist” (YouTube) (from Sordid Fiction)
MySpace: The Lowest Of The Low

And while I’m waxing nostalgic about the Toronto that used to be and never was, a moment of silence for the Sam The Record Man flagship store on Yonge St which closed up forever this past Saturday. Like many, their Boxing Day sales were an annual tradition for me through the ’90s and I’ve bought a lot there over the years (though nothing since last Fall, I don’t think). Their demise doesn’t come as much of a surprise but it was still a sad day. The Toronto Star bid the local institution farewell as well as wondering what this means for record shopping in general while The National Post bids the store – and music shops as a whole – good riddance. Which is why people hate The National Post.

So Interpol’s third album and major label debut Our Love To Admire hits stores next Tuesday and I am forced to ask myself how interested I am. Like everyone else, I was all about Turn On The Bright Lights when it came out back in 2002, less for the Joy Division comparisons which I never really thought held up past Paul Banks’ baritone, than for the fact that the guitarwork was a pure Chameleons tribute, with maybe a little less chorus and dodgy ’80s production values. And Banks’ iffy lyricism aside, it was a totally solid album. I dug it.

For reasons unclear to me, the follow-up Antics never won me over. I had already begun to lose interest thanks in no small part to a stupefyingly dull live show at the Kool Haus in September 2003 – especially disappointing considering how terrific they were the year before at the Horseshoe – and Antics felt like more of the same as Bright Lights yet not nearly as good.

First impressions – granted, just a single listen so totally not a final judgement – of the new record are along the same lines. I certainly didn’t expect them to go back to the more atmospheric sounds of Bright Lights and they haven’t. Things are still taut, tight and dry and, well, unmistakably Interpol. Nothing revelatory though “Wrecking Ball” is an early standout. There’ll be further listens and I’ll get a chance to re-evaluate the band in a live setting on September 8 when they play V Fest in the midst of a rather insane Summer and Fall touring schedule. Let it never be said I wasn’t willing to give a band a second (or third) chance.

And this isn’t meant to be a review so much as an excuse to point you to some linkage – MTV and The Scotsman have interviews while Spinner had the band in their studios for a session and interview, all captured on video. And you can stream Our Love To Admire in its entirety below, courtesy of MuchMusic.

Stream: Interpol / Our Love To Admire
Video: Interpol – “The Heinrich Maneuver” (YouTube)
MySpace: Interpol

PJ Harvey will release her new album White Chalk on September 24 in the UK, North American date to be confirmed but sanity would dictate it comes out the next day, September 25. And the music industry is nothing if not sane. Billboard has more details.

Definitely coming out September 25 is Washington Square Serenade, the new record from Steve Earle. After a couple of albums of full-out, righteously indignant rock Earle is in a quieter frame of mind with the new one. CMJ has the track list and a couple quotes from Earle about the record, a love letter of sorts to his current home base of New York City.

Spinner has got one of their 3×3 things featuring Voxtrot.

San Diego City Beat talks to Band Of Horses’ Ben Bridwell. They’re at Lee’s Palace on August 11.

Conversations about the past and present with a couple of the more interesting and quotable figures of British pop – Filter talks to Jarvis Cocker about the legacy of Pulp while Junkmedia discusses Rasputin’s penis with Andy Partridge.

Drowned In Sound isn’t terribly excited about the news of The Verve reuniting, and they’ll tell you why.

So as mentioned in this week’s MP3 Of The Week writeup, next week will mark Built To Spill’s first-ever Toronto dates. Which is just crazy considering they’ve played Buffalo lots of times. BUFFALO. But regardless, it’s happening even if it’s taken them 15-odd years to get around to it. Next Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Lee’s Palace will be host to some of the craziest-ass guitar orgies you ever did see, and courtesy of the good folks at Against The Grain, you could be there. Assuming you didn’t already get tickets which you really should have. I don’t know why I’m rewarding you for your sloth.

But anyway, I’ve got passes to give away. Two pairs, one for each night. And if you want em, you gotta leave me a comment below saying which night – Tuesday the 10th or the Wednesday the 11th – you want to go to and why it will be the best show of the two. Do you go for the historic moment of the first epic solo that Doug Martsch ever unleashes on Hogtown? Or do you think that they’ll be holding back that first night in order to let loose on the second? Inquiring minds want to know. Leave me your reasoning along with your full name and email and note that whatever night you are championing is the one you will be eligible for. No saying that night one is going to rock but you have to work so you’ll settle for night two. Stand by your opinion, dogs. Contest closes at midnight, July 7.

And oh yeah, CMJ has some info on a new 12″ single that Built To Spill is releasing on the 10th. It’s reggae.

Video: Built To Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (YouTube)
MySpace: Built To Spill

So for the third time in ten months, Ms Chan Marshall is bringing her Cat Power back to Toronto for a show at the Phoenix on July 10. To be fair, each time through it’s been in a completely different configuration – in September at Lee’s it was just her solo, while the November show at the Phoenix featured the full Memphis Rhythm Band. This time, it’s with the Dirty Delta Blues Band, a lean, mean four-piece outfit. I imagine she’s still touring the Shortlist-winning The Greatest, though I would expect to hear material from her next album The Sun, slated for release next Spring.

But before then, there’s supposed to be a sequel to The Covers Record – whether it will actually see the light of day when it’s supposed to is anyone’s guess, but it serves as a good segue into the contest portion of this here post. Courtesy of Against The Grain, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for this show and to enter, I want you to leave a comment telling me what song you would most like to hear Cat Power cover. I’ll also need your full name and an email to contact you at (funk it up to foil spambots if you need). This contest will close at midnight, July 7 and winners will be selected randomly so if you choose something utterly dubious or obviously nonsensical, like Metallica’s “One”, it won’t be held against you. Or maybe it will. Try me.

MP3: Cat Power – “We Dance” (Pavement cover)
MySpace: Cat Power

The Canada Day shows at Harbourfront Centre are quickly becoming a local tradition, and for good reason – free shows on the lake featuring top-notch Canadian talent are always a welcome event and as good a way as any to celebrate the nation’s birthday. Relative to some of the past performers (Feist, The Dears) it could be argued that this year’s bill of Final Fantasy and Do Make Say Think offered a little less marquee value as far as name recognition went but that didn’t mean that the venue wasn’t jam-packed before showtime with both fans and bystanders. And considering that not so long ago, “free Canada Day show” would have meant Moxy Fruvous at best, having a sprawling orchestral post-rock collective and solo looping violinist playing to the multi-generational audience certainly felt like cultural progress as a nation.

Do Make Say Think’s new record You, You’re A History In Rust is the first of their albums I’ve really been able to get into at all – I tried a couple of their older releases but while the musicianship on display is undeniably excellent, I found their compositions to be a little too abstract for me to get my pop-centric head around. Rust isn’t any less cerebral, but it seems to have some more weight to it and even a few tracks that you might call hooky. For this show, the 11-piece band filled an hour with their dense, complex and undulating sounds that veered from math to jazz to orchestral to straight out rock, usually in the same song. It was fascinating to watch them work though when all was said and done, like their records, their show still appealed more to my head than my heart. But Do Make’s fans, and they are many and loud, obviously get it more than I do because they were whipped into a frenzy by the show and helped energize the audience.

Though Owen Pallett has played stages the size of Harbourfront and larger before, they’ve usually been as member of bands such as Arcade Fire or The Hidden Cameras – seeing him up there, alone, in the Final Fantasy guise was a bit odd, at first. But rather than scale up his show to fit the venue, he succeeded at bringing the venue down to his preferred level of intimacy. As he did at the Tranzac back in February, Pallett stood off to the side of the stage while visuals projected onto a plain white sheet backdrop took centre stage. The winds off the lake caused some problems by blowing the overhead transparencies around but the atmosphere was simple and charming and an effective component of Pallett’s show. But even without the visuals, as long as Pallett had his violin, pedals, keyboard and microphones a terrific show was all but guaranteed.

Like the Tranzac show, the set list drew from both Final Fantasy albums including last year’s Polaris-winning He Poos Clouds but I think my high point came early on with his cover of John Cale’s “Paris 1919” – just like in February, Pallett offered up a beautiful reading that just made me happy, though hearing “This Lamb Sells Condos” in the shadow of all the condo developments along the waterfront had its own distinct irony. Unlike the Tranzac show, however, he took the opportunity presented by having Do Make Say Think on hand to perform some of his songs that don’t lend themselves to the man-plus-looper context and hearing “Arctic Circle” bolstered by what was essentially a full rock orchestra was breathtaking. The show was kept shortish, Pallett’s main set running just an hour including the encore, which in perfectly Canadian fashion he gave half of for Do Make to perform one more song. But wandering out along the waterfront in the shadow of our pimped-out CN Tower, it felt like a pretty good Canada Day to me.

The Toronto Star talked to both Final Fantasy and Do Make Say Think before Sunday’s show, while X-tra and The Manchester Evening News have extended conversations with Pallett. Do Make Say Think are playing the Guelph Hillside Festival at the end of this month and were supposed to have a headlining show at the Phoenix on October 20, but that date is now apparently going to be going to The New Pornographers – Filter has all other tour dates through the Summer and Fall, sans the Toronto show, though I would imagine that will be set and confirmed sooner rather than later.

Photos: Final Fantasy, Do Make Say Think @ Harbourfront Centre – July 1, 2007
MP3: Final Fantasy – “If I Were A Carp”
MP3: Final Fantasy – “Many Lives 49 MP”
Video: Final Fantasy – “He Poos Clouds” (YouTube)
Video: Final Fantasy – “This Lamb Sells Condos” (YouTube)
MySpace: Final Fantasy
MySpace: Do Make Say Think

Segue time! Final Fantasy was one of the artists who contributed to Stars’ stop-gap remix record Do You Trust Your Friends – well they will be back with a proper new record on September 25 with In Our Bedroom After The War, about which Pitchfork has details. Expect to hear the new material when the band plays V Fest on September 9.

MP3: Stars – “The Night Starts Here”
MP3: Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” (Final Fantasy remix)

And while I’m rounding up Arts & Crafts stuff, I should point out that the first MP3 from Kevin Drew’s solo record Spirit If…, out September 18, is up. The Scotsman has a conversation with Feist and exclamation-happy Welsh A&C signees Los Campesinos! release their debut EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets over here this week – Spinner is streaming it and they’ll be in town August 7 for a free show at the Horseshoe to support, as well as playing the Hillside. May as well check out the videos from the EP while you’re at it, but check your insulin levels first. These kids could mess you up.

MP3: Kevin Drew – “TBTF”
Stream: Los Campesinos! / Sticking Fingers Into Sockets
Video: Los Campesinos! – “We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives” (YouTube)
Video: Los Campesinos! – “You! Me! Dancing!” (YouTube)

90s Can-rock heroes Eric’s Trip play a reunion gig at Lee’s Palace on September 15.

Dinner With The Band breaks bread with Tokyo Police Club and gets an MP3 out of it.

MP3: Tokyo Police Club – “Be Good” (on Dinner With The Band)

And finally, to wrap up this post-Canada Day post, Exclaim! has an interesting piece about Canadian artists whose career paths take them outside the Canadian label system – some cases in point, Basia Bulat and Born Ruffians, who instead struck deals with established international labels for their debuts (Rough Trade and Warp, respectively), rather than with a homegrown label. Good points are made for and against, though I will say for the umpteenth time that it’s a crime Ms Bulat’s record still isn’t available in this country. But while the artists in the article may not release their records here, they will play here – Basia Bulat and the Ruffians are both playing at Hillside as well as the Wolfe Island Music Fest in Kingston on August 11. Bulat is also doing a free noon-hour show in Dundas Square on September 12. The Ruffians are also opening up for Caribou (also in the article) on his upcoming Fall tour. And finally, We’re Marching On, who have a sidebar in the piece, are playing the Drake Underground on July 18 as part of a FilmCAN benefit.