Someone over on the Merge message board recently posted the challenge, “Without using “belle and sebastian” or “camera obscura” define twee”. I hope he wasn’t really trying to play stump the chump, because there’s a dead simple answer to that one – The Field Mice.

The band most closely identified with the Sarah Records label, London’s Field Mice pretty much laid the template for wispy, depressing and sensitive UK pop music – without them, you could argue that there would be no Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura (and some would argue that that would be a better world, but we’ll ignore those mean people). Long a favourite of the cardigan-wearing crowd, their sound went beyond acoustic mope music, creatively integrating electronic elements into their sound and even rocking out once in a while – they did own electric guitars and distortion pedals, although they likely stepped on them very very gently. Mostly a singles band, the band’s three albums have just been expanded and reissued. I’ve got the Where’d You Learn To Kiss That Way double disc compilation which I think encompasses almost everything they put out – I don’t think there’s anything else on the albums that I especially need to have.

I like the Field Mice, but am also a fan of their latest incarnation, Trembling Blue Stars. Formed after lead Mouse Bobby Wratten split up with fellow Field Mouse keyboardist Annemari Davies, the fallout from this breakup provided Wratten with plenty of songwriting material. The outfit released one album of breakup songs, and then in what may be the most masochistic personnel move in the history of indie rock, Wratten enlisted Davies to sing backup on the band’s next two records – she was singing songs written by him about her breaking up with him. Davies left the band after that, and a new lineup was assembled for Alive To Every Smile, which featured a much more upbeat and lively sound which I quite liked. Since then, they put out A Certain Evening Light, a compilation of rarities, in 2003, and a new studio album, Seven Autumn Flowers, just came out domestically this month. I mean to pick it up eventually.

Alive To Every Smile came out in North America on SubPop, of all places, and their microsite for the album is still up, as is the sample mp3 of the first TBS song I heard and the one that absolutely hooked me – “The Ghost Of An Unkissed Kiss”. Check it out:

MP3: Trembling Blue Stars – “The Ghost Of An Unkissed Kiss”

And for some Field Mice samples, the ever-helpful MP3.com is a good place to start.

And speaking of Camera Obscura, I was surprised to notice on their website a message from last December that co-lead vocalist John Henderson is no longer with the band. Despite this loss, work a new record continues, presumably with Tracyanne taking on all vocal duties. A shame, their voices worked quite nicely together.

Ryan Adams fans will be pleased to see he hasn’t curbed his prodigious output one bit – he will be releasing no less than three albums in 2005: Cold Roses, a double album recorded with his current backing band The Cardinals, is out April 19, and 29 and Jacksonville will follow at some point later in the year with touring to follow. Some samples from one of the records can be heard on his website.

MusicTap has the low-down on the next three Cure deluxe reissues, Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography. These should be out in April.

Maybe it’s just the cosmos lined up against me, but it seems that every time Canadian Music Week rolls around, my concert is already filled up, usually with non-CMW events no less. This year, I’ve got three shows in five nights spread across CMW weekend (Ambulance Ltd on March 2, Steve Earle on March 4 and Keren-Ann on March 6). Technically, I have two open nights, but I seriously question whether I’ll have the energy to make it five nights in a row of show-going.

However, now that the CMW schedule seems to be finalized, I can at least make a list of shows I would consider going to if I did have the constitution of a younger man:

Thursday, March 3:

A Northern Chorus, Damon & Naomi @ The El Mocambo

Justin Rutledge @ The Rivoli

The Remains of Brian Borcherdt @ The 360

Friday, March 4:

Hinterland @ Clinton’s

SS Cardiacs @ Rockit

Great Lake Swimmers @ Healy’s

Friday Morning’s Regret @ Holy Joe’s

Magneta Lane @ The Horseshoe

Tahiti 80 @ The Reverb

Saturday, March 5:

Gentleman Reg @ The Comfort Zone

The Telepathic Butterflies, The Frontier Index @ Healy’s

Jay Bennett @ Lee’s Palace

Not a bad lineup at all, I may well end up going to something on the Thursday or the Saturday, but there will be no club hopping. Note – this is not a recommended schedule, just a laundry list. I’m sure it’s logistically impossible to hit every one of these performances.

24 fans who tried to call the number displayed for dead Debbie’s mom a few episodes ago might have found themselves talking to Carlos Bernard (Tony), Reiko Aylesworth (Michelle) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe). Because since they’re no longer in the show, they have nothing better to do than answer the phone and talk to obsessive fans (bugmenot: wow@mail.com / sowhat).

np – Ride / Waves

One of the most obnoxious trends in music right now is the habit of re-releasing a successful album six months down the road with some bonus attached, be it an EP or a DVD or whatever. I don’t care how you try to justify it, it’s a cash grab and a slap in the face to the fans who would want the bonuses since they’ve almost certainly already bought the original issue. I hardly think there’s anyone out there who were on the fence about getting the album, but now that there’s a bonus disc they’re convinced. It’s flat out insulting to the fans, and any artist who goes along with such a marketing plan is diminished in my eyes for doing so.

So you can imagine my disappointment when Pitchfork reported yesterday that Wilco was re-releasing A Ghost Is Born on March 7 with a bonus 5-song EP containing import bonus track “Kicking Television”, three live tracks and the heretofore unreleased “Panthers”, which has been floating around online in live versions for some time now. How could it be that the band that had been so generous to their fans two years ago in giving away the More Like The Moon EP online was now going along with one of the most egregious music marketing tactics of recent times?

Well as it turns out, there was no reason to doubt – Rolling Stone had more of the story than Pitchfork, revealing that the songs on the bonus EP were once again going to be made available for free from Wilcoworld for those who had previously bought copies of Ghost as of March 7. And to top it all off, they’re also releasing deluxe vinyl editions of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born on March 8. We will never again doubt that Wilco is a band that does right by its fanbase. Amen.

But since we’re on the topic, here’s an mp3 ripped from their recent Austin City Limits broadcast, courtesy of the folks at Via Chicago – it’s a beautiful version and Nels Cline contributes a ripping solo.

MP3: Wilco – “Ashes Of American Flags (ACL)”

Look at that – 27 days into the new year before my first Wilco post. Who won the pool?

Matador reports that that other Canadian pop supergroup, The New Pornographers, are in the studio working on their third album and hope to have it handed in to the label my mid-March with an eye towards a late Summer/early Fall release. Says mainman Carl Newman,

“Various unintentional influences have crept into our work, some of which are quickly removed: The Moody Blues, Tubeway Army, Wings, always Wings, never The Beatles, Eno of course, you can’t play ebow without sounding like Eno, Modern English, middle period post-Gabriel Genesis, The Stranglers, the vocal inflections on “Dreadlock Holiday” remain a steady influence, we’re still trying to find a way to insert some dub/white reggae in the mix, just as an intellectual exercise, to see if we can do it without being dropped from the label. I know it sounds awful but it will all work out.”

Half of Squeeze, the half named Glenn Tilbrook, brings his solo act to the Mod Club on April 17.

Interpol aren’t coming to Toronto on the next leg of their Antics tour, but they are going to be in Niagara Falls, NY on March 10, if you feel like a road trip. Do some factory outlet shopping, see some Interpol, you know – the usual. Q And Not U support.

Here are my photos from Tuesday’s Broken Social Scene show. The lighting was really dire and getting anything resembling a true colour was damn near impossible, so I’ve processed them all in black and white. It gives me a lot more latitude to crank levels and I think the end result still looks pretty sharp – I may go the B&W route more often from now on, particularly when light is at a premium. And they also contrast nicely with the shots from their show last August, which were some of the most colourful pics I’ve taken yet (hooray for well-lit outdoor stages). I actually nearly got turned away at the door for having my camera with me – that’s never happened at Lee’s before, I hope it’s not going to become a standing policy. However, I convinced the doorman to let me go and check the camera at the coat check instead of walking home in the snow and back. Much to my surprise, there wasn’t actually a coat check open, so I just walked in. Huh.

The BBC covers The Bloggies, the website for which is now back up with enough bandwidth to allow you to peruse and vote. Vote for me in “Best Canadian” and vote for Largehearted Boy, from whom I got the link, in “Best Entertainment”. And Vote for Pedro. Update: …Aaaaand they’re down again. My goodness.

np – Camera Obscura / Underachievers Please Try Harder

Chaos is a fundamental element of Broken Social Scene – that a collective as large as they are can even coordinate schedules to perform let alone be creatively vital is remarkable. However, it’s inevitable that in a situation like that, sometimes the chaos would get the upper hand. But maybe I’m being overly dramatic… Last night’s Tsunami relief benefit show was by far the hottest ticket in town (though there’s not really a lot of competition on a snowy Tuesday night), and Lee’s Palace had a packed house in attendance to see the local heroes play for the first time since last August.

Openers at a Broken Social Scene show are usually more a formality than anything else. If they’re part of the BSS family, it’s inevitable that the backing band will look an awful lot like the headliners – case in point, Jason Collett and Apostle of Hustle. They opened things up with a short set each, emceed by head BSScenester Kevin Drew and featuring an expansive and fluctuating lineup of musicians on guitar, percussion and horns. The rule of thumb appears to be you can never have too much percussion – they had a big pile of instruments on the middle of the stage that people wandered over to, grabbed something and shook it. Just like grade school.

Then came the surprise guests portion of the night, as Drew apologized for the absence of one Ms Feist. To make up for her absence, brought out Gentleman Reg to perform a duet cover of “Mushaboom” – of the high points of the night. This was followed by an abbreviated set by an abbreviated Stars, with only Amy, Torq and Evan able to make the show. They performed one song from Set Yourself On Fire (the title of which eludes me at the moment) and then Drew forced Torq to ad lib a new song on the spot while he played guitar, with decent results.

Finally, the Scene proper came out at 11 and started what would turn out to be a sprawling, shambolic 2-hour plus set. I should say that their last show that I saw at Harbourfront in August was one of the best shows I’d seen last year and was probably a highwater mark in the history of BSS live shows – so it’s not really a slight to say that last night’s show didn’t meet up to that standard. Maybe it was because of just flying in from Halifax late Monday/early Tuesday (I wasn’t sure which), but I felt that the band had trouble finding that ‘zone’ wherein they harness the chaos I mentioned earlier and channel it into something special. There were a few jams that went on a little too long and a little too nowhere and a few new songs that didn’t sound quite grown up enough to be playing in the front yard. Overall, it seemed the band had some difficulty finding that extra gear or really getting everyone simpatico – it was only on the older You Forgot It In People material that they really found their groove. As could be expected, Emily Haines (who was celebrating a birthday) and Amy Millan provided the highlights of the show with their combined performances on “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” and “Backyards”.

At the start of the show, the audience was warned that the band was just going to mess around like the used to way back in their early days as a loose project jamming at Ted’s Wrecking Yard, and it was a valid warning. There was a very off-the-cuff vibe about the whole affair that was made for a homier, more intimate feel, but I wonder if maybe playing in front of the hometown crowd they get a little too slack? Surely when they’re on the road, opening for say, the Pixies, they’re a little more down to business? Just curious. But I hope that saying it was a good show, and not necessarily a great show or an amazing show, isn’t damning them with faint praise. Good is still good – I’ve just seen them play better. Still, the crowd was really into it, the band was having a good time and it was all for a good cause, so what the hell.

I’ll have photos up tomorrow – I got home too late last night to spend the time processing them (and with the lighting, there’s a lot of processing needed). I’m already running on, like, four hours of sleep. Come back tomorrow.

Anyone who wants more Apostle of Hustle should be at the Drake on February 18, tickets $10.

It’s a Can-rock double-bill triple-header as The Weakerthans and The Constantines camp out at Lee’s Palace on April 8 and 9, including an all-ages matinee on the 9th. Tickets $18.

VietNam are opening for The Comas at a free show at Lee’s Palace on February 16. The press clippings on the Vice Recordings page sound interesting. The song samples provided make me thing I’ll need to bring a pillow and/or bong.

The Belfast Telegraph talks to Guy Chadwick about the House of Love reunion.

In this week’s installment of Comic Book Resources’ The Basement Tapes, Joe Casey and Matt Fraction debate the state and merit of comic book blogs. Some interesting discussion about the blog medium, applicable not only to those dedicated to comics but the blog dynamic in general.

These are what I want for my birthday. Update: Links no longer working, I guess they were told to take the Fantastic Four merch down but The Beat has a pic of the Thing feet.

np – Belle & Sebastian / Dear Catastrophe Waitress

Billboard and NME get the skinny on the new New Order album, Waiting For The Siren’s Call, due out in North America on April 26. It promises to be a frosted mini-wheat of a record, with a rocking, guitar-heavy half for the grown-up in you and a dancey, synth-heavy half for the kid in you. For a taste, Torr has a radio rip of the first single, “Krafty”, available to download, and the band gives a track-by-track breakdown of the album here.

Hey, it was either a mini-wheat analogy or a McBLT. “Keeps the rock side rock and the dance side dance”? Nah.

It seems that Autolux is singularly incapable of making clear touring plans. There was some confusion earlier this month as to whether or not they’d be playing with The Secret Machines at the Mod Club on February 2 (they are), but now Pollstar is reporting that they’re also opening for Ambulance Ltd at the same venue exactly one month later on March 2. Their website confirms that they will be playing with Ambulance, but that leg of the tour doesn’t start until March 22… contrary to the Pollstar listings which show them touring with Ambulance from March 1 through April 9. Got all that? Me neither. Some outfit called Dr Dog is also listed on that Ambulance bill at the Mod Club, FYI.

Who are Kasabian and why have they sold out their February 26 show at Lee’s Palace in the blink of an eye? No seriously, who are they? I’m listening to some of their album here, and my life isn’t being changed.

Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene apparently mentioned on the CBC this weekend that the new BSS album likely won’t be out till the Fall – the Valentine’s Day target date was little more than a pipe dream. Maybe he’ll have some more specifics at tonight’s Tsunami relief show.

I realize that year-end lists are SO last year, but Buddyhead’s late entry is still worth noting just because is so damn funny. From Stereogum.

24: Things that women should know before getting involved with Jack Bauer – 1) The odds that they will be held hostage increase exponentially and 2) Jack will go to ridiculous and bloody lengths to win their father’s approval. Fox wasn’t kidding when they said it was going to be an intense first 10 minutes of 24 – I haven’t seen a firefight like that on network television since that episode of Night Court when Bull climbed into the clock tower with the high-powered rifle… Again, I commend the producers on their sense of pacing – allowing the first act to wrap up tidily and for everyone to catch their breath only heightens the anticipation for act two. Good for Beruz for finally getting a backbone in beating Mr I-Dress-Like-An-Assassin to death… and hey look – an empty grave, how convenient! But seriously, I did like the dynamic in the Araz family segments, all bets are off as to the mom’s loyalty as the season progresses. Another solid ep, but someone on the writing team has some real father issues they need to address… Popmatters has their own thoughts on the first five hours of 24, season four, thus far.

np – Charlotte Hatherley / Grey Will Fade

Madison, Wisconsin’s Rainer Maria have completed recording their fifth album with an interesting choice for producer – Canadian ex-pat Malcolm Burn. Burn is best known as a protege of sorts to Daniel Lanois and his resume has been pretty roots-centric to this point, most notably the last few Emmylou Harris records. What influence will he have on RM’s decidedly more visceral and punkish sound? I don’t know, but I’m quite curious to find out. I’ve enjoyed the evolution they’ve made over their last couple albums, becoming more tuneful and versitile and leaving their shrill emo roots behind, but I wouldn’t have expected them to work with someone like Burn anytime soon – shows what I know. The still-untitled album is due out sometime in the Spring.

The Tear That Hangs Inside My Soul Forever (Mishie, you have GOT to get a blog name that rolls off the tongue a little easier…) talked to Emm Gryner about her latest album Songs Of Love And Death at her CD release show last week.

It’s been a regular Ben Gibbard video-fest lately. Check out the video for Death Cab For Cutie’s latest single, “Title & Registration”. From Hold My Life.

Prefix is a relatively new online magazine that has built up a nice little archive of interview features. Their latest is a two-part interview with Richard Parry of Arcade Fire, but even if you’re all AF-ed out, there’s surely something else of interest.

I’m honoured to have been nominated as a finalist in the “Best Canadian Weblog” category of the 2005 Bloggies, alongside Marmalade.ca, Bacon & Ehs, Photojunkie and Accordion Guy. It’s interesting that I’ve actually met three of the four other finalists in person, and all are from Toronto – who says cyberspace is impersonal?

I didn’t expect to make the cut in the new Best Entertainment category, and didn’t (though I’m pleased to see Moby was shut out as well). All the finalists there (Largehearted Boy, Stereogum, Fluxblog, Defamer and Whatevs) are juggernauts and deserving of the recognition, though it’s interesting that despite attempts to broaden the range of blogs within the category, three finalists are still almost completely music-centric (I don’t really know what Whatevs is about, but there are often pictures of the NSFW variety, so I’m happy). And yes, Paul, we know the Bloggies enrage you. Simmer down. Anyway, I’d encourage you all to go and vote, but the Bloggies site seem to have exceeded their bandwidth for the month. Whoopsie. Update: Bloggies site is back up.

Excepting a couple brief jaunts to grab the newspaper from my front stoop, I stayed indoors for 42 hours straight this weekend, only venturing outside on Sunday afternoon to get groceries. Hibernation at its finest.

np – The Reindeer Section / Son Of Evil Reindeer