Road To Perdition is Sam Mendes’ first film after American Beauty, and it’s a heavy one. Slow, ponderous and predictable, it’s made worthwhile by the solid acting by Tom Hanks and Paul Newman and the gorgeous cinematography – this is an amazing film to look at. Whether that makes it worth two hours of your time is your business.

Dictionaraoke is great for learning the exact lyrics to songs, enunciated properly, whilst laughing your ass off. It’s fun AND educational! Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg is highly recommended.

Exclaim! has assembled a pretty concise history of Neil Young. Since day one, Neil has been one of the most primary elements in my musical universe. You don’t need to look too hard to find connections between the stuff I love and play and Neil’s influence. Sure, he’s musically fallible and much of his output since the late 70s has been uneven, though with flashes of brilliance, but the man’s artistic integrity and ethic are beyond reproach. He’s always done whatever he damn well wants, and that’s something to be respected. I suspect that with the reissue of On The Beach in September, I will finally be getting around to filling in some of the holes in my collection of his classic output from the 70s (Tonight’s The Night, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere for example). I do know that Decade will be getting some spins in the next little while. Listening to Neil is like coming home.

Speaking of filling in holes in my musical collection, I think I need to finally get those last two Byrds reissues I’m missing, Turn! Turn! Turn! and Younger Than Yesterday. And if there’s enough good stuff on the double-disc Legacy Edition of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (out September 2), well that’ll have find a home with me as well.

I got the new Jay Farrar album as well. I’ve on record as saying that every record Jay puts out sounds like the last one, but somehow that math doesn’t equal any of them being as good as the first Son Volt record Trace. That said, only a couple of listens into Terroir Blues and I think this one’s got something special going on. I can’t put my finger on exactly what, but I’m getting something from this one that I didn’t get from Sebastapol. A return to form for Jay is good news for everyone.

Yup, looks like I’m heading into a full-bore country kick. You’ve been warned.

np – Steve Earle / Sidetracks

Okay, last night was tremendous. To say I was nervous about the show is something of an understatement. Actually, I wasn’t nervous when we got there and were setting up, that was fine. The nerves kicked in when people started showing up. Lots of people. Lots and lots and lots of people. More than once, I asked no one in particular, “Who are all these people? Where are they coming from? What’s going on?” I estimate the crowd as easily two to three times larger than any other show we’d played, well over 100 people – daunting, to say the least.

The other acts on the bill were terrific. Immaculate Machine, all the way from Victoria, B.C. had great energy and vocals, I think they won over a lot of the crowd, judging from the response. The evening’s headliners, Les Mouches, impressed with their virtuosity and unconventional song structures. Their drummer was an absolute monster, it was pretty scary.

And then there was us, wedged in between the two. Certainly the most conventional pop band of the night, and probably one of the more conventional that Wavelength has seen in a while. Thank God that once onstage, the lights were bright enough that I couldn’t see past the first couple rows of people, and once Doc Pickles had done the introductions, there was nothing to do but play. And by jove if we didn’t acquit ourselves nicely, if I do say so myself. I can point to a half-dozen moments where I fucked up, mostly on account of not being able to hear myself and having to play strictly by remembering where my fingers were supposed to go when, but listening to a recording of the show afterwards, you can’t really tell. Everyone was on, especially Mr. Clay Jones on the kit, who was beating those drums within an inch of their lives, and Brad delivering maybe the strongest vocal performance I’ve heard yet. As for me, I stayed in key whenever I wandered into ad-lib territory, which is really all I could ask. The response from the crowd was very positive and coming from total strangers, that meant a lot.

Genuine thanks to everyone who came out and supported us, it really meant a lot. Thanks to Vic for taking a terrific batch of photos, thanks to Wavelength for giving us the opportunity to play and thanks to Lake Holiday for earning it.

So the show calendar is empty for the time being while we work on some more material so as to put the oldies to rest, but we’re hoping to get back out there around the end of September. Nothing definite yet, but there are some irons in the fire, so to speak.

np – Superchunk / Incidental Music 1991-95

The newly-beige Pitchfork Media reports that The Shins will be releasing a single on September 9, as yet untitled, in advance of their new album, also as yet untitled, which drops October 7. That also happens to to be the day new albums from Death Cab For Cutie and Wheat are released – I am henceforth declaring October 7 the International Day Of Pop, or the International Day Of Frank Spending A Lot Of Money At The Record Store.

My Morning Jacket hit Lee’s Palace September 12 in support of It Still Moves. I have missed MMJ’s last three or four Toronto dates, I am not missing this one. And the new album kicks some serious ass.

The sophomore album from The Electric Soft Parade is out October 13 in the UK and is titled, The American Adventure. Ironically, there is no word about it being released in America. Some adventure.

Is Jeff Tweedy the newest target of Ryan Adams’ petulant ire? Tiny Mix Tapes reports it so – check out the story towards the end of the August 4 news. Jesus Murphy, Ryan, I say this to you as a fan – SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Neil Gaiman’s BBC series Neverwhere, which formed the basis of his first novel, will be available on DVD in North America on September 9.

np – Fountains Of Wayne / Welcome Interstate Managers

np – various artists / The Amos House Collection Vol 2

The DVD had been sitting on my shelf for weeks now, but I finally found the time to sit down and watch Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. Telling the tale of the Funk Brothers, the musicians who played on all of Motown’s records until the label’s move to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, Shadows is a celebration of some of the greatest music ever to come out of America. These musicians are justifiably proud of the work they’ve done and their legacy in popular music, and bask in the attention and acclaim that’s long overdue. The celebration is bittersweet, though, as they remember their fellow Funk Brothers who’ve passed on over the years, including keyboardist Johnny Griffith and drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen, both of whom appear in the film but died before its release. They’re given special tribute in one of the DVD’s bonus features.

The musical performances featuring the Funk Brothers backing up current R&B/soul singers mostly came off well, though Ben Harper’s cuts were just too stiff to do the originals any sort of justice. It was on the final performance of the film, Montell Jordan and Chaka Khan taking on Marvin and Tammy’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” that I realized just why I loved Motown yet was left utterly cold by modern soul and r&b. Today’s music just doesn’t have the Funk Brothers, and the magic they created in that little basement studio, that musical alchemy that just moves you and makes the world feel like a better place. Motown, man.

np – Broken Social Scene / You Forgot It In People