Green Eggs and Ham: Beats of 2011

Sometimes I get ideas and, even though they don't seem like they will, somehow they work out. Take this week's show: I wanted to make a 2-hour mix compiling some of my favourite tracks to dance to this year and turn it into a radio show. The thing about the show is that it features interruptions: commercial breaks, the weather and my blather. It shouldn't work. It worked. Here's the playlist:




Miracle Fortress - "Tracers"
Karen O, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - "Immigrant Song"
Das Racist - "Girl" 
Toro Y Moi - "New Beat" (Star Slinger remix)
tUnE-yArDs - "Gangsta" (Ad-Rock remix)
Dillon Francis - "Masta Blasta"
The Count & Sinden - "After Dark" (Krystal Klear remix)
Cut Copy - "Blink And You'll Miss A Revolution"
Neon Indian - "Polish Girl"
Tycho - "Hours"
Holy Ghost! - "It's Not Over"
Purity Ring - "Belispeak"
M83 - "Midnight City"
Active Child - "High Priestess"
BRAIDS - "Plath Heart" (Morgan Greenwood remix)
Junior Boys - "Itchy Fingers"
Grimes - "Oblivion"
Daft Punk - "Encom Part 2" (Com Truise remix)
Born Gold - "Lawn Knives"
"Weird" Al Yankovic - "Perform This Way"
      *this week's Slice Of Cheese
Handsome Furs - "Repatriated"
Young Galaxy - "We Have Everything"
Austra - "The Villain"
Four Tet - "Locked"
Radiohead - "Lotus Flower"
Bon Iver - "Calgary"

12 Days: 3 more to grow on.

Holy crap I'm so terrible at blogging.

I'm not going to lie. I had days 10 through 12 ready, coming down the pike. I just plum forgot. All those sugarplums, I suppose, getting to my memory. Here are the rest of your presents.

For the 10th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: 10 times the soul of most other tunes. Stevie Wonder knows where it's at.



For the 11th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: the best funny Christmas song ever recorded. There have been many who have attempted to wrest the novelty song crown from the head of Al Yankovic, but none have succeeded. You've heard the rest, now hear the best.



For the 12th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: Sloan doing a rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas" just so they could include a wicked drum solo. Be patient.




There you have it. Eat. Be merry. Have some good times. Drink...A LOT.
Happy Holidays.

12 Days: Fear - "F*** Christmas"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

Ok, so I skipped a day. See, I realized that my math had me finishing the 12 days on Christmas Eve instead of the Day itself. So sue me.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: 8 yelled expletives. Thanks, Fear, for keeping us all honest this time of year.

Green Eggs and Ham: The Not-So-Secular Xmas Special!

The title says it all. 2 hours of sugarplum-laden chestnuts smothered in egg nog and candy canes. Ok, so it was mostly songs about Santa and Jesus. Since I don't actually believe in either of those people, I find other reasons to make it the season to be merry. Fa-la-la-la-la la-la-la-here's the playlist:


Tom Waits - "Christmas Card From Hooker In Minneapolis"
Chocolate Snow - "Let Me Be Your Christmas Toy"
Rheostatics - "Aliens (Christmas 1988)"
Woods - "Christmas Time Is Here"
Wilderness of Manitoba - "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel"
David Myles - "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
Ron Sexsmith - Maybe This Christmas"
Honky Tonk Kid - "Honky Tonk's Blue Christmas" (feat. Apollo Ghosts)
Cold Chillin' Juice Crew - "Cold Chillin' Christmas"
Litterbug - "It's Christmas Time"
Sloan - "12 Days of Christmas"
Fountains of Wayne - "I Want An Alien For Christmas"
Eels - "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"
B.A. Johnston - "B.A. Sings A Christmas Song"
Pedro The Lion - "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day"
Mother Mother - "Hit Er Miss Christmas"
Pointed Sticks - "Power Pop Santa"
The Moby Dicks - "Presents"
The Crystals - "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"
Slow Club - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Santa Goes Straight To The Ghetto"   
              *this week's Slice of Cheese (but it's all cheese, really)
Kanye West - "Christmas In Harlem"
Kurtis Blow - "Christmas Rappin"
Mike O'Neill - "Frosty The Gold Rush"
Bob Dylan - "Here Comes Santa Claus"
Wintersleep - "Little Drummer Boy"
Jim Bryson - "Silient Night (cutguitar)"
Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart - "Can I Interest You In Hannukah?"

12 Days: Mavis Staples - "Christmas Vacation"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: 8 Staples belting. Ok, just one. But it's a great song from the funniest Christmas movie currently in existence (not the best, however, since that's Die Hard). Hip-hip-hooray for Christmas vacation!

12 Days: Loretta Lynn - "Country Christmas"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: the queen of western halls-decking and jingle-belling, Loretta Lynn, putting her aw-shucks stamp on the holiday to end all holidays. Sometimes it's OK not to be cynical about this time of year (even though this is the same woman who sang "Christmas Without Daddy" and "To Heck With Ole Santa Clause").

12 Days: Joe Pesci - "If it Doesn't Snow On Christmas"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams... and pretend I posted this on Sunday.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: an old Gene Autry tune dressed up in Guido formalwear and spouting profanity. The fact that there was a time when Joe Pesci could successfully pull off an album as his character from My Cousin Vinny is just proof that the obsession with Italian-Americans didn't start with Snookie and Pauly D. Fuhgeddaboudit.

12 Days: The Pet Shop Boys - "It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams... and pretend I posted this on Saturday.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: a song as gloriously euro-trash as it is heartbreakingly depressing. The Pet Shop Boys knock it out of the park, making you dance...shamefully.

12 Days: Bad Religion - "Joy to the World"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams... and pretend I posted this on Friday.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: atheist punks doing what comes naturally when confronted with a Christian holiday as ubiquitous as the winter birthday. That is to say, planting tongue firmly in cheek.

12 Days: Jan Terri - "Rock and Roll Santa"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

On the third day of Christmas my true blog gave to me: everyone's favourite Chicago limo driver Jan Terri doing what she does best (being absolutely terrible). I dare you to get all the way to the end of this one. I weawwy think it's fiwst wate.

Green Eggs and Ham: The (By No Means Definitive) Best of 2011

This week's show was the first of 2 dedicated to the best music of this year, with next week's show focusing on music that's danceable. This might very well be a record for the most songs I've fit into a single show, but that might have something to do with the under-2-minutes-long-each lightning round of 6 songs. Remember, as the title says this is by no means definitive. I actually had more than enough good stuff to choose from, but sacrifices must always be made. Sacrifices like the Slice of Cheese segment, which is taking a couple of weeks off. HEEeerrree's the playlist!


My Morning Jacket - "The Day Is Coming"
Arkells - "Whistleblower"
Ohbijou - "Echo Bay"
Cloudsplitter - "Start with the Soil"
Bry Webb - "Persistent Spirit (For K)"
Fleet Foxes - "Blue Spotted Tail"
The War on Drugs - "Baby Missiles"
Fucked Up - "Inside A Frame"
Dog Day - "Scratches"
Smith Westerns - "Dance Away"
Tim Hecker - "The Piano Drop"
Loom - "Promised Land"
Destroyer - "Chinatown"
St. Vincent - "Northern Lights"
John Maus - "The Crucifix"
Apollo Ghosts - "Lightweight"
Eyebats - "Indian Head, SK"
iceage - "Rotting Heights"
R.E.M. - "That Someone Is You"
Sloan - "I've Gotta Know"
Blitzen Trapper - "Might Find It Cheap"
One Hundred Dollars - "Ties That Bind"
The Deep Dark Woods - "The Place I Left Behind"
Daniel Romano - "Time Forgot (To Change My Heart)"
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - "Heart in Your Heartbreak"
Slow Down, Molasses - "Late Night Radio"
Shotgun Jimmie - "Late Last Year"
Sandro Perri - "Love & Light"
Chad VanGaalen - "Sara"
Wild Beasts - "Reach a Bit Further"
Hey Rosetta! - "Welcome"

12 Days: Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

On the second day of Christmas, my homeboy (or true blog) gave to me: two tonnes of Death Row rap, with Nate and Snoop Doggy Dogg sippin' egg noggy nogg, with Daz Dillinger, Bad Azz and Tray Dee like nutmeg on top.

12 Days: The Kinks - "Father Christmas"

Check back here every day until the 25th, also known as the widely suffered through Christian omniholiday known as Christmas, for some of my favourite yuletide jams.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true blog gave to me: The Kinks being cynical as hell, no pear tree required.

Today's Tune: Bidiniband - "Last of the Dead Wrong Things"

It's never not a good day for something by Dave Bidini, and this year seems to have been creatively fertile for the chapeau-sporting rocker from Etobicoke. His column for the otherwise-aggrevating National Post tends to be thought-provoking and share-worthy fare. His excellent tour memoir On A Cold Road is in this year's non-fiction edition of Canada Reads. His post-Rheostatics on-again project Bidiniband is set to release their second album, In The Rock Hall, in January. Take a second and try not to feel jealous while listening to "Last of the Dead Wrong Things", as emblematic a Bidini song as we are ever likely to hear.
DOWNLOAD it for free on the Bidiniband site.

Green Eggs and Ham: Forget the Lyrics

This week's show was an all-instrumental affair, a counterweight to last week's lyrically-based Story Time show. Something about the 30-minute sets, the gorgeous arrangements and the lack of vocals made this edition of Green Eggs and Ham feel both quick and outside of time. I cheated on my own theme again, however, and succumbed to "Hangin' Tough" Here's the playlist:


Ponytail - "Late For School"
Johann Johannsson - "Melodia (III)"
Valley of the Giants - "Back To God's Country"
Holy Fuck - "Choppers"
The Budos Band - "Ghostwalk"
The Meters - "Oh, Calcutta!"
TLO - "Lost"
Do Make Say Think - "Auberge Le Mouton Noir"
Broken Social Scene - "hHallmark"
K.C. Accidental - "Ruined in '84"
Colin Stetson - "Judges"
Onra - "Sitting Back"
Aeroplane - "London Bridge"
SBTRKT - "Go Bang"
Tycho - "Daydream"
The Acorn - "Do You Not Yearn, At All?!"
Belle Orchestre - "The Gaze"
New Kids On The Block - "Hangin' Tough"    *this week's Slice of Cheese
Shooting Guns - "Liberator"
Junior Pantherz - "Jammer"
Slow Down, Molasses - "Wake Me At The Coast"
The Hylozoists - "If Only Your Heart Was A Major Sixth"
Siriusmo - "Nights Off"

Today's Tune: Drive-By Truckers - "I'm Sorry Huston"

It's no secret that I really, really like the raucous crew of Alabama badasses that is Drive-By Truckers. It's with a not-unnoteworthy amount of sadness that I read the farewell remarks of Shonna Tucker, the group's only female member and a great song writer in her own right. I'm sure she will be moving on to an interesting solo career or some other similar project, and Jason Isbell already left the group years ago only to miss some of their most interesting work, but considering I've never had the chance to see DBT live, it's too bad I will never be able to witness performances like this. Rock on, Ms. Tucker.

Green Eggs and Ham: Story Time

This week's show (co-hosted by the apt Rich Taylor) was all about the narrative. Songs with full stories, brimming with detail. Extended jams with spoken word tales that grab you. And then I took a break from it for a song and played something by Blaque. Here's the playlist:


Memphis - "A Ghost Story"
Okkervil River - "Lay of the Last Survivor"
Townes Van Zandt - "A Joke"
The Weakerthans - "Tournament of Hearts"
William Shatner - "Common People"
The Super Friendz - "Better Call"
B.A. Johnston - "Kiss Her You Loser"
Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
Jason Collett - "Parry Sound"
The Deep Dark Woods - "The Ballad of Frank Dupree"
LCD Soundsystem - "I Can Change"
Joni Mitchell - "The Last Time I Saw Richard"
Tom Waits - "Watch Her Disappear"
Drive-By Truckers - "The Three Great Alabama Icons"
The Mountain Goats - "This Year"
Blaque - "Bring It All To Me" (ft. JC Chasez)   *this week's Slice of Cheese
D-Sisive - "Russell Peters"
Shad - "A Good Name"
The Hold Steady - "Two Handed Handshake"
The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Tornado'87"
Owen Pallett - "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"