So, new episode on the way soon (and I’ve also been working on some new mix cds which will see the light before too long).

Thanks for being here.

In the meantime, pitchfork.tv is live, and, say what you will about pitchfork, this new extension of theirs is a pretty sweet place on the internet. Ever wished MuchMusic/MTV would actually cover good/interesting music? This is basically the equivalent to that in high quality whenever you want it on the old internet.

ALREADY OUT…ISH
A couple important 2008 albums have already dribbled out onto the internet. We are not surprised, nor particularly displeased. The most notable for me is the new British Sea Power disc entitled Do You Like Rock Music? (2.12 on rough trade) It’d definitely worth a listen and a thankful change of pace from their last one, the beautiful but plodding Open Season. The Mountain Goats’ Heretic Pride (2.19 on 4ad) is also a notable one; though I haven’t spent much time with it, it seems to be more of the same (which is usually a good thing where John Darnielle is involved) with production flourishes expanding a bit beyond The Sunset Tree and trademark thoughtful lyrics.

Goldfrapp’s Seventh Tree (2.26 on mute) sees her going back to more ethereal territory than her last two albums, a welcome return to some approximation of her brilliant debut Felt Mountain. Beach House’s Devotion (2.26 on carpark) seems a bit more lush and busy than their rather haunting debut. Magnetic Fields’ Distortion (1.15 on nonesuch) was definitely enjoyable on a cursory listen. And Sons and Daughters’ This Gift (1.28 on domino) started off wicked strong but had trouble keeping the awesome on till the end.

SOME THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
There are albums coming out every week. Tons of ‘em. And despite all the people too eager to proclaim that music these days is crappy, if you ignore the radio and just throw yourself into the bottomless pit of musical obsession, there are many, many gems to be found. It’s basically futile trying to predict which albums will end up being the best, and with the number of bands I love, it’s just as pointless to talk about all the upcoming releases I’m interested in. So, I’m going to touch on what’s coming out of the hands and mouths of some of the bands that have been with me for a while, on my top bands list for many years now.

Although I tend to forget about it more than I should, there is a new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album itching to get out there. It’s called Dig, Lazarus, Dig and you can already listen to the title track on the official seedy site. It’s sounding rough and grimy not unlike Grinderman with some throwbacks to garage rock of yore and some wonderful lyrics. It’ll be officially out on March 8th, so that means it’ll probably leak somewhere around tomorrow? And then with any luck Nick and his Seeds will finally stage some concerts in North America—something I’ve been waiting for with varying degrees of patience since he became one of my most revered artists 4.5 years back.

It’s been almost six years since the release of The Notwist’s latest album Neon Golden. They’re finally giving us something new in late spring (if you’re not counting 13+God). The Wrens, who gave us The Meadowlands and in so doing gave me one of my very favourite rock albums of all time (and were, unknown to me at the time, playing in the same building the night I saw Notwist live in Toronto), might give us a new album this year—they’ve been saying that for a while now though, so don’t get too excited.

R.E.M.’s new album Accelerate is being hailed as a return to their rocky roots and a lot of the songs have already been played live so we can have an idea of what to expect. Jacknife Lee is producing, though, and he’s not got the best track record: from all I can tell, stripping both U2 and Bloc Party of their interesting qualities, and giving us Kasabian, Snow Patrol and the Editors (a.k.a. oh so mediocre) is the best thing he’s done. I’m not gonna bother getting my hopes up, but ya never know.

Elbow and Doves are two bands I tend to think of together, and just like 2005, they both have albums coming out this year. Elbow’s well-titled The Seldom Seen Kid comes out in March, but information on Doves new disc is sparse, so probably not till a bit later. Sigur Ros are also expected to release a studio album this year, and it’s being produced by Flood. I can only hope they can reclaim the heights of Agaetis Byrjun. I suggest a little more intricacy and creativity, a little less bombast and whining. I hope they can do me proud.

On the oft overlooked hip hop side of things, Big Boi (of Outkast) has a solo disc allegedly coming up, though there’s not too many details, other than that the first single was supposed to be out by now. Andre 3000 might also have new stuff, but let’s face it these guys are taking it real slow these days. The hip hop I’m most looking forward to, personally (if Anticon even counts as hip hop), is ExitingArm, the new album from Subtle due out in May. It will complete the Hour Hero Yes trilogy that began with A New White.

Electronic music for me tends to not work the same way. I don’t find myself anticipating too many techno/house/ambient etc releases… I am more likely to hear about tracks/albums after they’ve already leaked and gotten approved by some series of random internet music junkies. This is a bit of a new policy since I was hotly anticipating Twine’s new album that someone said was going to come out last year, and then I suddenly couldn’t find any info on it anywhere. I’m sure there’ll be great stuff, though, because my anticipation or lack thereof won’t change that.

There are some synth driven releases I do need to tip, though. One of my favourite aspects under the whole umbrella of electronic music (one might call it a subgenre) is trip-hop, even though there’s not all that much linking it to electronica. While the genre per se has largely died, elements of its aesthetic are still making appearances (such as Burial and Various). But! If trip hop is dead then why are Massive Attack and Portishead both releasing albums this year? (Allegedly MA’s The Weather Underground will be released in the summer, though I’m not crossing any fingers, and Portishead’s first album in 11 years is reportedly complete and will be finally released in April). Not to mention The Prodigy… no seriously, there’s not really any reason to mention them.

OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND
As a proud Canadian, it’s important to turn an inward eye at my own country’s burgeoning indie scene, because there are a number of things to keep an eye on (even if, like me, you’re not that excited about Jason Collett and Islands).

First (and in this case in very particular order), The Constantines have a new album coming out (April, allegedly, on Arts&Crafts)! They’re a strong three for three so far, with the middle one being one of my favourite albums of all time. If they can approach the heights of Shine a Light, I will be ecstatic. I’ll also probably get the chance to see them live for the seventh time.

Ever since his performance at LOLA, I’ve been a bit in love with Owen Pallet (aka Final Fantasy), and his new album tentatively titled Heartland (which was first announced in 2006) should find its way into our ears this year. Owen’s one of those dudes whose live show really gels in a way that his recorded output doesn’t quite manage to (hopefully not just because his looping pedal talent is so uber), so I’m looking at this one as a big opportunity.

Since a year can’t go by in which Spencer Krug doesn’t release some sort of album (or Dan Boeckner either), look for a new Wolf Parade in the first half of the year (hopefully!). This one has seen some delay, too, as most of the songs have been played on tour and it was mostly recorded in May of last year. The problem with record labels and their outdated methods of distribution is much apparent for Mr. Krug: when he does interviews he’s almost always put the material up for discussion out of his mind months before to work on something new. And it’s almost always rather good.

13 Blues for Thirteen Moons by Thee Silver Mt. Zion, or whatever they’re calling themselves now, will come out March 11 on Constellation. Efrim seems to have left Godspeed You Black Emperor out in the cold, but that’s fine by me because I actually like these guys better. Even though they sound really pretentious on paper, their live shows are one of the most ridiculously inspiring experiences experiencable. You feel like you’re freaking part of them and they’re part of the world, man. On CD, they struggle a bit, but there’s usually enough awesome moments to make it oh so very worthwhile.

The Born Ruffians, who I had the pleasure of seeing opening up for Caribou earlier this year, are releasing Red, Yellow And Blue (2.26, warp). It’s their debut album, and while it could go either way, I’m really looking forward to it, because they’re a really fun bunch of guys with oodles of potential.

And that’s about it for now, except to mention that hometown heroes the Junior Boys (who are absolutely brilliant) have hinted that some kind of release will be revealed very soon. Knowing them it could be just some EP full of remixes, but it’s been a few years, they might have another album up their sleeves.

And that’s it for now.

Ok, I know not everyone likes making lists of things, but most hardcore music fans will make themselves one as the year comes to an end, or at the very least read about 30 of them. It’s odd because the more I think about them, the more kinda lame they are for various reasons. Especially the music review sites, because for an album to do well by consensus it has to be one that everybody on staff already likes, therefore many of us will have already heard of. Not to mention, what more meaningless thing can be said about a work of art than ‘it is #4 on our top albums list this year.” But quite a few people and admittedly myself really do care for some reason. Metacritic has already started collecting the top tens of all the major music publications.

And yes you will have one from me soon enough, too. But mine will be different… although I’ve actually been working on it since before the end of last year-adding and shuffling albums as they were heard, reheard or reevaluated, I’m going to wait till the year is totally done to put it up, because I want to make sure I’ve heard as much as I can from other people’s lists (those of individuals are almost always more interesting than those in magazines), especially considering Lupe Fiasco’s new and quite good album isn’t even out yet and has barely even leaked.

I still haven’t decided how many albums to include.. probably 50 just to keep it long but not ridiculous (the list currently under construction goes up to 225).

Anyway, I would like to be able to see people’s best albums of 2007 lists as written 20 years from now. I think they would be very different (not just significantly shorter). I wonder, though, if they would be more diverse as people forget the hype and focus on what moves them personally, or more similar as certain albums are accepted into the elite. Then I have to wonder if I’ll care in 10 years.

Yeah, didn’t think so. Anyway, I’ve always thought some kind of diatribe of my own was necessary at some point; I got a bit of one in responding at length to a friend’s facebook note about the sorry state of music these days, and I briefly entertained the notion of codifying my beliefs about music etc.. but then I found a link to this blog post, and I read it, and I thought it would be much more practical just link to it and save myself some effort! It’s a long read, but it’s very much worthwhile. I don’t entirely agree with all of the points, but the vast majority are solid enough that I can feel pretty happy championing its message. check it out.

The Slipstream began in January 2005 as a weekly mixed genre radio show on 93.3 CFMU, which ran until October 2007 when my relocation to London kept me from filling the station’s hosting requirements. It is now about to continue as a web-only podcast, which, so long as you have already found it is probably a good thing as it allows me to be more much rigorous with quality assurance.

The format of the program remains unchanged, but you will see fewer new episodes (roughly every other week). That might be a net benefit, because it means that each episode will be better! The website also allows me to focus more on commentary, reviews, links and features, which will grow to be a more integral part of Radio Slipstream. Hopefully there will be enough content to keep you coming back, and if not there’s always RSS feeds!

Content aside, the site itself has changed dramatically, both aesthetically (now it actually has aesthetics!) and functionally (note the easy to use sound players in each post!). And because the increased functionality is especially present behind the scenes, it will be much easier for me to add and update content. The new site is run by Wordpress and the extremely helpful podPress plugin. The design is based on the shades of gray template of the sandbox theme. It has been customized heavily, as you can probably see. All the graphic design is my work and the recoding also, though with help from friends and people at various forums. Big ups.

If you have any comments on the new site or any suggestions on what you want to see me doing with this little corner of the internet, do let me know! While the site is ready for public consumption, there still may be a few glitches, so if you run into any please don’t hesitate to tell me!

Look for a new episode of Radio Slipstream shortly.

I get exposed to a lot of talk about zombies… zombocalypses, survival tactics, discussions on what technically constitutes such a beast. And why shouldn’t I? I am a geek after all!  Sometimes I try to be too cool for all the zombie talk, and then I hear a song like this one.

From Exuma’s 1970 self titled debut album of “voodooed-out Bahamian folk,” this is a weird, tribal footstomper of a tune… and yes, it is most definitely about zombies.

There is no star in the sky, I see fire in the dead man’s eye.

have a listen. 

That’s how I see it for now at least. Just on my second (and first intent) listen.

THE SLIPSTREAM, with your delicious host Damon Muma
from MIDNIGHT Monday to TWO on Tuesday
on CFMU 93.3 …follow link to discover lo-bitrate webcast of radio!

So I thought in honour of the new season, and because I take this little radio gig perhaps far too seriously, I’d formalize the structure of my radio program, by way of -

THE MANIFESTO. [scrawled with half a pen on the back of your tim horton paper muffin bag].

Programming:
Music is art. Art is communication. Art should move us, spiritually and intellectually. Maybe moreso spiritually, but in a way they are one and the same. I aim to present, each week, a collection of songs that acheive small greatness in the field of musical endeavor, no matter the genre. What that really means is that I play the songs I like. I just choose them very carefully from a veritable slew (to illustrate this slew, I’ve so far listened to more than 150 albums that were released in 2006; and no, of course I don’t pirate music). I aim to play only songs that have a lot to offer, and of course what exactly that is can change wildly from song to song. I also want to make the best of what time I have, so I have determined not to repeat the same artist within one show, nor the same song within the same few years, except by accident. Of course taste is subjective, but I believe there is a large amount of objectivity in the analysis of art. There is good art and less good art, and of course a rather extensive middle ground. The Slipstream tries its darndest to be a place for good art. I want every person who listens to the program to hear and be moved by music they have not heard before or did not take note of on the first go round. A sort of goal for the show is to create for myself the ultimate playlist for my Ipod or Winamp or what have you.

Engineering:
The songs are selected well in advance, by being sent to my special playlist in winamp. Then they are arranged into a coherent order, shuffled around for a while, mixed and matched and blended (using mixmeister) so that they flow smoothly into each other. Also, the last song of a set will link sounways somehow to the next song. If the talking were removed one would hear a coherent mix. I do this all in advance and show up at the station with a few CDs full of each set as one track. Each show takes at least 2-3 hours to sequence, not including all the music listening or the burning, playlist writing, webposting, mp3 recording tagging and posting, manifesto writing, etc. The mp3s that show up here are recorded from the CFMU webstream and are therefore not particularly good quality. I apologize.

Hosting:
I basically sit in the studio, say some stuff and then press play. This year I’ll probably be bringing my shiny new laptop with me so that I can look stuff up if I need to and also lurk on msn and harass people into listening. Previously, everything I said about the show was just from trivia I have accumulated and stored in my indie-musically-overwhelmed mind. I like to be a big goofy now and then, but ultimately the me talking part is only so that you can know who these cool music making cats are.

So in the end, ignore all that jibber jabber up top, and what you get is a series of really good songs from a variety of genres flowing together for two hours every week around islands of Damon talking. What I get is something that I am almost always quite proud of.

Full stop.

Music: tonight’s show
Mood: pretentious

Which is all a fancy way of saying that I play the music that moves me to want to share it with anyone who will spare some part of their hearing for 3 or 1 or .0005 hours on a late Monday night. And I can only hope that every now and then you’ll hear a song that does something to you, triggers a thought or a feeling or a smile, rings with truth or hammers and grinds with affecting intensity… and if you hear such a song on my little radio show, then together we have won a small victory.