shiny dot bulletin

What album from 2007 was the least-reviewed and most-underrated?

The Charm and the Strange by Simon Wilcox. Even Larry LeBlanc thinks so:

“Simon Wilcox is an astounding find. On the first listen to her third release I had the same reaction to when I first head the recorded debuts of Kate Bush and Mary Margaret O’Hara as well as to hearing any Van Morrison album in the ’70s. She has recorded a classic work.”

It’s an amazing record - get it.

Here’s the latest video from the release:

Download an mp3 of The Kooks and Simon Wilcox covering Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks”…

Technorati Tags: beatbox, canadian music, canadian pop, larry leblanc, peter bjorn and john, simon wilcox, the kooks, young folks

POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE ANNOUNCES 2008 SHORTLIST FOR BEST CANADIAN ALBUM

Steve Jordan, Founder and Executive Director of the Polaris Music Prize, today revealed the Short List of 10 Canadian albums eligible for the third annual $20,000 award.

The 10 nominees are, in alphabetical order:

1. Black Mountain – In The Future (Vancouver, BC)
2. Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling (London, ON)
3. Caribou – Andorra (Dundas, ON)
4. Kathleen Edwards – Asking For Flowers (Ottawa, ON)
5. Holy Fuck – LP (Toronto, ON)
6. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue (Montréal, QC)
7. Shad – The Old Prince (London, ON)
8. Stars – In Our Bedroom After The War (Montréal, QC)
9. Two Hours Traffic – Little Jabs (Charlottetown, PE)
10. The Weakerthans – Reunion Tour (Winnipeg, MB)

Technorati Tags: basia bulat, black mountain, canadian music, canadian music awards, caribou, holy fuck, kathleen edwards, plants and animals, polaric music prize, polaris, shad, stars, the weakerthans, two hours traffic

Well this is interesting. Via ebay, Canadian fiddler Ashley MacIsaac is auctioning 50% of his future earnings for a minimum bid of $1.5 million.

Reuters has a pretty decent article on the facts and reasoning behind the move here.

From what I understand, the deal includes royalties and future earnings spanning his entire career, not just from future publishing / recordings…

There are way too many undisclosed variables for me to make a comment on the viability of an investor recouping his/her investment but I will say this: I think it’s an interesting idea, albeit not entirely new, and I’m all for any musician who’s willing to take a risk with a new model in this rapidly deteriorating space. Obviously MacIsaac is never going to get a Live Nation 360 deal like Ms. Hips Don’t Lie, so he’s making one up himself.

The future of the music business is *not* going to be based on any one magic model alone, so the more musicians and artists willing to experiment and take risks, the better for us all.

Kudos Mr. MacIsaac - I hope it works for you and I really do hope you’ll share your learning with us.

Technorati Tags: 360 deals, Ashley MacIsaac, canadian music, ebay, live nation, music business model