Through and Through and Through

It's not "west-side", it's "3."

Joel Plaskett is no stranger to concept albums, after all, his previous disc was a (fictional?) tale about teenagers, bandmates, a place called Ashtray Rock and a "1940's beauty."

His latest release, Three is a triple disc set. Yeah, you read it right. THREE. Yet even though there are three discs, it is not a pompous self absorbed effort. Clocking in at about an hour and a half total, it is quite the opposite. The ever humble Mr. Plaskett decided on the three disc format after joking that there were so many songs with titles that repeat three times that it should be a triple disc set.

The songs have a very grown-up take on the life of a travelling musician, about the love of performing life music but also about being home. Disc one has themes of leaving home, disc two about playing music and disc three is all about coming back home. Just listening to it, it sounds like Plaskett and his bandmates/backup singers had a great time in the recording studio and its that love of music that make all the trials and tribulations he mentions in the songs worth it in the end. And that love of music, combined with clever songwriting, keeps it compelling for us, the listener, too!

Joel Plaskett - Through and Through and Through (mp3) (buy)

Joel Plaskett - Shine On Shine On Shine On (mp3) (buy)

Missing You

Joel Plaskett knows what I'm talking out.

If wishful thinking is all I've got/
I've got to keep on thinking wishful thoughts/
thinking wishful thoughts/
I wish you were here/
but you're not....

Sloan - Keep on Thinkin' (mp3) (buy)

David Usher - Time of Our Lives (mp3) (buy)

City and Colour - Sometimes I wish (mp3) (buy)

Modest Mouse - the Good Times are Killing Me (mp3) (buy)

Foo Fighters - How I miss you (mp3) (buy)

Noah and the Whale - 5 Years Time (mp3) (buy)

Pipettes - Because it's not love but its a feeling (mp3) (buy)

Thrush Hermit - Oh Man What to Do (mp3) (buy)

Weezer - Across the Sea (mp3) (buy)

Wilco - Say you Miss Me (mp3) (buy)

March Is Going To Be a Good Month

March is going to be a good month for album releases. Here are the two I'm looking forward to.

Joel Plaskett will be releasing a triple album in March. "Triple album"?! I've never even heard of that! It's gonna be three (wow, three!) discs! Mmmmmm.


"A new record for a new year. Well, three new records for one year to be exact. March, I’ve been told, so now I’ll tell you, 'March, my new triple record called 'Three'. See you in the spring. Until then: shoveling, shoveling, shoveling," quoth Joel Plaskett off his website.

Here's an unreleased one that he performed at See Vous Play way back in October of 2007. I do hope he includes it on one of those discs. Although I've been perusing YouTube, and there's not a single video for it! But here's to hoping anyway.

Joel Plaskett - Too Many Choices (live) (mp3)

Thanks to I(heart)Music for posting it so many months ago!

Also, according to a CBC Radio 3 interview Joel did last month, he's been working with Two Hours Traffic again. Looks like he'll be producing their follow up to Little Jabs. Even though it's only in pre-production now, I'm very excited.

In other album news, the Rakes' third album will be called 'KLANG'. It's set for the 23rd of March. When I heard the album name, I immediately thought, "hey that's like the Kooks, with their album called 'Konk'!"

Few people know that the Terminator is an honorary member of the Rakes.

Klang Tracklist:

You’re In It
That’s The Reason
The Loneliness Of The Outdoor Smoker
Bitchin’ in the Kitchin’
The Woes Of The Working Woman
1989
Shackelton
The Light From Your Mac
Muller’s Ratchet
The Final Hill
Never Get Married

The first single is '1989' and it'll be up for legal download a week before the album drops. Here's a video featuring an unofficial version of the track over the course of a Planet Roc studios tour in Berlin where they recorded.

the Rakes - 1989 (Unofficial)

And to tide you over until that release, here's an older track of theirs'.

The Rakes - Terror! (mp3) (buy)