I Found the Summer Jam

Okay, first of all, I apologize for missing a main post this week. In my defence, I was extremely busy moving a piece of furniture into my apartment and it was a process. I am but one man with a twenty year old Toyota Corolla. I had to get creative. But look at it! Isn’t it beautiful? And, most importantly, I got it for forty Canadian dollars. Simply unbelievable.

It’s also been a mixed week for me re: music. Taylor Swift announced her international tour dates and she seems to be hitting every corner of the planet except Canada, and I’m reeling from this betrayal. Perhaps she saw the forest fires and decided she didn’t want her private jet to contribute to the climate catastrophe here? I have a complicated relationship with Toronto, but one of the tradeoffs to putting up with the city’s legion of issues is supposed to be that it’s the one place musicians tour when they come to Canada. If bands start skipping us all together, what am I doing here? Getting hit by cars while cycling for no reason.

On the other hand, I saw Boygenius live on Wednesday night. I wasn’t a huge fan of their latest album, and I think they work better as solo acts, but my friends were going and I had a serious case of FOMO so I bought a ticket and went along. I wasn’t expecting much. They were performing at one of my least favourite venues in the city, they were late coming out, and they may have the most annoying fanbase on the planet (or at least top five). But I was blown away by the show! Lucy Dacus was concussed, but even with that the energy was incredible, they sounded great, and — most importantly — it was fun. The three song encore was one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen.

Now, I’ve also found the song of the summer. Charly Bliss, who I’ve recommended here before, just released their first song in four years. It’s called “You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore” and it’s an absolute jam. High energy and a blast and I can’t wait for the album.

I’m skipping my usual Follow Friday segment because I am way behind in my reading this week.

• “You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore” by Charly Bliss. See above.

• “Kids” by Pup. Pup is a Toronto-based punk band. I’ve been relistening to their album Morbid Stuff lately and it is still excellent. “Kids” is probably their most accessible track. Give it a listen!

• “I’m Coming with Lovin’ on My Mind” by Swamp Dogg. What to say about this song. . . . Swamp Dogg is an eighty-year-old soul musician who decided to make an album experimenting with auto-tune. It’s wonderful and entertaining and very horny.

• “(Driving on the) Wrong Side of the Road” by Why Dogs Why. Rad indie-rock outfit I just stumbled upon. Great EP, great song.

I have just started watching Hacks, a show about a pioneering comedian in a Las Vegas residency and a young writer she hires to help modernize her set. The stars have great chemistry and the show is funny and heartfelt. I will say that it seems like the main character is somewhat based off of Joan Rivers (whom I loved) so I do think the show plays it a little too safe with a lot of the jokes. It could use a bit more of an edge. But it’s still fantastic. Season three is coming, but delayed due to the writer’s strike so you have lots of time to catch up.

That’s all I’ve got this week. Have a wonderful Pride weekend everyone! It’s going to rain here, but I’m sure it’ll give every bar a great excuse to play that bad Gaga x Ariana song.