Series 6

I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun & It’s Chinese New Year Time – S06E21

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Taken from the Beach House holiday song, it was “snowmageddon” in Ottawa and including Toronto and Montreal. Although, I got to CKCU-FM with no delays. The snowstorm did not seem too bad when I left the house this morning.
Today’s radio show started off with “Snowed In” by Joel Plaskett as the intro as people in Ottawa were trying to get through the snow. The show was more on Chinese New Year as it celebrates the year of the rabbit. In fitting fashion, various Chinese New Years songs were play in the second hour of the show.
I am excited to have some lion dance on the start of Chinese New Year as it’s become a yearly tradition performing at places and keeping the people happy and prosperous.
If you want to check what was played on the show, the playlist is at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown summary is at this link.
Gong Hey Fatt Choy everyone!

Feb. 9th Update
I added the radio show stream and The Wild 10 Countdown continues on for the blog. The second hour of the show consisted of love songs for Valentine’s Day coming up. Still continuing with Chinese New Year as the seventh day is everyone’s birthday.
The link to check the February 9th edition of The Wild 10 Countdown is at this link. In keeping the slight reference to Beach House, the February 9th show had a song by Beach House. It is linked to the 2nd annual Valentine’s Day show.

Audio – Shows from February 2nd and 9th
February 2nd radio show – press play to listen.

Pre snowstorm craziness, I helped out on The New Midnight Jamz on CKCU-FM on January 29, 2011.
Press play to listen.

The February 9th radio show – press play to listen and the playlist is at this link.

Chinese New Year 2011
It’s the year of the rabbit and here a few photos from other liondance performances.
The Chinese New Year Parade in Ottawa Chinatown, here’s one from the Ottawa Sun.

The Winchester Warm Interview & The Fun Guests – S06E20

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Actually, I didn’t get a chance to take a photo during Winchester Warm’s set from the Raw Sugar Cafe show because I had to leave early due to the cold and the zipper from my jacket broke. The photo above is from Andy Swan’s set as he and a band (consisting of The Acorn’s Rolf Klausener and others). Now, onto Winchester Warm, I had the opportunity to finally chat with them because they recently concluded their Winter tour across Ontario and Eastern Canada. It aired on my radio show at CKCU-FM for Wednesday morning. I was groaning humourously in having to deal with the interview because some parts were light-hearted from the questions they answered.
Onto the radio show, as usual, the new co-host is getting used to the tracks being played and being comfortable on the air. Also returning were the former hosts of Horses Spilled Milk and it was almost a reunion. It was all in great fun as I surprised the three co-hosts with some new music. I still can’t stop playing several UK music and Two Door Cinema Club. I’m pleased that I have gotten good response to the interview. To conclude the month of January, I played a few songs that were considered disappointing to 2010. One of the songs I played, let’s say that I gave up playing in its entirety because it was becoming a nuisance. You will find it funny how I ended the song prematurely.
Unfortunately, the live Internet stream was down on Wednesday morning. For anyone who doesn’t live in Ottawa, they will have to listen on here for what was missed.
To check what was played, the playlist is at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown entry will be up later.
I forgot to mention during the radio show in thanking Bravestation as they gave me a shoutout at their concert from Friday.

Audio – Radio Show and Interview
The January 26, 2011 edition – press play to listen.

The Winchester Warm Interview
Press play to listen or download it.

The Two Door Cinema Club Interview & The Graham Wright Takeover – S06E19

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What a way to start 2011 with a brand new interview. I skipped out on writing last week’s show entry as I aired the Rebekah Higgs interview. The one with Rebekah Higgs on the countdown blog [link]. The radio show for January 19th had the interview with Two Door Cinema Club and a takeover segment with Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club. As usual, the new co-host and Erica, formerly of Horses Spilled Milk joined in on the radio show. The photo above is with the members of Two Door Cinema Club.
I had an opportunity to interview two of the members of Two Door Cinema Club when they were in Ottawa last week. It’s considered an important one for me because it’s the first time to interview an international band as I usually interview a lot of Canadian musician and bands. It was good timing to interview Two Door Cinema Club as they are on co-headlining with Tokyo Police Club for the North American tour. Even though, I didn’t get a chance to check them out live, it was still an opportunity to interview this young group from Ireland as they have been getting lots of airplay on BBC Radio 1 and on campus community radio.
There were some questions from joining the Kitsune label to starting up the band and from touring to places like North America, Europe and Hong Kong. Oh yes, I brought the question that people would get them confused as a band from England.

I really have to thank my former co-host, Marzia for informing me on this band as they are popular in her home country of Italy. She told me about them before she went back home in December. The funny thing with post holiday sadness is that I had one last year (2009-2010) with David Tennant leaving Doctor Who and currently (2010-2011), I had an awesome co-host who’s passionate with indie music. It’s going to take awhile to move on. I know it’s a long time, what’s next for the end of 2011 going to 2012?
Onto Graham Wright of Tokyo Police Club, it’s the third time to chat with him as I supposedly wanted to get my new co-host to interview him but due to scheduling, it did not happen. In a way, I decided to do a takeover segment, just like the one I did with The Balconies. The takeover segment was more of a look back from 2010 and I had him pick his three songs in that year. It was all in a good fun chat.

OK, without further ado, the playlist and the audio from the radio show and interviews.
The playlist is at this link to check what was played on the radio show.
The Wild 10 Countdown entry is at this link.

Audio – Radio Show & Interviews
The January 19th edition of WildWorks on CKCU-FM
Press play to listen

Interviews
The Two Door Cinema Club interview – press play to listen or download it (from Soundcloud).

The Graham Wright Takeover Segment – press play to listen.

The Kick-Off To 2011 With a Double Top Ten Countdown – S06E18

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Happy New Year!
To start off 2011 on my radio show, I did two top 10 countdowns. One was finishing up my own year end countdown and the other was the return of the Wild 10 Countdown. Due to time limitations from the December 29, 2010 show where I played 40 out of the 50 songs from my year end countdown. As for who’s number one for the Top 50 of 2010, it’s a no-brainer that Montreal’s Arcade Fire tops on my year ender because I have been playing The Suburbs a lot on CKCU-FM. As for the return of the Wild 10 Countdown to begin 2011, it’s also Arcade Fire as I heard Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) on various radio shows because the hosts said that it’s their favourite song from The Suburbs.
Also on the show was a new co-host as it’s her first time to be on the radio. Another guest on the show was none other than DJ Digs, who does his show on early Thursday morning.
There was a voice cameo appearance the two hosts of The New Midnight Jamz on Saturday nights on CKCU-FM. They were there to introduce the number four song from the Top 50 of 2010. It was none other than Shad with Rose Garden (YouTube link).
I have been playing Beach House lately as radio shows have made it one of their picks of 2010. I got to give credit to my former co-host, Marzia for getting me into the Baltimore band. The worse part is not leaving a dry eye because their songs from their third album, Teen Dream are so dreamy and very emotional.
If you are wondering what was played on the show, check out the playlist by clicking here.
For the first part of the year end countdown, the playlist is at this link.
I posted the full top 50 of 2010 at this link.
The return of The Wild 10 Countdown for January 5th is at this link.

Audio – Radio Show for  January 5, 2011
Press play to listen.

The Top 50 Songs of 2010 & The Holiday Shows – S06E17

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Merry Christmas to all!
In case you can’t check all of the four entries, I have decided to post up the four Christmas editions from my radio show. Plus, the guest co-host from Christmas Eve.

Audio from December’s Radio Show
December 1st – press play to listen. View playlist.

December 8th – press play to listen. View playlist.

December 15th with guests, Digory, Hilary and Tiffany – press play to listen from the two parts. View playlist.
Part 1 – Christmas songs and past Christmas number one songs in the UK.

Part 2 – The final Wild 10 Countdown of 2010

December 22nd with guests, Erica and Marzia – press play to listen. View playlist.

December 24th – Guest co-host on The Friday Special Blend, Christmas Eve edition. Press play to listen. View playlist.

Happy Holidays!

The Year End Show – My Top 50 Canadian Songs of 2010
As we end 2010, I had a special extended show for my radio show on CKCU-FM. It was 3 in a half hour as I counted down my year end countdown in Canadian music for 2010. Even though, I didn’t play the whole 50 songs as I played forty out of the fifty Canadian songs. It was due to time but saving it for January 5th, 2011. Saving the best for last.
To check out the forty Canadian songs of 2010, go to this link. Also included on the playlist and the audio were my non-Canadian music picks of 2010. Various radio shows have been playing Beach House and Vampire Weekend for their year end picks.
Near the end of the radio show, it’s this time of year to play Anita Mui songs as December 30, 2003 was when she passed away.

Audio/Radio Show – The Year End Countdown Aired on December 29, 2010
Press play to listen

Happy New Year! See you in 2011

The Christmas Edition With A Very Merry Kind of Farewell – S06E16

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Updated – December 24, 2010 (Christmas Eve)

The Christmas edition, show #4 for 2010 was a bittersweet one because I had enough time to play all kinds of Christmas songs. Started the show with the 2010 UK Christmas #1 song as it’s now become a tradition for my radio show to find out what’s happening elsewhere in music. I was supposed to play part of my year-end countdown but it’s been pushed back. Unlike the last radio show, I didn’t have too many guests on, but my co-host who joined my radio show for the 2nd season (current) made her farewell appearance because she’s going back to her country. I like to say to Marzia (pictured with me) that she’s been a great co-host and making my radio show interesting and also broadening some non-Canadian music as I got hooked on it. The example being The Temper Trap, Delphic and Hundred In The Hands, which I got to see at Pop Montreal. The best part for her joining my show at a unique time was playing Arcade Fire a lot. I forgot to mention that I have an American listener usually listening to my show and she enjoyed hearing my co-host and having a cute voice.
It’s going to be tough without you as I will be back to hosting alone which is sometimes tough when no one is around the on-air studio.
How can I not forget another guest and former host of Horses Spilled Milk, Erica, as she dropped by to help me play some Christmas tunes. I got to play Coldplay’s Christmas song, which I have been hooked until Christmas ends and then playing various versions of Fairytale of New York.
Another shout-out goes to AJ “Oh So Nice” Thompson of The New Midnight Jamz because I kept mentioning him on-air as he was listening in as I played a few R&B and Hip-Hop Christmas tunes for the humour and enjoyment.
For all the Christmas songs I played, you can check the playlist out at this link.

Thanks to Marzia for enjoying my music selection and even your music recommendations. Farewell to you.
Last, but not least, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve update, I decided to go on as a guest co-host for the Friday morning show on CKCU-FM. I kind of had some loose ends in playing some Christmas songs. You can listen from it here if you missed out.

Audio –  Radio Shows on December 22nd and 24th
December 22, 2010: The Very Merry Christmas Edition – WildWorks on CKCU-FM
Press play to listen.

December 24, 2010: Fill-in on The Friday Morning Special Blend – The Christmas Eve Show.
Press play to listen

The Christmas Edition With Guests & Pies – S06E15

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December 15th Radio Show
What an awesome day for my radio show because I had guests helping me and enjoying their time with the songs I played to get into the festive spirit with some 80s flashback and charting history from the United Kingdom. I had DJ Digs, Hilary Duff (not the celebrity) & Tiffany Yam come in to guest co-host the radio show. Out of the three, only the two made their first time to be on live radio. DJ Digs already has a radio show on CKCU-FM but he’s on during for one of the overnight shows and he’s on bi-weekly. What was also crazy was that I had an extended edition for my radio show because the other show that’s on from noon is on a Christmas hiatus. It was totally hectic for the 3.5 hours worth of music and hilarious talk.
You can check the playlist by clicking on this link.

The second half of the show was the final Wild 10 Countdown for 2010 and the entry for the top ten is at this link.
Thanks to Tiffany for helping out and get excited for the top 10 songs.

Pies Pies Pies
After my show, I decided to stick around for Both Kinds of Music as they had a 2nd annual pie baking contest and a 3rd annual all-vinyl show. I was added as a last minute to being a pie tasting judge. The pies they had were cherry pies. It was marvelous trying out the pies as it wasn’t very sweet and tangy. Although, I got stuffed after the second pie.
Props goes out to Dick Altavista, Martha Walsh, Patricia Lever, Ron Steeds, Steve Stacey, and Steph Clementine for all the great fun.
To end things, I posted photos on the bottom of this entry. It was great to be with the people who enjoy music and food close to the holidays.

Audio to Listen
There are two parts for the December 15th show. The first part was from the regular timeslot of WildWorks on CKCU-FM.
The second part was the final Wild 10 Countdown for 2010. Apologies on the quality of the audio as I had to switch computers to record.
Part 1 (Xmas tunes and past Christmas #1s in UK) – Press play to listen.

Part 2  (The Wild 10 Countdown) – Press play to listen. Note: quality during the host break may not be great.

Photos

Pies Photos

The Christmas Edition Continues With The Mountains & The Trees – S06E14

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The WildWorks radio show on CKCU-FM continues on with the Christmas edition as I had been playing a lot of various holiday tunes from Canadiana to the mainstream ones. I know it’s a bit early but I got loads of Christmas songs to choose for the next couple of shows leading to Christmas. As mentioned from the previous blog entry, I had the opportunity to see The Mountains & The Trees again in Ottawa. The photo shown above has me with a new fashion wear and with a sense of fashion almost similar to Jon Janes (The Mountains & The Trees). I’m going for the holiday spirit with the cardigan. It was taken outside of the CHUO studios.
Speaking of CHUO-FM, here’s the link provided, Now Playing with The Mountains & The Trees. It’s not on my blog but I provided Emma Godmere (host of Now Playing), the recording of The Mountains & The Trees playing a cover of Already Yours by Bahamas.
I was fortunate to record a segment with The Mountains & The Trees after his session at CHUO. My segment with him had to do with a song on my countdown. What I also didn’t realize from last year that I got a Christmas song from Janes because I did not know he had a track in 2009 and I knew about music in 2010. It’s been great to support his musical endeavor as he’s had an exciting year from the touring and releasing his full length album, I Made This For You.

Onto what I played on the show, the first was the Wild 10 Countdown and in the second hour, I played a bunch of new Christmas tracks from one album called Light Organ Records: Our First Christmas. It’s a compilation of musicians and bands from Vancouver playing their favourite Christmas songs. One song that caught my interest was Nat Jay’s Green Trees Red Hearts. When I was commenting on someone’s Facebook not too long ago, I did not check the profile of Nat Jay until I found out it’s a she. I was left speechless with her beauty and looks when I added her on Facebook. I mentioned on-air that she looks like Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I got tweet reply that it was sweet of me to say it. I also played a Christmas song from adaline. There was another compilation Christmas album by The Line of Best Fit. It’s their second year to release Ho! Ho! Ho! Canada, this time it’s Deux. I quickly had to download from the station’s computer and played new Christmas songs by Leif Vollebekk and Basia Bulat.
Here’s the music video to Green Trees Red Heart by Nat Jay.

Lastly, I decided to give a shoutout to another CKCU-FM show as I played them, Christmas In Hollis by Run-DMC.
Without further ado, you can check the playlist at this link. The Wild 10 Countdown for December 8th entry is posted up.

Audio – Radio Show for December 8, 2010
Press play to listen.

Live From Ottawa, It’s Saturday Night! The Acorn Edition – S06E13

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This is a first of sorts to live blogging at a concert venue. Saturday night almost didn’t happen for Ottawa’s The Acorn as there were low advance ticket sales which was in danger of being cancelled for December 4th. So far, there’s a good turnout at Capital Music Hall. It’s good of me to take a spot from the balcony (pictured on top). As live as it gets, it’s close enough for live blogging. The opening acts for The Acorn’s homecoming show were Pat Jordache and Jim Guthrie.
To my own surprise, current CBC Bandwidth host, Adam Saikaley is helping out on the keyboards. Also back with the band is Howie Tsui.
What a great homecoming concert for The Acorn. They have playing some of the tracks from No Ghost and a few from Glory Hope Mountain.
Lots of hilarity coming from Rolf Klausener.
Here are some photos (being posted as live as possible)

The Post Live Concert – Not The Live Blogging Aspect
After missing one of the encore (Blankets), I had to rush over to Florence Garden for the after party. I was not going for the grilled cheese sandwich due to stomach reasons. Stayed at the after party until 3am.
I forgot to mention that earlier on Saturday, I headed to “rival” station, CHUO to check out The Mountains & The Trees for a pre-recording for a particular radio show on Wednesday afternoons. It was great to see Jon Janes. Another nice guy in Canadian independent music.
Overall, it was an awesome Saturday for excellent music. There were so many live events happening on Saturday night. It was great to see the usual people at The Acorn show and the after party.
Apologies for the formatting for this blog entry as I was using the WordPress app on the iPad. There were issues with uploading the images as it crashed several times and it kept duplicating.

The Start of Christmas Season & The Balconies Takeover – S06E12

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The Balconies

What a way to kick off the first of December with a bunch of awesome music and holiday tunes. I will be using tunes from A Charlie Christmas for the next couple of Wednesdays leading to Christmas. I still love The Peanuts and the classic cartoon. The worse part was using the 2006 remaster version. Next week, I should use the pre-2006 version of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
December 1st happened to be World AIDS Day. I started off with the famous Marvin Gaye cover of What’s Going On by the Artists Against AIDS Worldwide. Even though the song came out in 2001, I decided to play it in tribute of the people who’ve lost their lives to AIDS.
I won’t explain much on the Wild 10 Countdown as it will be on the other blog.
The second hour of the show had The Balconies taking over for the first half hour. It was pre-recorded and during the time when they competed for the finals of The Big Money Shot. Even though it had some interview elements, I had the trio request their favourite songs. This is considered the final music interview of 2010.
The final half hour of the show was the start of the Christmas show as I played Christmas tunes by Canadian indie artists & bands as well as the usual Christmas pop tunes. For this set, I included two Christmas songs that are not in English. One was in Japanese (Utada Hikaru) and the other in Mandarin (Mavis Fan). I played a new Utada Hikaru song because she recently released her 2nd Single Collection compilation album. This is considered her last for the time being as she will be going on an indefinite hiatus starting in 2011.
Without further ado, you can check the playlist at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown for December 1st is at this link.

Audio  & Extras –  Radio Show for December 1st and The Balconies Takeover Show (Segment)
Press play to listen

The Balconies Takeover Show
Press play to listen or you can download it.

Since I had mentioned Utada Hikaru, here’s the music video to Goodbye Happiness. The new song from Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2.