Feb. 2nd “Snowmageddon?” show rundown

The weather outside may be frightful, but the tunes spun today at CHUO were better than delightful — they were just rad. Proof:

Hooded Fang – Straight Up The Dial
The Lindbergh Line – Juggernaut
Ruby Coast – Whatever This Is
Wildlife – Stand in the Water
The Barettas – Touche
Julie Doiron – No More
Fire and Neon – Everybody’s Going
Church of the Very Bright Lights – Washes Over
Andy Shauf – Your Heart
Foxwarren – Defeated
Braids – Lammicken
Dinosaur Bones – Ice Hotels
Cut Copy – Need You Now [WEEKLY IMPORT]
Gramercy Riffs – Little One

Don’t forget: you can catch some of these acts, like Dinosaur Bones, Julie Doiron and Wildlife this weekend! Check out our local listings page for more info — and get ready to hit up some live shows once this weather settles down. ‘Til next week!

Last show of 2010! Dec. 29th show rundown

Many thanks to the awesome Jon Cohen of The Jon Cohen Experimental for phoning in for a chat on today’s show — we should hopefully get the audio from that soon and post ‘er here. Don’t forget, you can check him out when he comes to Ottawa early in the new year — he’s hitting up the Avant Garde Bar on Thursday, January 6th, only $6 cover. Check out his site for more info. Update: Jon also tells me the first 20 people in the door will also get a free copy of their sophomore album, Behold. Definitely another awesome reason to go check out the show.

But yes, today’s show was also dedicated to some of my own favourite + top tracks of 2010 — but with a twist. My list focuses more on Canadian artists who may have been neglected from other best-of-2010 lists, and also spotlights some fantastic local acts who released some killer full-length albums and EPs this year. You can’t deny it: 2010 has been the best year yet for Ottawa’s music scene.

Here’s what we spun on the show:

Olenka & The Autumn Lovers – Odessa
Meligrove Band – Really Want It
Little City – Lincoln Learning French
Tokyo Police Club – Favourite Colour
The Acorn – Misplaced
Diamond Rings – Something Else
The Jon Cohen Experimental – Hold the Fire
Broken Social Scene – All to All
Great Bloomers – Small Town Love
The Love Machine – Love is On Your Side
Old Crowns – Shaky Hands
Sound of Lions – Passive Attack
Gramercy Riffs – Dreaming

And man. Here’s my “had I more time, I would have also played” list:
Land of Talk – Quarry Hymns
Loon Choir – New Forewarnings
Basia Bulat – Heart of My Own
Promise Land – Hooded Fang
Rah Rah – Breaking Hearts
Kathryn Calder – If You Only Knew

Alas. An hour can be so restrictive.

And while I didn’t get a chance to mention it on-air, we’ll be extending the EP giveaway! Still the same set-up: tell me what your favourite Canadian album of 2010 is and you could win a copy of The Details’ The Original Mark EP. Comment below or shoot me an email at emma [at] nowplayingradio.com.

‘Til… the new year!

“Oh sh*t, we’ve put all this attention on clothes now”: Clothes Make the Man interview + August 18th show recap

FIRST OFF: go check out the updated listings page. Way exciting to see that so many awesome acts are making their way through Ottawa this October.

SECONDLY: here’s what we spun on the show yesterday:

Kathryn Calder – If You Only Knew
Giant Hand – Books
Balacade – Plate Glass Effect
Gramercy Riffs – Ambulance
These Estates – We Got Snakes
Clothes Make the Man – It’s Getting Easier
The Caraways – Fever
Bravestation – White Wolves
We Are Trees – Sunrise Sunset
Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

AND THIRDLY: We also got the chance to chat with Ryan Mclennan from Toronto’s Clothes Make the Man (but hey, some of their members are originally from Ottawa — further proving how awesome this city is). They’ll be hitting up Mavericks next Monday night, August 23rd, with Titus Andronicus (only thirteen bucks, doors are 8pm).

Ryan and I chatted about making it in Toronto, making it on Degrassi (oh yes, the TV show), and whether or not clothes really do make the man:

FOURTH-LY: This afternoon, I’ll be sitting down with Vancouver two-piece Miaou Miaou who are playing at the Elmdale Tavern tonight. You should check them out — and stay tuned for next week, when we bring you another lovely interview and many more fantastic tracks.

‘Til then, folks.

“Proof that amazing music can come from the prairies.” August 4th show recap

I’m pretty sure this may be the most excited I’ve been for a show — at least as far as playlists go. The pure gold we spun this week (thanks, in part, to figuring out how to connect my laptop to the console and an amazing selection of albums in the CHUO new release library):

Hot Hot Heat – Goddess on the Prairie
hotshotcasino – This City
Gramercy Riffs – Silent Walls and Siren Calls
Polymaths – Home Again
Florence and the Machine – You’ve Got the Love (The XX remix)
Crush Buildings – Blueteeth
Apollo Ghosts – Land of the Morning Calm
Best Coast – Boyfriend
Bent By Elephants – Can’t Have You
Royal Canoe – Fabulous Mess
Wolf Parade – Two Men in Tuxedos

And yessir, we added a new feature this week, too: the Mix/Mash of the Month. Every month, we’ll spin a great remix or mashup of an already fantastic song — definite ear candy. This week’s was The XX remix of the Florence and the Machine cover of You’ve Got the Love. Weekly Import this time around was LA’s Best Coast.

I’ll also be posting today’s interview with Pascal and Julien from Ottawa’s own hotshotcasino shortly — in the meantime, go support these guys and snag their new single, “This City,” released today.