Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate

The Stars cover The Smiths: This Charming ManOne of my favourite Canadian bands, The Stars, made my morning a week or so ago. I was listening to CBC Radio 2 enroute to the office when I noticed a familiarity: It was The Smiths. And I was glad. Very glad.

Susan Boyle Is Going To Drag'em Away

Susan Boyle's first single will be an amazing cover of Rolling Stones "Wild Horses". Although I love the Sundays' rendition of the song, Boyle's take on it throws the tune far beyond the imagination. I can see this bushy-eyebrowed gal has showed them all that exterior beauty isn't any indication of talent. Her album entitled, of course, "I Dreamed a Dream", and will set new records in the stratosphere. It's release isn't due until November and will be offered on Amazon.

Richard Hawley

Yesterday morning sitting in Starbucks on Robson awaiting Lianne's arrival so we could attend the Geist writers workshop, THIS song came on. An acoustic remake of Canadian legend, Gordon Lightfoot's Early Morning Rain. I casually inquired what CD was playing and found the hard copy at the front counter. It was a Starbucks' compilation entitled "Sweetheart". It was also 24 quid - I wasn't in the mood to pay that, but I made my mental note about tracking it down once I was at home. The song that captured my attention is an oldie - the guy that re-recorded it isn't. Richard Hawley is a Brit - a Northerner, who was born in January 1967. From his vintage voice one would think he was recording in 1967 and that he's 40 at that time.

Richard Hawley is way cool. Proof? Here is his cover of "Born Under A Bad Sign" - a song made famous by a chap named Albert King but could just as easily been sung by Nancy Sinatra. This video is fantastic and so is our retro Richard Hawley.



The Starbucks "Sweetheart" Compilation was released January 30th. Here is it's line up of mellowed out covers. Jem's cover of Coldplay's Yellow is actually really well done.

01. Death Cab For Cutie - "Love Song" (Cure cover)
02. Katy Perry - "Black And Gold" (Sam Sparro cover)
03. DeVotchKa - "Hot Burrito #1 (I'm Your Toy)" (Flying Burrito Brothers cover)
04. Department Of Eagles - "Love Me" (Elvis Presley cover)
05. Jessica Lea Mayfield - "Words Of Love" (Buddy Holly cover)
06. Ben Bridwell - "Your Love Is Forever" (George Harrison cover)
07. Kate Tucker - "I'm On Fire" (Bruce Springsteen cover)
08. Rogue Wave - "Maps" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)
09. A.C. Newman - "Take On Me" (a-ha cover)
10. Jem - "Yellow" (Coldplay cover)
11. Richard Hawley - "Early Morning Rain" (Gordon Lightfoot cover)
12. Daniel Martin Moore - "I Hear Music" (Billie Holiday cover)
13. She & Him - "I Put A Spell On You" (Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover)
14. Lila Downs - "My One And Only Love" (Frank Sinatra cover)