Torquill Cambell and the Collective High School Freakout

I kinda realize that I'm perpetuating the problem but I have to ask: Why does anyone case what Torquill Cambell thinks of Ben Folds or what Ben Folds thinks of Charles Spearin for that matter?

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll explain. Apparently when he was on the CBC program Q recently Ben Folds said something negative about Charles Spearin. Then, yesterday, someone posted a note to the Stars Myspace slamming Ben Folds for slamming Charles Spearin. Then Torquill Campbell posted again to the Stars myspace saying that he didn't know who did it but it wasn't anyone in the band, he deleted the note and said he was changing their password. This was followed by giddy speculation: did he really write it or didn't he?

Feel like high school yet? Well so far the whole thing has been posted to (amoung other places) CBC Radio 3, Exclaim!, Pitchfork, and at least a half dozen other places. I'm not providing links because I don't want to encourage them. Like I said I realize that by talking about it I'm perpetuating the problem to an extent but I have to ask, who cares?

As far as I know Campbell and Folds don't even know each other, neither do Folds and Spearin, why does anyone care whether they like each other or not? In what way does it affect you? Is it going to alter your life? Your day? Your opinion on anyone mentioned above? If someone I don't know doesn't like the music of someone else I don't know it has zero impact on me. It's not news. It's Brittany Spears type high school gossip.

I suppose if Torquill Campbell didn't like Amy Millan I'd care, because it would probably affect the future of a band I like but if Torquill Campbell and Ben Folds spend the next six months spewing hate at each other then make up, decide they like each other and get married it still doesn't really change my outlook or my opinion of either of them. If you come across any of the articles on this whole thing please leave comments and let the authors know that they are wasting column space.

You Will Land With A Thud

The title of this post is only vaguely related to the subject matter but bear with me. I have been one of CBC Radio 3's most vocal advocates when they've - done - things - right and I haven't shied away when they've done things - wrong, sadly this is about one of the latter.

Today Radio 3 launched a new program in cooperation with Exclaim and aux.tv called X3:

"As you probably know, emerging Canadian artists face an uphill battle trying to get exposure in a media saturated world. Along with a multitude of other media in this county, we here at the R3 try our best to promote our home-grown talent, but even still, it’s hard to punch through all the noise.

That’s why CBC Radio 3 is partnering with Exclaim! and AUX.tv to create the X3 Artist of the Month, a joint initiative to give emerging artists the exposure they need to propel them to the next level in their careers."

Which sounds like a fine idea but to kick things off, they've chosen K'naan. Ok I get that he's an interesting story, coming as he does out of Somalia but I don't know how much of a boost he needs. He is already signed to a major US label, has won a Juno Award and been nominated for a Polaris Music Prize, worked with artists such as Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, the Roots and Damian Marley, has been written about in Spin, the Guardian, Daily Telegraph and the independent as well as just about every free weekly.

So it's a bit like saying to an "indie" audience that your first featured performer would be Nickelback (I know K'naan is hip-hop but I'm making a point, not talking about genre.) In the comments section of the blog John Paolozzi (of Radio 3) points out that it's not solely Radio 3's decision that there has to be agreement between R3, Exclaim and Aux.tv. That could very well be the root of the problem, there may be too many cooks to make the idea work. Also in the comments section Grant Lawrence pipes in with

"The point of this feature is really to celebrate an artist that we really like that has an exciting album coming out... and K'Naan fits all of those descriptions... next month it might be an artist no one has ever heard of, or it might be Feist!

It's really just an artist that we're amped about and we can all agree on, and that is definitely K'Naan! He'll be live on CBC Radio 3 on Monday!"

Somehow that makes me feel no better about the present or future of X-3. The rest of the comments on the post are pretty universally negative - which is where the title comes from. On Grant Lawrence's show today the topic was 'What Canadian album would make a good musical?' and the thought popped into my head that if they did a musical about the X-3 launch they could use the Tom Fun Orchestra's 'You Will Land With a Thud'.

Oh No Forest Fires in Exclaim

Toronto's Oh No Forest Fires would like to point out that they got a really excellent review in Exclaim!.

"Canada continues to dish out quality pop rock acts frosted with idiosyncrasies bred in the touch of winter seclusion. The War On Geometry is an apt title for this hefty EP rife with bullet blasts of well-calculated math rock peppering the precious Can pop chameleon prince body that nobly leads the way through most of the disc's seven tracks. It's like snipers of weirdness lay waiting inside the psyches of the scruffy members of ONFF, who, to outward appearances, are accomplished, polished, even stately composers of epic, almost saccharine pop gems. These defenders of the strange sometimes barely fix their sights on a song, but when those trigger fingers get itchy, the bullets do fly and that princely construct of a band that'd fit in opening for the Arcade Fire or R.E.M. are riddled with holes, staggering and twitching under an angular post-punk assault that refuses to allow the songs of ONFF to maintain traditionally comfortable shapes or structures, leaving the chameleon prince bleeding out its internal oddities. War on, good sirs. (Independent)"

I caught these guys at Rolly's Garage last Saturday and Exclaim! is right, they were pretty awesome and had an incredible amount of onstage energy - though that may have something to do with Rolly's Garage not being heated and a desire to stay warm.

Oh No Forest Fires - It's Not Fun and Games Unless Someone Loses and Eyes