No Sleep Til Sudbury With Brent Jensen

In this final No Sleep 'til Sudbury episode of 2021, I decided to share some of my favourites from the Christmas playlists heard in the Jensen house throughout the holiday season. You may be surprised at some of these selections, particularly the very first Christmas album that plays every year as the tree goes up on the last Friday evening in November. Some surprises and a few facts behind the songs - like why "Peace On Earth" had to be written on the spot for David Bowie's duet with Bing Crosby, the Christmas song that's actually a protest song, and who was originally supposed the sing the female part of "Fairytale in New York".  To all my listeners and friends - the happiest of holidays to each and every one of you, near and far. Merry Christmas!  The playlist can be accessed in Spotify here.  

This week marks the return of super awesome singer songwriter Christina Martin to the show. Christina's new single is called "Stay With Me", now available wherever you get your music. Always a great chat with Miss Martin - this time around we cover the making of her new video for the single, the focus she's placing on making her music more accessible to her fans with disabilities, how she accidentally met Patty Griffin, the lost art of being a pen pal, and how we're going to get rich together.          Martin's playlist:  Patti Griffin – When It Don’t Come Easy Tori Amos – Baker Baker Tina Turner – Simply The Best Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You  Seela - Hard Times Hit

Canadian 80s New Wave legends Martha Johnson and Mark Gane of Martha & The Muffins join me on No Sleep 'til Sudbury this week to chat about their new record, called Marthology: In and Outtakes.   Martha and Mark are wonderful people with great stories. Topics discussed include The Wizard of Oz, seeing The Beatles live, how limitations create style, the time Chris Isaak wrote a song in a closet during a party, and the fascinating reason the chorus of "Echo Beach" is heard only at the end of the song.      Martha’s playlist: Laura Mvula – Green Garden Bob Marley – Waiting in Vain The Beach Boys – God Only Knows Judy Garland – Over the Rainbow The Beatles – Eight Days A Week   Mark’s playlist: The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Child (Slight Return) Steve Reich – Music For 18 Musicians Jo Stafford – The Nearness of You King Crimson – 21st Century Schizoid Man

My guest on NSTS this week is Evan Denley, an up-and-coming Canadian folk rock singer-songwriter who's been described as Bob Dylan meeting Dallas Green at a Neil Young show. Evan's second release of 2021, "Coming Undone", was written in response to a culmination of two things - the breakup of his former band The Yonge Collective, and the threat of the oncoming pandemic. His new video for "Building Walls" is also available on YouTube.  Denley's playlist: Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real - Entirely Different Stars Boygenius - Salt in the Wound John Mayer - Gravity Hozier - Foreigner's God Father John Misty - Please Don't Die      

My pal Rik Emmett returns to NSTS this week for part two of our chat about his new poetry book Reinvention, and we cover a lot of ground indeed.    As he did in part one, Rik shares some fascinating glimpses into his personal history via the new book, and this episode runs the gamut - dealing with the death of loved ones and with our own mortality, some lighter moments including a hilarious story featuring Coney Hatch's Andy Curran, and even a live musical performance from the man himself. Go out and grab Rik's new book of poetry Reinvention, you won't be disappointed.  

He's back! Triumph frontman Rik Emmett, and now Rik Emmett poet, takes over the No Sleep 'til Sudbury podcast for the next two weeks to talk about his new book of poetry, called Reinvention.  This isn't a rock star vanity project. It's a personal, emotional glimpse into Rik's life history and a look at the world from his perspective, written with tremendous candor. As always, Rik and I have some fun discussing the work - he plays and sings, and forces me to read one of my favourite passages aloud (I should have done multiple takes).         

Back by popular demand! The great Barney Bentall returns to NSTS this week to talk about his new instrumental record called RanchWriters, a collaboration with his Spirit of the West pal Geoffrey Kelly.  There are hints of Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake on the new record, and Barney and I discuss how the project came together, the details of how it was recorded on his ranch, and how it's a tribute to the memory to Spirit of the West's John Mann. Barney's skin vibrating songs are, of course, also included.   

Last week we looked at Guns N' Roses singer W. Axl Rose from a factual, historical viewpoint of his life and career. This week we go beyond that, and take a closer look at Rose from a more personal perspective. Not just as a musician, but as an influential pop culture icon.  In other words, last week we talked what the music sounds like. This week, we talk about how it feels.         

NSTS is back this week with part one of a two part series featuring Guns N' Roses frontman W. Axl Rose, one of the intriguing, beguiling, and mysterious figures in rock and roll history. In part one we examine the rise of Rose - how a delinquent kid from Lafayette, Indiana would lead a band of rock and roll street urchins on to absolute global domination, and all of the insanity that took place along the way.           

A few weeks back we lost one of the greats - ZZ Top bassist and singer Dusty Hill.  This week on NSTS we pay tribute to Hill by looking back on his life, including his cello-playing high school days, how he came to be the bass player in ZZ Top, the time he accidentally shot himself in the abdomen, and the events leading up to his death.     

Ten years ago we lost Amy Winehouse, a shepherd of the pop culture past whom Bob Dylan called "the last real individualist".    This week NSTS examines the highs and lows of Winehouse's tragic life - her love for the girl groups of the 60s, her rise to fame, the struggles she endured with substance abuse, and her very sad and untimely end. 

Creem magazine writer Jeffrey Morgan returns to the show this week to unveil his very unusual NSTS skin vibration playlist. When I express my lack of understanding in his choices, Jeffrey uses the movie "The Man Who Fell To Earth" to explain. And it does make sense.  Jeffrey and I also discuss his Van Halen Diver Down record review for Creem, with began with a warning that it was "an exceptionally vicious kick in the teeth to Van Halen fans everywhere". The band was not at all pleased about the scathing review, and Jeffrey contends that as a result, Van Halen recorded a much better follow-up with 1984. Can he prove it? Listen and find out.      Morgan's playlist: Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music A1 Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music A2 Neil Young - Arc Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music A3 Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music A4

Remember Creem magazine? Remember Lester Bangs? This week's NSTS guest, author and rock critic Jeffrey Morgan, worked for both of them. His new book, Rock Critic Confidential, opens with the original handwritten letter Morgan received from Lester Bangs, on Creem letterhead, inviting him to write album reviews for the magazine in 1974.  Rock Critic Confidential is a fantastic read done in the style of a magazine, and includes all of the greatest moments of Morgan's writing and photography career. In Part One of my discussion with him, we talk book highlights - Morgan's chat with KISS from 1974 when they played a Toronto strip club, the time he administered a Rorschach inkblot test to Gary Numan, his three-hour lunch with Lou Reed, and chats with Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Stan Lee,  and more.    

Dark and mysterious Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards vanished on February 1, 1995, and was never heard from again.   Was it a suicide, or was it staged to look like one? This week NSTS examines the life of the intellectual poet, the events leading up to his disappearance, and the clues left behind that led some to believe Edwards is still alive.  

It's my privilege this week to be joined once again by Canadian great Murray McLauchlan, who returns to the show to discuss his new record Hourglass, available everywhere July 9.  Murray always has some great stories for me, and he brings in another handful of songs that mean something to him. We chat about Sinatra, Tom Thomson, Ray Charles, the healing power of music, and what it really means when people crave fame.  McLauchlan's playlist (on Spotify): Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman Frank Sinatra - I've Got You Under My Skin Ray Charles - Come Rain or Come Shine  Blossom Dearie - Now At Last  

This week on NSTS we look at the life and death of one of rock's most polarizing icons, singer Scott Weiland.  Weiland has always been an intriguing figure, with a voice like Bowie crossed with Lennon, a wild and chaotic stage persona, and a decidedly perplexing personality. This episode examines that personality in depth through Weiland's own eyes, and also from the perspectives of those closest to him amidst the madness.      

Alex Huard is the host of a great series called Release Day, a program that promotes new album releases by independent artists that don't have the marketing reach of a major label.  Alex and I have been talking about collaborating on something new for a while now, and we finally landed on something that came together very organically as a result of him listening to No Sleep 'til Sudbury. This new project, called Thursday Night Record Club, is going to be a lot of fun. We discuss the details of TNRC this week, along with Alex's skin vibrating songs. Check it out!  Huard's playlist (on Spotify):      Tom Petty - Learning to Fly Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash - Girl From The North Country Olafur Arnalds - 3055 James Taylor - Fire & Rain Classified - All About You  

My old pal Zero from The Kings makes his return to the show this week to talk about what's going with the band lately - new videos, new records, and a few pretty prestigious awards received for their classic single "This Beat Goes On/Switchin' To Glide".  Z wanted to do something a little different for his skin vibration segment, and he did. These are the songs he listens to in the wee hours when he's not rocking out - opera!  Z's playlist (in Spotify): Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli - The Prayer Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli - Time To Say Goodbye  Pavarotti, Carrerras, and Domingo - Nessun Dorma         

This is an absolutely fascinating story. A song appeared on the internet in 2007, with no information surrounding its name, the artist responsible for the song, or when and where it was recorded. To this day, despite the search for this information going viral, the mystery remains unsolved.   This week on NSTS we dig into this phenomenon, and consider the notion of something being unknowable in such an information-rich age.   

We could all use a little more 'happy', couldn't we? And this week, an infusion of musical happiness comes compliments of Chris Stamper.  Chris and I met through working together with The Awesome Music Project, an organization that promotes music's influence in improved mental health. He recently wrote an article outlining how music contributes to maintaining a positive mental attitude, which included five of his 'happy' songs. So of course, it was a no-brainer to invite him to talk about them on NSTS.    Stamper's playlist (full playlist on Spotify): The Rolling Stones - Start Me Up The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed Bill Withers - Lovely Day The Beatles - Eight Days A Week Katrina & The Waves - Walking On Sunshine