Heartbreak Scene

"Unpolished versions of polished versions of weird, beautiful, unpolished songs."

Marcy Emery (The Choir Practice, Capozzi Park) and Mark Szabo (the Good Horsey, Capozzi Park) phone it in from Vancouver, BC.

Szabo, an unsung legend in Vancouver from the early days of hometaping, counts among his admirers John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, Dan Bejar of Destroyer and the New Pornographers, and Franklin Bruno, who wrote the liner notes of the The Szabo Songbook.

For that album, recorded under the name Heartbreak Scene, Marcy Emery assembled a crack team of Canadian luminaries to bring Mark's songs to light for the masses, including Bejar, John Collins (Tegan & Sarah producer, and producer/member of the New Pornos), Mike Ledwidge (Zumpano), Pete Bourne (who's played with Neko Case and AC Newman), and Mark Kleiner (The Sister Lovers, Jungle).

So for this session is Marcy accompanying Mark on his songs? Or is Mark accompanying Marcy on her covers of his songs? Ultimately it doesn't matter; the results hearken back to the glory days of early 90s cassette culture. So stop reading and listen already!

The Szabo Songbook is available now at Fayettnam Records.

Mp3 starts about eight minutes in.

Songs:

DWF / Ugly People / Stephen / Since the Arrest / I Belong to Everyone

June Madrona

11/8/07

Ross Cowman, Micah Ellison, and Danielle Chiero phone it in from the Cake Shop in Manhattan, NY, before playing a show with last week's guest, Miwa Gemini.

June Madrona (actually from Olympia, WA, not Portland, OR, as I mistakenly claim)songs explore themes of family and place, and at least two of these songs mention football.

Sez' Ross, who also runs the awesome Bicycle Records:

"June Madrona is the name of a musical project based on songs I’ve written with topics ranging from mental illness, gender standards, and male privilege, to the celebration of relationships and place. I feel that bringing these stories into a public space promotes healing and overcomes the isolation and silence on which oppression depends."

The flute and melodica almost give this session the feel of some kind of beautiful island field recording.

Songs:

The Football Dream / Grandpaw Frank / California Highways / Long Distance

Miwa Gemini

Miwa Gemini phones it in from her kitchen in NYC, NY.

Equal parts dirty rockabilly, broken blues, and strange, winsome folk, the phone seems to be the perfect medium for her songs, which don't sound tied to any time or place.

Sez' she:

"Miwa is a daughter of a fisherman who grew up in a tiny island off of mainland Japan, which by the way, is already a tiny island itself. The ocean and the moon taught her how to sing and play the guitar. Hence, her voice resembles the wind and her melody is kaleidoscopic. Her rather magical presence has been compared to everybody from Patsy Cline to Janis Joplin to Bjork. Miwa knows jolly well who she is and that's why her music is indisputably her own."

Songs:

Forgetful Ocean / Room of You / Charlie Chaplin Broke My Heart / Forever for Never / Stuck Between Seasons / Pieces