You can download the song for free right here:
Feisty Stevens: The Zombies Are Inside Out!! (mash-up by Kevan Gilbert)

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Hi friends,

I’ve been hard at work at my secret laboratory, trying to mix beats and rhythms together to create something magical, and I think I’ve finally come up with something worth sharing.

Everybody knows Feist by now: Recently featured in an iPod commercial with her video for “1, 2, 3, 4,” she had previously captured people’s attention with her debut album, “Let It Die.” On that album, she did a cover of a Bee Gee’s song called “Inside Out.” It was a sparse and danceable interpretation — like a quiet disco in an empty chapel, maybe. Okay, now that you’ve conjured up the track, hold that sweet thought.

You might also remember weeping (in the van, with your friends) over Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” album. One track from that collection was called “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbours!! They Have Come Back From the Dead! Ahhhh!,” which was also a very groovy song.

Anyway, long story short, I INTRODUCED THEM TO EACH OTHER. Turns out, they loved each other from the start. They only required very minimal adjustments to tempo and pitch before they started rocking, and with a few very careful weeks of tweaking and arranging, they finally produced a likeable, danceable offspring. The result is my most precious mash-up ever.

I present to you: Feisty Stevens – The Zombies Are Inside Out!!

Please share this with your friends, and if you happen to be the friend of a friend of a girl who sings in the choir for Sufjan or plays in the band for Feist, feel free to pass this along, especially since Sufjan says his music isn’t suited to remixes.

This collaborative page aims to become a comprehensive listing of release dates or Western Canadian tour stops of notable indie-ish artists. It’s where to refer to when you want to find out when a certain artist will be releasing an album, or to see if an artist you like is coming to the Vancouver or Calgary areas. This list is driven by user submissions — you can help it grow by submitting your own hot news tips! The bottom of this page will help answer any other questions you have.

Each listing starts with the release date, linked to the primary source of information. The pertinent details, like the band name, producer or the venue, are listed after that. Date format is YYYY.MM.DD.

Music News

• 2007 - Late: New Counting Crows album. Produced by Gil Norton.
• 2007 - Unknown: New Radiohead album (speculative)
• 2007.05.01: New album from Feist, called “The Reminder.”
• 2007.05.17: Feist in Vancouver @ The Orpheum Theatre, 9 pm, $27.50.
• 2007.05.19: Feist in Calgary @ SAIT’s Jubilee Auditorium, 7:30 pm, $25.50

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Why just Western Canada?
That’s where we live, and it’s a big deal when signed artists make it out to our neck of the woods. The furthest north they usually make it on tours is The Gorge in Washington State.

What’s the submission criteria?
Well, admittedly, the list is pretty subjective: I post about music that I like. Luckily for you, if you’re visiting this site, we probably share similiar tastes in music. If you need more clues, visit my Last.fm page for the stats on the top artists I listen to.

How do I submit my own tips?
Just send them my way using this contact form, and I’ll add them to the list as soon as possible. Make sure you include a link to the place you discovered the info, and a few words (about 10) about your news.

Here’s a challenge for some gifted and ambitious programmers looking to make positive contributions to the world of WordPress. I’ve had three ideas lately that I think would be really useful for WordPress users.

AdSense Auto-Extender for Sidebar

Web-Wide Comment Tracker

Wordpress Info-Wiki

(more…)

Mixes in the Making: Series Intro

I’m always picking up on musical or lyrical themes that cross over between songs by different artists. I’ll often think of three or four songs that would work especially well together when played in sequence, helping the listeners pick up on ideas in the music they’ve never heard before. But more often than not, after I put the first four songs together, I can’t think of any more songs to include. The mix never gets made, and my ideas perish in the abandoned archive of never-played iTunes playlists. (more…)

On March 17, 2006, I proposed to my girlfriend via an elaborate multi-step proposal event that involved a rented Toyota Yaris as a key player. During the post-engagement, pre-wedding planning, I wondered idly if I could bargain with Toyota to score my bride and I some corporate wedding sponsorship dollars in exchange for some free, voluntary advertising. With the help of my journalism prof, author Loranne Brown, I set about writing a new kind of proposal to Toyota Canada Inc…

(more…)

or, Stickin’ it to the man with the Starbucks Duetto Visa

To make this trick work for you, you’ll need to be…
[ ] A Royal Bank of Canada account holder (or willing to become one)
[ ] A Starbucks drinker (a weekly one, not a daily one)
[ ] Interested in saving money
[ ] Keen on stickin’ it to the man (more…)

This afternoon, I created a new song, out of two pre-existing songs. The first one is “I’m Still Here” by Tom Waits, and the second is “Your Wish is My Wish” by Sarah Slean. I guess it’s probably better in concept than it is in execution, but here you go. It’s still a very pretty duet. Please listen:

Tom & Sarah: “I’m Still Wishing” (mash-up by Kevan Gilbert)