...so I was at this little indie festival and heard some great melody open for a band that had been greeted with fervent applause even before they had started. I slowly walked up to the stage, bewitched by the music radiant with a distant longing  - and those words:

My city's still breathing (but barely it's true)
through buildings gone missing like teeth.
The sidewalks are watching me think about you,
sparkled with broken glass.

I looked around and I saw that the whole first row of the crowd -girls and guys, teens and parents- were crying because of the song. Then I heard Samson's words create stories with images of such splendor and beautifully painted truth that, when listened to on the road, make you park the car on the side-strip until it's over. Or, like I did a few minutes later, just cry because of the sheer beauty of it all.

Ever since then, their songs, and especially this one, which tells of the feeling of being lost like no other, have been a part of my life. I've started listening to a whole range of other genres but The Weakerthans manage to bring me to a halt and listen everytime. They have won several acclaimed awards and are, in my humble opinion, most definitely worth getting into.

PS: If you want to try it in context, watch this short film with the same title.

I thought it was the Decemberists

The lead singer of The Weakerthans, John K Sampson, is a very literate guy. He formed a publishing company and he championed 2 novels that one national book contests in Canada.

The slide didn't start yesterday.

And, unfortunately, this particular musical fungus has consumed much of the pop landscape.

RadioDoc wrote:
Because of a record that was released eight years ago?

Yet another reason why CD sales are down.

3

I don't know.. maybe I'm just in a bad mode today...but this singer sounds too much like a muppet... or the love child of weird Al and Kermit.

(deathcab for cutie - passion) + (explosions in the sky * dullness^2) = weakerthans

I don't know.. maybe I'm just in a bad mode today...but this singer sounds too much like a muppet... or the love child of weird Al and Kermit.

My first experience with these guys -- pretty interesting; great lyrics...

It's interesting to see that Wierd Al Yankovic has decided to go serious.

Hint: the city he's making reference to is Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They've actually got another song called "I Hate Winnipeg" as well, which is absolutely fantastic. :)

Interesting word play.
8 out of the chute.