[Update Nov 12: Now the video has been pulled from StreetCarnage.com. This is all that is left (above).]

Our good friend Pinky of TV Carnage directed the video for Crystal Castles‘ latest hit Vanished. Well it seems the video for Vanished is about to vanish along with apparently a ton of other Crystal Castles “official” music videos.

The only word I’ve heard as to why the video is being pulled is that it has something to do with a “long shitty story…all their management [are] suing each other.”

As much as I want to name drop here and talk about who said what, it’s a rumor so I’m not about to attach credibility to the post by putting official names. But the point remains that the video for Vanished has been forcibly pulled from TransCanadaRadio, and will soon be pulled from the director’s site StreetCarnage.com. Crystal Castles should really let the video continue because Pinky is incredibly talented and with a bigger budget, time and resources, could pull something epic together.

Feel free to comment your support for Pinky’s video and we’ll hopefully send a message to the band and get the video back up. Thanks for the link love Pitchfork!

We at TransCanada Radio would love to hear from you!

Email me with a link to some of your work, I’ll be sure to check it out.

bambi(at)transcanadaradio.com

As you might remember, The New Indie’s putting out podcasts presented by the Canadian Independent Recording Artists’ Association themed in the same vein as the NXNE festival — with the purpose of showcasing all aspects of the Canadian music industry both behind the scenes and front stage.

Taken from The New Indie website:

“The New Indie – Making a living making music” is a collection of interviews with members of the music industry touching on every aspect of the new realities facing Canada’s independent recording artits. The music industry landscape is evolving very rapidly as a result of the internet revolution and other factors. The old star system is burning out, but simultaneously, there is a DIY system emerging for new artists, one we call The New Indie. Today’s artists must be in tune with these changes if Canada is to produce a healthy music industry for the next generation.

The following podcast episode, presented by the Canadian Independent Recording Artists’ Association, is of The New Indie, Volume 2 – “Labels”:

The New Indie vol. 2 – Labels, part 1
The New Indie vol. 2 – Labels, part 2
The New Indie vol. 2 – Labels, part 3

Miss volume one? You can still grab it here!

As a wrap up to this NXNE-rich week on TransCanadaRadio, we’ve compiled the very best of the great music we saw and heard over the course of the week.

Here are the top 6 bands that all of us at TCR agree were the very best of the best, in no particular order:

David Martel

I went in to see David play with my mind as a nearly blank slate, only having listened to a very short clip of his stuff via his Myspace. But armed with the praise of my friends, I checked him out at Sunrise Records on Thursday, the first day of NXNE and I can honestly say that this guy blew my mind.
Here’s a video of David performing one of my new favourite songs “Stay In” at Café Lola Rosa:

The Wet Secrets

One would think that marching band costumes combined with B52-esque vocals would be far too over the top, but these guys really pull it off. I was absolutely enthralled by their funky beats and brass solos not to mention the cool majorette costumes — very slick. This Edmonton based band really pumped up the crowd and got everyone dancing by playing original songs like “Secret March” and the hilarious “I Teabagged Myself (With Two Really Fucking Heavy Cans Of Paint)” — got a lot of laughing and chant-a-long from the audience.
Here’s a video they put together of “Get Your Own Apartment”:

Rebekah Higgs

The Halifax-bred musician plays within the borders of folk-tinged yet she isn’t afraid to infuse her work with experimentation, incorporating vocal loops and electronic flourishes like her musical inspirations Bjork and Radiohead. She has a wonderful voice and a big guitar. You are doing yourself a disservice by not checking out her cd.
Here’s the official video for Rebekah Higgs ‘Parables’:

Spiral Beach

As Doug said: “Pretty much from the moment they took the stage, they had a packed and sweaty crowd screaming and jumping until they could nary jump and scream any more. I particularly enjoyed the pylons, the speech bubble, and the ET finger-touching moment with the crowd. Check these guys out before they become so big you can’t get as close to the stage as we were last night (check the Flickr feed for evidence).”
Here’s the very, very cool official video for “Made of Stone”:

The Hoa Hoa’s

These Toronto natives certainly represented for the hometown crowd. There music is a combination of groove and evil: you just want to dance and/or punch someone in the face. Their guitarist was great — loud, crunchy, articulate playing — and their bassist set her amp on fire. Major points for the predominance of hollow-bodied guitars.
Here’s the official video for “New Love Too”:

Julie Doiron

What can I say about Julie? She’s my favourite and she didn’t disappoint. She played for a packed-solid club and had the audience singing along to nearly every song. On top of that she was a delightful entertainer: watching her, you knew that she was giving her all and that scores huge with me.
Here’s the official video for “No More”:

While I was in Toronto for NXNE, I got the chance to sit down with Toronto’s singer/songwriter Mia Sheard to talk about NXNE as well as what opportunities there are for Canadian musicians. We also touch on what Canada and the world expect from musicians.

Mia Sheard, as you may recall, is a talent to be reckoned with! If you don’t quite remember the profile of Mia Sheard that was featured on TransCanadaRadio, go ahead back and check it out.  Then be sure to come back and check out the exclusive interview!

Interview With Mia Sheard, Part One

Interview With Mia Sheard, Part Two

While at NXNE, I managed to steal away some time from Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sonicbids, Panos Panay, for an interview.

Sonicbids is a web site that helps bands get gigs, and promoters book the right bands. Their community includes over 150,000 bands, singers, songwriters, and performers of all kinds, and 14,000-plus music buyers of all kinds, including promoters, licensors, festival programmers, and much more. Bands go there for gigs; promoters go there for bands. They have lots of both!

Panos’s childhood dream of being alternatively the next George Best or the next George Benson came to an end when each canceled the other out. The idea for Sonicbids came to him while reading the book “Blur” and decided to go for it in September of 2000. Before that, he worked on the “dark side” of the business as an international talent agent. Panos hails from Cyprus and is a self-described “voracious” reader, usually traveling with more magazines than clothes (that’s a LOT). He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1994 with a degree in Music Business. In 2005 Panos was named as one of Fast Company Magazine’s “Fast 50″ entrepreneurs and is currently serving as co-chairman of CREATE Boston, an initiative launched by the Mayor of Boston to bolster the creative economy in the city. He is a diehard supporter of English football club Arsenal and by last count he owns over 25 jerseys of “The Gunners” dating back to 1983. He loves his coffee extra strong and blames Elvis for his lifelong fascination with America.

Check out part one of my interview with Sonicbids‘ Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Panos Panay, where we talk about what Sonicbids does and why artists should be all over it like glue.

What Is Sonicbids? An Interview With Panos Panay

On Friday I sat in and participated in a very cool conference entitled “Ain’t Nobody Dope as Me: The DJ on Display with Jay Devonish as moderator and panellists Nasty Nav from NastyMix/Play De Record, Egon from Stones Throw, Lil’ Jaz who is an artist who also tours with Nelly Furtado, P-Plus, and DJ Grouch.
The topic of the panel was what successful DJs do to stake out their turf as trendsetters and tastemakers. They also swapped ideas about how new technology – computers, digital software, mp3s, podcasts and of course blogs – are changing the DJ culture and where things will go from here.

For your listening pleasure, I’ve brought the panel to you through the magic of the internet and a digital audio recorder. Enjoy!

dj-culture-panel2-01

dj-culture-panel2-02