Lakes: July 26, 2011

On Variations on a Theme, we round out our month of themes focusing on the natural beauty of the Kootenay region here in BC. Starting at the top with Mountains, we grew into Forests, spilled down Rivers and now flow into Lakes.

Click here to stream; right click to download as mp3.

Let's start with the biggest freshwater lake in the world.

Jason Collett - "Lake Superior" - Rat a Tat Tat (2010)

Rae Spoon - "Great Lakes" - Superioryouareinferior (2008)

We move from the Great Lakes in the East to some lakes down South in Louisiana.

The Be Good Tanyas - "Lakes of Pontchartrain" - Blue Horse (2001)

Lucinda Williams - "Lake Charles" - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)

Lakes can be the perfect place to let go and feel at ease.

The Grouch and Eligh - "Lake Release" - No More Greener Grasses (2003)

Supersystem - "The Lake" - A Million Microphones (2006)

However, lakes can also be rather ominous places.

Ravenna Woods - "Demons and Lakes" - Demons and Lakes (2010)

Nirvana - "Lake of Fire" - MTV Unplugged in New York (1994)

Let's continue to explore the dark depths of lakes.

Calexico - "Man Made Lake" - Carried to Dust (2008)

The Rosebuds - "Silence by the Lakeside" - Night of the Furies (2007)

Now we circle our way back to some mountain lakes closer to home here in the Kootenays.

McCoy Simonson - "Jasper Lake" - Jasper (2011)

Graham Wright - "The Lakes of Alberta Pt. II" - The Lakes of Alberta (2008)

We end with a beautiful meditation on the calm, reflective power of lakes.

The Innocence Mission - "The Lakes of Canada" - Birds of My Neighborhood (1999)

Rivers: July 19, 2011

We continue our month of themes focusing on the natural features of the Kootenays here in BC. First we did Mountains, the dominant feature of the area, and then we moved on to the Forests covering those mountains. This week, our theme is the Rivers flowing through those forests.

Click here to stream; right click to download as mp3.

Rivers can be a great place to relax and let it all go.

Hooded Fang - "Green River" - Album (2010)

David Byrne and Brian Eno - "The River" - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008)

We move on from the Talking Heads singer to a soul classic likely best known as a Talking Heads tune.

Al Green - "Take Me to the River" - Al Green Explores Your Mind (1974)

Judy Mowatt - "Silent River Runs Deep" - Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae (2009)

Rivers are often used as metaphors for love—and sometimes as a barrier to love.

Lucero - "Across the River" - That Much Further West (2003)

Ocean Colour Scene - "The Riverboat Song" - Moseley Shoals (1996)

We now come to the Neil Young portion of the program with an amazing live performance from 1970.

Neil Young - "Down by the River" - Live at the Fillmore East (2006)

We move from a murder ballad to another tragic tale on the river.

The Deep Dark Woods - "River in the Pines" - Hang Me Oh Hang Me (2007)

PJ Harvey - "The River" - Is This Desire? (1998)

In the end, the one constant with rivers is change.

Destroyer - "Rivers" - Trouble in Dreams (2008)

Forests: July 12, 2011

Continuing with our month of themes focusing on the natural features of the Kootenays here in BC, this week's theme is Forests.

Click here to stream; right click to download as mp3.

One of the reasons people come visit the Kootenays is that they're tired of concrete streets and civilized gardens.

Editors - "I Want a Forest" - In This Light and on This Evening (2009)

The Fiery Furnaces - "Evergreen" - EP (2005)

Let's check out a variety of evergreen tree found in these here forests.

Boats - "Arms As Straight As Cedar Trees" - Intercontinental Champion (2007)

Ha Ha Tonka - "Thoreau in the Woods" - Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South (2009)

The woods are often a place to find and foster love.

Stars - "The Woods" - Heart (2003)

A.A. Bondy - "I Can See the Pines Are Dancing" - When the Devil's Loose (2009)

Old Man Luedecke - "Sad As a Forest" - Proof of Love (2008)

However, forests can also be menacing places.

Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club - "The Forests Are Plotting Their Revenge" - Very Tiny Songs (2008)

Dead Kennedys - "Forest Fire" - Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982)

Hellblinki - "Don't Go Down to the Woods Tonight" - These Bubbles Come from Ants (2010)

Let's continue in a scary direction.

Benjy Ferree - "In the Woods" - Leaving the Nest (2006)

Ohbijou - "The Woods" - Swift Feet for Troubling Times (2006)

Blood Meridian - "In the Forest, Under the Moon" - Kick Up the Dust (2006)

We end with a classic forest song.

The Cure - "A Forest" - Seventeen Seconds (1980)