Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - FOTM KOTJ, Vol. 12: Toronto Mike'd #638

Episode Date: May 5, 2020

10 FOTMs kick out the jams in volume 12 of this critically acclaimed series.

Welcome to episode 638 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. amazing beer. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Garbage Day. Weekly reminders for garbage, recycling, and yard waste pickup. Visit GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike to sign up now.

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I'm Mike from torontomike.com. And this is volume 12 of FOTM KOTJ. There's a lot of big stars in this one, and I promise you I don't play favorites. I'm as excited to hear a jam from a listener I've never heard of before than Neil Morrison, a.k.a. Brother Bill.

So if you're hearing my voice, you're invited to submit a jam for a future volume. Record yourself talking about a song you love for 30 to 60 seconds and email that file, that audio file to mike at torontomike.com. Please do it. I can't release new volumes until I get 10 submissions. So you're doing me a favor and it costs you nothing but a little bit of blood, sweat, and maybe a few tears. So without further ado, let's kick out these jams. I got out of bed today Swear to God couldn't see my face

I got out of bed today Staring at a ghost Who forgot to float away Didn't have all that much to say Wouldn't even tell me his own name And where'd my body go? Well, where'd my body go? Africa, Mexico

Well, where'd my body go? And where'd my body go? Oh, have you seen my ghost? Seen my ghost, seen my ghost Hello there, Toronto Mike. Oh, have you seen my ghost Into those goddamn clouds Hello there, Toronto Mike. My song that I like a lot is called Waity Ghost by Wintersleep. I like to support Canadian artists and this is one of my favorite songs.

Every time I hear it, I have to listen to it all the way through. It's the same thing over and over again. It's musically, but it's, I don't even know what it's about. It's about where your position in the world is, what matters about it. And I just like to, I like the quality of his voice and the sound of the kind of plodding, grinding sound of the harmonium in the background. It's one of my favorite songs. Oh, have you seen my ghost?

Seen my ghost, seen my ghost. Oh, have you seen my ghost standing on the ground? I just love it. And I just like the idea of a ghost having weight. And that song is it for me. Na na na na na na na Na na na na na na Sing my ghost, sing my ghost Na na na na na na na I'm getting out the ground

Na na na na na na na Sing my ghost, sing my ghost Na na na na na na Is it all I can find Na na na na na Na na na na na Na na na na na Na na na na na Thank you. I'm out. But it just doesn't work out the way I want it to It's like I concentrate on real hard But it just doesn't work out And everything I do and everything I try

It never turns out It's like I need time to figure these things out There's always someone there going Hey Mike, you know, we've been noticing You've been having a lot of problems lately, you know Maybe get away And like, maybe you should talk about it You'll feel a lot better

I go, no, it's okay, you know I'll figure it out You see me alone I'll figure it out, you know. I'm just working on myself. They go, well, you know, if you wanna talk about it, I'll be here, you know. And you'll probably feel a lot better

if you talk about it. So why don't you talk about it? I go, no, I don't want to. I'm okay. I'll figure it out myself. And they just keep bugging me. They just keep bugging me. There's the films on the side.

It's gotta be a suicide, too, cause I pray once, but it's not. You will not have anything. I pray once, you can see the light. Hello, Toronto Mike and all FOTMs across the great country of Canada. Greetings from the West Coast, from White Rock, British Columbia. My name is Neil Morrison. For 16 years I was known as Brother Bill on CFNY, aka Edge 102, 102.1 The Edge, or whatever the incarnation is today. I've chosen a song for this episode because of the namesake of the lead singer. Not at all, Mike, because I thought that this would have represented your childhood in any way, shape, or form.

Unfortunately, for a lot of my friends in the TOHC, the Toronto hardcore scene, this was their childhood. From 1982, I'm picking a song from a band from Venice Beach, California called Suicidal Tendencies. At CFNY, we didn't play a lot of hardcore punk rock, but this song, we did. And the reason why, I think, will be rather obvious once you

hear it. This is probably, in my humble opinion, the best hardcore punk rock song of all time. From 1982 and their self-titled album Suicidal Tendencies, this is Institutionalized. Enjoy. And I go, wait, what are you talking about? We decided my best interest? How do you know what my best interest is? How can you say what my best interest is? What are you trying to say? I'm crazy?

When I went to your school, I went to your churches, I went to your institutional learning facilities. So how can you say I'm crazy Say you're gonna pick my brain Leave me in the street at my face One time they picked my head Mentally I'll be gay I'm not crazy

Here's the truth You're the one that's crazy Here's the truth You got me crazy Here's the truth They take me in an institution That was the only place you gave me But that's not protected from the enemy

Let's go! It doesn't matter what you get, white car You can reach But you can't grab it You can hold it and shove it You can hold it, control it You can't buy it You can push But you can't direct it

Circulate, regulate, go, go You're not connected You can't get enough of that love in the dark and dark. I'm a star. Gwylio am ddwy oed, gweithio am ddwy oed Gwylio am ddwy oed, gweithio am ddwy oed Gwylio am ddwy oed, gweithio am ddwy oed All right. I'm going to go a little bit off the board here, but a song that I absolutely love and had a huge influence in my life is Disco Tech by U2. A very controversial single from the 1997 album Pop.

They kind of went experimental and kind of dance and kitsch, and a lot of diehard U2 fans hated it, but I was 15 at the time or turning 15 and it just i could not get that song out of my head i thought it was weird at first but then i just listened to it and watched the music video on my vcr non-stop um and that kind of sprung an obsession with me and and the band where i i went on to see them like 30 times so far i saw them in berlin in 2018 but like i just loved the riff it was so addictive and um yeah i really love that song Disco take Disco take

Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take

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Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take Disco take I'm looking for you Don't you know you're somewhere else There might be a song

A song that you'll hear Oh yeahI'm not aloneI'm not alone I'm not alone I'm not alone Would you tell me to get there? Would you tell me to get by? Why you know I want something more? Bye. Oh, just for that. Oh, just for that. Oh, just for that. Oh, just for that.

Oh, just for that. Oh, just for that. Oh, just for that. I got to budge and we all drink bleach You know we practice what we preach We're not a drunken bunch of frat boys trashed on beers or a stony bunch of hippies with no careers. I want to drink bleach with a Georgia peach. all drink floor rocks or eat snowy bleach right out of the box teenage suicide rate shot high and we understand the reasons why bleach does more than white socks don't you want to hang out with the bleach boys, baby? In a world where ministers murder golf pros

Don't you wanna drink some bleach tonight? Maybe there'll be a party at the beach We'll bitch about life and chugger the bleach No one's getting high and no one's getting drunk Got a case of bleach stashed in my trunk I wanna die with Clorox with Enrique I'm very proud of the respect I've earned And my voice is very deep cause my throat got burned

Bleach gets you young so I've been told Cause no one who drinks it lives to get old Drinking with a chaser was the first thing that I learned Don't you wanna hang out with the bleach boys, baby In a world where midgets run from air. Don't you wanna drink some bleach tonight? Had 26 friends in the beginning, but now it's... Hey there, everybody. This is Brony.

With the recent strange recommendation from Donald Trump that we should drink disinfectant, it feels like a really good time to listen to Bleach Boys by the Dead Milkmen. This song is on the same late 80s album as their song Punk Rock Girl, which got pretty heavy play on much music at the time. 1988, I think. I first heard about the Dead Milkmen from a review in TV Guide, of all places, and as a 16-year-old boy at the time, I laughed my ass off through their satirical

frat boy humor lyrics, some of which haven't aged all that well, but others, like this one, that have. And a world where welders own our schools Don't you wanna drink some bleach tonight? I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach

I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I'm so bored I'm drinking bleach I am so bored I've been hanging around gas stations I've been learning my times

I've been learning my times I've been talking to grease monkeys I've been working on cars Bruce just saw a few blues on me too Running back to Saskatoon Red deer terrace and a medicine hat

Singing of the prairie too Singing of the prairie too Prairie's baby talking I've been hanging around libraries I've been learning about books I've been talking to playwriters I've been working on words Phrases

Who's just a few, who's a little Running back to Saskatoon Running like a saskatoon Bed, day and terrace and a medicine hat Singing all the prairie tune Singing all the prairie tune Prairie! Hi there, it's Mike Ross here, public address announcer for Your Toronto Maple Leafs. And when Mike asked me to talk about a song that I love, hard to nail it down to one. Certainly because I've got such a wide appreciation of music through so many different genres.

But one that I've been playing a lot lately and really enjoying is Running Back to Saskatoon by The Guess Who. Now, I've been listening to a Burton Cummings Live at Massey Hall album a lot, and that song is on there, but just as a great song, Running Back to Saskatoon means a lot to me because it talks about a lot of great towns out in Western Canada, including Moosman, where a lot of the Rosses in my family originally settled when they came to Canada in Saskatchewan and then moved on into Alberta and British Columbia. So as far as songs that I love, certainly one these days that's getting a lot of spin on my Android phone

and in my car. Running back to Saskatoon by the Guess Who. Singing out of prayer to see We're on a hoggy talk, a hoggy talk This dude is hog-grown Don't come from Hong Kong This dude is hog-grown Now, now, don't come from Hong Kong Now, now, now, homegrown homegrown now, now, bye babe, sir into the unknown into the unknown

Into the unknown Into the unknown I can hear you, but I won't Some look for trouble while others don't. There's a thousand reasons I should go about my day and ignore your whispers, which I wish would go away. You're not a voice You're just a ringing in my ear And if I heard you, which I don't I'm smoking for I fear Everyone I've ever thought to see within these walls

I'm sorry secret siren but I'm blocking out your calls I've had my adventure I don't need something new I'm afraid of what I'm blocking out your calls. I've had my adventure. I don't need something new. I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you into the unknown. Into the unknown. Into the unknown. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh What do you want?

Hi, my name is Morgan and I like Frozen 2. Into the unknown. Or are you someone out there who's a little bit like me? Who knows deep down I'm not where I'm meant to be Every day's a little harder as I feel your power grow Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go Into the unknown Into the unknown

Into the unknown Into the unknown Are you out there? Do you know me? Can you feel me? Can you show me? Where are you going? Don't leave me alone How do I follow you into the unknown? Come for me, come for me Come for me, cover me, cover me, cover me

Cover me, cover me, cover me, cover me I have a dream, no longer to be free I want only to see Four walls made of concrete Six by six enclosed See me on video Feed me twice a day I want to fade away Away

Cover me Cover me Cover me Hi everyone, it's Cam Gordon from Twitter Canada here. You might know me from the Toronto Mike episode as well. I guess pretty much every single episode of Pandemic Fridays kick out the jams. I'm the guy who's always correcting Stu Stone and probably once I'm done that, pointing out very specific details of music videos from the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 by and large.

Choosing a jam for this, you know, often when we do the Pandemic Fridays, we're picking songs that are fun to rip off. For this, I just kind of choose a song that's maybe of the times. So I pick one that's 12 years old. This is the song Agoraphobia by the band Deer Hunter. This is from a 2008 album, a great album called Microcastle. Agoraphobia is described as the type of anxiety disorder that makes you fear and avoid places or situations

that might cause you panic or make you feel trapped, helpless, and embarrassed. So not to equate this pandemic we're dealing with with something that's more an anxiety disorder, but I think we're all perhaps feeling some of the symptoms related to agoraphobia. And I think this song does a good job at approximating kind of the paranoia and the angst and the uncertainty and just the weirdness of these times.

But a great fucking song, great band. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you. I'm out. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, Tapping church on Sabbath morning Grandma's hands Played a tambourine so well Grandma's hands Used to issue out a warning She said, Joey, don't you run so fast Might fall on a piece of glass Might be snakes there in that grass

Grandma's hands Grandma's hands Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, Used to ache sometimes and swell Grandma's hands Used to lift her face and tell her she'd say Baby, Grandma understands That you really love that man Put yourself in Jesus' hands Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands Grandma's hands Grandma's hands Grandma's hands The tune that I love and that I'd love to share is the version of Bill Withers' Grandma's Hands by the great jazz gospel a cappella group, but sometimes with instruments, Take Six. First, I love Bill Withers, who passed away this year, sadly. A great songwriter, very deep musician.

Second, I love the tune Grandma's Hands. It's a religious tune but not overtly so, and so much so that I recorded it with my own group on my Blue Modules record. Most of all, I am in eternal worship of Take Six. These are six men who have been making music together for over three decades and to me represent the pinnacle of music making

and soul and depth of all styles whether jazz, gospel, funk rap, you name it so this is Grandma's Hands from the Beautiful World album from the 2002 by Take Six. Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands.

Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands. Grandma's hands. I grew up in a really small town. The only access that I had to new music was through the radio. Until I got My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello. And I remember the opening words of the first song, Welcome to the Working Week.

Now that your picture's in the paper being rhythmically admired. And I didn't have a clue what it meant. I didn't get the double entendre of it at all, but I did understand that after I heard that, that I would never have to listen to the corporate rock of REO Speedwagon or Pablo Cruz ever again. Somebody was making music that spoke to me, and even if I didn't get the lyrics, I understood the passion, and I got the anger, and it also had a pretty good beat, and you could dance to it. To me, this was art. The slick sounds of Air Supply and whoever else that streamed out of my radio every day may have been more accessible, but this was visceral. I heard the

snarl in Elvis's voice, the cynicism dripping off every line, and for me, that was the noise that art made. it was my liberation from my small town Welcome to the Working Week. Oh, I know it don't thrill you. I hope it don't kill you. Welcome to the Working Week. You gotta do it till you do it, till you get again to it. All of your family had to kill to survive. And they're still waiting for their big day to arrive.

But if they do, I feel like they're burying me alive. Welcome to the working week. Oh, I know it don't thrill you. I hope it don't kill you. Welcome to the working week. You gotta do it till you do it, so you better get to it. I hear you saying that this is all right when you're only ready to battle them goods. Spend all your money getting so convinced

That you never even thought of us Sometimes I wonder if we're living in the same land Why'd you want to be my friend When I feel like a children running out of hands Welcome to the working week Welcome to Die Working Week. Welcome to Die Working Week. Welcome to Die Working Week. When my body won't hold me anymore And it finally lets me free

Will I be ready When my feet won't walk another mile And my lips give their last kiss goodbye Will my hands be steady When I lay down my fears My hopes and my doubts The rings on my fingers And the keys to my house

With no hard feelings When the sun hangs low in the west And the light in my chest won't be kept Held at bay any longer When the jealousy fades away And it's ash and dust for cash and lust And it's just hallelujah And love and thought

Love in the words Love in the songs they sing in the church And no hard feelings Lord knows they haven't done much good for anyone. Kept me afraid and cold with so much to have and hold A song I love by Peter Murphy.

A song that I love is called No Hard Feelings by the Avett Brothers. It's a song about, at the end of life, what you're feeling, what you may be seeing, and how others perceive you. It's a really good and touching song that actually makes you think about what it's going to be like when you get to that point in your life and what others would be feeling at that point. It's a good funeral song, which is a horrible thing to say,

but there are good wedding songs, but this is a perfect funeral song for is a horrible thing to say but there are good wedding songs but this is a perfect funeral song for people to listen to during those times and it's called no hard feelings by the avid brothers oh run into a savior true and shake hands laughing And walk through the night Straight to the light Holding the love I've known in my life And no hard feelings Lord knows they haven't done God bless you. With so much to have and hold

Under the curling sky I'm finally learning why It matters for me and you To say it and mean it too For life and its loveliness And all of its ugliness Good as it's been to me I have no enemies

I have no enemies I have no enemies. I have no enemies. I have no enemies. Wow. What a great volume of F-O-T-M-K-O-T-J. And I'm not just saying that because my sweet baby Morgan was in the mix. Again, I want you to be a part of a future volume. Record yourself on your smartphone or your laptop and email the audio file to mike at torontomike.com.

Don't be shy. Please do it. It's best if you identify yourself in the clip, but that's not mandatory. I love to hear your jams. I love to put these together. Let's keep it going throughout the pandemic. And that brings us to the end of our 638th show you can follow me on twitter i'm at toronto mike

great lakes brewery are at great lakes beer palma pasta is at palma pasta sticker you is at sticker you the keitner group are at The Keitner Group. CDN Technologies are at CDN Technologies. And Garbage Day are at GarbageDay.com slash Toronto Mike. See you all

next week. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the snow wants me today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and green. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RoamPhone.ca to get started.