Back in early 2002, I used to make a regular habit of catching the rerun of Ed the Sock's Big Wham Bam on MuchMusicUSA. (Technically, it was a rerun, since the show aired live Mondays at 7pm on sister station MuchMusic, but we didn't get to see it in the US until 2:30am.)

A few weeks, they ran this really crazy video that featured a lawn gnome and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Turned out to be a song called "Anti-Pop" by the Matthew Good Band. The concept of the video was that Good and Earnhardt pilfered the gnome from some guy's yard, took Polaroids of the gnome in various locations in the US, then returned the gnome to the guy's house with Polaroids in hand. It was pretty funny. Okay, maybe it's something you have to see for yourself.

The song appeared on an album called Audio of Being. Why hadn't I heard of this video and album before? Because they don't sell it outside of Canada.

Anyway, the Matthew Good Band broke up sometime around then. So Matthew Good decided to record a solo record. Not long after it came out, I had the opportunity to hear some of the songs. What I heard sounded pretty good. Problem: again, they don't sell it outside of Canada.

When I was in Canada recently, I decided I had to pick up this album. And, man, am I glad I did.

The funny thing is - I don't usually like slow-ish moody records. There are a couple of upbeat songs on here, but, for the most part, the album isn't. The songs more thought-provoking and introspective.

The production on this thing is immaculate. The producer, Warne Livesey, also recorded another of my old favorites, Midnight Oil's Blue Sky Mining, but he's trumped that record here.

I think the amazing thing about this album is the added textures. The timpani beats on "While We Were Hunting Rabbits" are really catchy. And while adding string sections to rock songs is somewhat overdone these days, here, they work incredibly well.

I'd throw out a list of highlights, but I think I'd have to name half the album.

Oh, turns out that you don't have to actually go to Canada or throw $25 at Amazon to buy this album. Matthew Good's Merch site sells it for $9.99. If only I knew that sooner. (I paid more than that in Canada.)

Here's another item I picked up while in Canada. You might ask, "Chris, why would you buy this album in Canada when you can buy it in the US?" Ah, good question.

Yes, they do sell a Greatest Hits in the US. Here's the trick - it's missing my absolute favorite Police song, "Synchronicity II". I'd always resisted buying it, since I knew I'd still have to pick up Synchronicity for that one song.

The fun quirk of having different label distribution in different countries is that often times, labels in other countries will behave differently from their American counterpart. For example, DGC Records took Jawbreaker's Dear You out of print several years ago. MCA Canada, however, chose to keep it in print. So if you want to buy a copy, you can easily buy one from a Canadian store. (I bought mine from HMV.com.)

By the same token, Universal Canada has decided to keep in print a 1992 Greatest Hits compilation that features nearly all of the songs from the US counterpart, plus "Synchronicity II" and "So Lonely" (another amazing song inexplicably left off). The US version has a b-side and the 1986 remake of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" instead. Yeah, that's a good trade.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how much I was going to listen to this when I bought it. I very nearly didn't buy it, granted that I'd already bought three other cd's that afternoon (including Soundgarden's Down on the Upside, which, mercifully, comes in a jewel case in Canada instead of that annoying fold-up paper/cardboard crap they sell in the US). But I've been listening to this thing like crazy.

As a footnote - I seriously can't believe that "Synchronicity II" is twenty years old. It really, really doesn't sound like it.

Also while in Canada (sensing a theme?), I had the opportunity to watch a DVD called The Ultimate Trip. Basically, a Canadian Ultimate Frisbee player travelled the world playing (and teaching) Ultimate, and rolled video throughout. When he got home, he compiled the footage into short segments, which he combined to make the DVD.

The DVD itself is okay. I think it's something you have to watch while in the company of other Ultimate players. Exhausted and by yourself at 11pm is not really the right way to see it.

But during one segment (about Southeast Asia, I believe), this really great song came on. What caught me was that the voice was eerily familiar. I've been a big fan of Talk Talk's "It's My Life" since I was a kid, and it sounded kind of like that. But, for all I knew, it was Brian Ferry.

I watched the "bonus video" on the DVD first, and it didn't list the songs that were used. I figured I wouldn't find out what the name of the song was, and would be tortured by it for months. But, gracefully, at the end of the DVD, the credits listed the songs chapter by chapter, and there it was - Talk Talk "Life's What You Make It".

I cannot tell you how much I love discovering new "old" songs. You get to hear a sound you know and love, but in a new way. More often than not, new "old" songs are simply knock-offs of the songs you love - meaning, there's a reason you've never heard it. But every once and a while, there's a winner.