Montreal’s Beast were in Calgary for a show at SAIT. They stopped by X92.9 for a chat. Sounded like this:

Beast Interview Audio

MSTRKRFT put on a killer show when they were in town recently at Flames Central. They’re headed back out on a big tour to promote a new EP called Fist of God. The closest they come to Calgary is Winnipeg and Vancouver. Boo! The first single is bounce, and it has a bit of a party theme to it. Listen:

Activision announced the final track-listing for the next installment of Guitar Hero. It features 86 songs, has full instumentation, and comes out on October 26th. Here’s a list of the tracks we play on X92.9 that made the cut:

311 — “Beautiful Disaster”
30 Seconds To Mars - “The Kill”
At The Drive-In - “One Armed Scissor”
Beastie Boys - “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
Billy Idol - “Rebel Yell”
Blink-182 - “Dammit”
Coldplay - “Shiver”
The Cult - “Love Removal Machine”
Dinosaur Jr. - “Feel The Pain”
Filter - “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
Foo Fighters - “Everlong”
Interpol - “Obstacle 1″
Jane’s Addiction - “Mountain Song”
Jimmy Eat World - “The Middle”
Korn - “Freak On A Leash”
Linkin Park - “What I’ve Done”
Modest Mouse - “Float On”
Muse - “Assassin”
Nirvana - “About a Girl (Unplugged)”
Oasis - “Some Might Say”
R.E.M. - “The One I Love”
Rise Against - “Re-Education Through Labor”
Sex Pistols - “Pretty Vacant”
Silversun Pickups - “Lazy Eye”
Smashing Pumpkins - “Today”
The Stone Roses - “Love Spreads”
Sublime - “Santeria”
System of a Down - “B.Y.O.B.”
Tool - “Parabola”
Tool - “Schism”
Tool - “Vicarious”

On Tuesday, Bad Religion are coming through town for a sold-out show at Flames Central. Jay Bentley from the band checked in from the road, somewhere between Oregon and Washington. Here’s the interview:

Bad Religion Interview

Bloc Party were in Calgary for a show this week. Bassist Gordon Moakes called in from Mac Hall for a chat. Here’s the interview:

Bloc Party Interview

Montreal’s Creature stopped by the studio for a chat about their recent exploits, including a showcase in New York where Blondie showed up. Here’s the interview:

Creature Interview

Against Me! are coming through Calgary this weekend. Last time they were through town, it was for an exclusive One Night Only show for X listeners only at the Republik nightclub. This time around, it’s wide open at Mac Hall. Tom Gabel checked in on the phone from Thunder Bay, where the band has a night off. We talked about all sorts of stuff, including a solo album from Tom which shouldmhit in October. Here’s the interview in three parts:

Against Me! Part 1

Against Me! Part 2

Against Me! Part 3

Fans of heavy metal music are gentle, creative people who are at ease with themselves, which makes them very similar to fans of classical music.

That’s the finding of a new study at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University of the link between peoples’ personalities and their choice of music.

Adrian North, the professor behind the study, said he was surprised at the similarities between fans of classical music and heavy metal, especially their creativity and generally shy natures.

“The general public has held a stereotype of heavy metal fans being suicidally depressed and of being a danger to themselves and society in general. But they are quite delicate things,” he said in an interview with the BBC.

North suggests that music lovers tend to identify with the characteristics of the music itself.

“We think, what we think the answer is, that both types of music, classical and heavy metal, both have something of the spiritual about them — they’re very dramatic — a lot happens.”

The study of more than 36,000 people from six different countries found that people had more in common with fans of their favourite music in other countries than they had with fellow citizens who preferred different styles of music.

North describes it as a new kind of tribalism, based on musical taste.

“We have always suspected a link between music taste and personality,” North said.

“This is the first time that we’ve been able to look at it in real detail. No one has ever done this on this scale before.”

Jazz fans tend to be creative and outgoing, with high self-esteem, in keeping with the innovative and sociable nature of the music.

Country western fans were found to be hard-working, but introverted, fitting with the blue-collar image of country music.

The research concluded soul music lovers are a well-rounded bunch — creative, outgoing, gentle, at ease with themselves and with high self-esteem.

Rap fans are outgoing and far from gentle, while indie music lovers lack both self-esteem and the work ethic.

“Researchers have been showing for decades that fans of rock and rap are rebellious, and that fans of opera are wealthy and well-educated,” North said.

He also made a link between income bracket and musical tastes, with more affluent consumers liking more exciting, punchy music while those lower down the pay scale preferring more relaxing sounds.

North said his research might have applications in commercial marketing of music.

We get requests for all kinds of songs. Some great, some OK, some bad, and some strange. When this guy called asking for David Cook, the name seemed vaguely familiar, and I wish it had remained that way:

David Cook Call

In the battle between Facebook and MySpace, Facebook has finally surpassed Myspace for users. I’d given up on MySpace ages ago, though still check my account about once a month. I’ve put links for both my Facebook and MySpace below. Friend me! I love that my show has become a two-way connection and always enjoy interacting with you. You can get in touch a whole bunch of ways:

Phone during the show: 403-238-X929 (9929)

Leave a voicemail: 403-670-0210 x 1851

E-mail: josh@x929.ca

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