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Songs Justin Wishes He’d Written (CBC R3)
Justin guest-hosted CBC R3’s Artist Series #18, airing tracks from friends and artists that have influenced him in recent years. Justin explains where he met the authors or encountered the song itself and how it affected him as a songwriter. Featuring tracks by Jay Harris, Doug Paisley, Julie Fader, Martin Tielli, The Beauties and more.
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Early Widows Deserves Your Time (Hero Hill)
Hero Hill notes how the risks Justin’s songwriting contains the sort of risks and artistry that tends to polarize critic’s opinions. But the author is fairly certain The Early Widows is strong enough to unite the camps:
he most exciting thing about Early Widows is that it will change how people think of Rutledge and give people the patience to revisit his catalog with an open mind. As he effortlessly delivers rockers (The Heart of a River) and anthems (if you don’t get swept up by the spirited backing choir on Ms. Montgomery) you are more willing to listen to each and every word he sings, which as always, are moving and powerful. It makes you hear a song like I Have Not Seen The Light , one of the few that could have found a home on his previous records, and realize that even with just a few simple strums, Rutledge is an engaging entertainer that deserves your time.
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“My Toronto” – Justin On his West End ‘Hood (PostCity)
Justin’s reminisces about grade school crushes, bullies, and how the scents on the sidewalk near High Park Avenue growing up in Toronto’s West end:
In all my time growing up in that tree-ridden neighbourhood, I’ve never seen a single almond on a tree or on the sidewalk, but when the cicadas sang on the sweaty corner of Glenlake and Oakmount, all I could smell were almonds. I’ll be damned.
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Do We Still Need The Album (CBC Radio 3)
Justin Rutledge ponders the question “Do We Still Need the Album?” on the latest podcast of Radio 3’s “Extended Play”.
May 2010 marks the worst month for CD sales in the United States. And that’s saying a lot since sales have been declining for years now as the entire music industry works to figure out where to go in the future.
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Polaris Prize Long List
Justin’s Early Widows is included in the impressive list of 40 Canadian albums that made the Polaris Prize Long List. The Short List announcement takes place on July 6th, 2010.
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Outlaws & Gunslingers NXNE Showcase
Justin will be performing at Lee’s Palace in Toronto next Thursday, June 17th as part of the Outlaws and Gunslingers Showcase.
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Live Performance: Mrs Montgomery (AUX.TV)
Justin performs “Mrs Montgomery” from his recent album, The Early Widows, for AUX.TV
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Justin and Ondaatje a Natural Pairing (thespec.com)
Justin the book-lover and Michael Ondaatje the music-lover: a match made in collaboration heaven. Justin speaks about how he and the Canadian literary giant ended up working on each others’ projects and how most of the songs penned for Ondaatje’s play became part of The Early Widows.
“He’s an interesting guy and a big music fan. I want to talk to him about books and he wants to talk to me about music. It’s kind of that back-and-forth thing”
Click here to read Graham Rockingham of the Hamilton Spectator’s interview with Justin.
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Justin’s “Early Widows” Hits Top 200 in First Week
Justin’s The Early Widows, released May 4th, 2010 debuts on the Top 200 Soundscan Chart in its 1st week
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Ondaatje Adds Songwriter to the Resume (Macleans)
Justin talks about the editing and arranging skills of Michael Ondaatje, who co-wrote several songs on The Early Widows.
“I brought some lyric sheets to his place and played him the songs,” says Rutledge. “He acted almost like an arranger, an editor. He saw the words on the page and would say ‘What about moving this there?’ or ‘What about trading these lines?’ ” Ninety minutes and a couple of cups of homemade cocoa later, Ondaatje had made suggestions on five songs, and co-written another, On The Russian River, 1849, from scratch.
Read Macleans’ full page feature on Justin and Michael Ondaatje here.
