We've moved!

Hello folks,

If you're looking for the latest episode of Awkward Silences, click here.

We're now publishing directly onto our Podbean page, where the actual audio files have been stored for more than a year. This should speed up production and lead to fewer technical clitches.

This website will remain as an archive of the last four and a half years. Cheers!

S05 E02: Dancing in the Dark

Strange though it is, our most recent offering has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. And while we try to liven things up with a dance-themed musical bouquet, most of the tracks aren't really for bogeying down. Add to that talk of mental health awareness and you have an unlikely blend of moods this episode. Fitting, as it turns out, for a holiday that affects people in a variety of ways. Enjoy!

If you pledge at the $500 level, Alissa and Tyler will recreate this photo.

PLAYLIST

Kings of Convenience - I'd Rather Dance With You

The Contours - Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - Dancing In The Street

Steve Miller Band - Dance, Dance, Dance
Toploader - Dancing In The Moonlight
Van Morrison - Moondance

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance
Nouvelle Vague - Dancing With Myself
Little Joy - Don't Watch Me Dancing

The Drifters - Save The Last Dance For Me

Blossom Dearie - I Won't Dance

Elton John - Tiny Dancer

LINKS

Who’s Got Two Thumbs and is a Humourless Feminist?

Bell Let's Talk About Mental Health

S05 E01: Navel Gazing

ASR has also been shown to cure scurvy.

Have you been suffering from ASR withdrawal? Well, prepare to overdose on what I'm sure most podcast experts would call a unhealthy dose of our show. Season Five begins with a marathon reflection session as we both enter our thirties. Somehow we manage to weave in winter, Ottawa, birthdays, Chicago, reënacting (that's how The New Yorker would spell it; sue me), travelling, meeting new people, online dating, the Golden Globes, Girls, high school reunions, SNL, The Office and probably more. Enjoy!


PLAYLIST

Awkward Silences Theme - Michael Szilagyi
Paul Simon - Have a Good Time
Coldplay - We Never Change
The Beatles - In My Life
David Bowie - Changes
Radiohead - Fitter Happier
Rilo Kiley - A Better Son/Daughter
Fleet Foxes - Montezuma
The Strokes - Is This It?
Eight and a Half - When I Was 29
Dandy Warhols - Big Indian
Fleet Foxes - Blue Spotted Tail
4 Non Blondes - What's Up?
Britt Daniel/Brian Reitzell - Flours
Carole King - Beautiful

LINKS
The End of Courtship?
Perhaps not... 

We're still alive

Howdy folks.

Happy New Year.

Have you been occasionally visiting this site only to be slightly flustered by the complete lack of updates since November?

We feel your pain.

Alissa and Tyler have tried, on more than one occasion (= 2), to get together and record. First the Holidays episode and then, as delays did their delaying, a nifty season opener. Wouldn't you know that circumstances have conspired against us and we haven't been able to put anything together we feel reaches the level you guys deserve.

But it is coming. Soon. So hold fast.

Cheers,

ASR

S04 E19: Backup

This episode's title in no way reflects our view on the recent American election, or about the stepping down of Montreal's mayor last week. It's actually not related to any hot-button topic we'd normally discuss. Nope, it's simply our backup episode, because technical difficulties prevented up from recording a regular show. Enjoy!

Music-themed backup episodes are cooler than they appear

PLAYLIST

The Diamonds - Little Darlin'

Anthony Rooley & The Consort Of Musicke - As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending
Délibes - Viens, Mallika (The Flower Duet)

Les Charbonniers de l'enfer - Petite galiote
The Rankin Family - I'll Tell My Ma
Chor Leoni - Loch Lomond
The King's Singers - Greensleves

Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir - Over My Head I Hear Music in the Air
The cast of Sister Act - Oh Maria

Bluegrass Student Union - Mills Brothers Medley
Allison Krauss & Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away
The Kossoy Sisters - Poor Ellen Smith

The Boswell Sisters - St. Louis Blues
The Andrews Sisters - The Jumpin' Jive

The Everly Brothers - All I Have To Do Is Dream
The Earls - Remember Then

The Kingston Trio - Across the Wide Missouri
Peter, Paul & Mary - Early in the Morning

The Beach Boys - In My Room
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson

America - Horse with No Name
Crosby, Stills & Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

The King's Singers - Lullaby (Goodnight my Angel)

Fleet Foxes - Mykonos
Erato - Call Your Girlfriend
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Please Read the Letter

The Wailin' Jennys - The Parting Glass

S04 E18: Going Long

Well, it's becoming commonplace for us to "go long" when we record our episodes. This is probably good news for you, as you get more talk and more music for the same low, low price of free. But it's hard on the person who's trying to write a wry little paragraph summing it all up under one theme. So instead, here's the list of labels (tags) that we've made for this episode: Hurricane Sandy, Bounty, Corruption, Montreal, Burlington, Streetcars, Cultural Property Act, Census, Language, Halloween costumes. If you can find a common thread in there, let us know. Enjoy!

Reasons for using this picture: 1) Subtle pun, and 2) After all these years, this still freaks us out.

PLAYLIST

Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line

Feist - Graveyard

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You

The Ventures - Love Potion No. 9

The Misfits - Monster Mash

The Ramones - Pet Semetary

RJD2 - The Horror

Death In Vegas - Aisha

Justice - Stress
 

Warren Zevon - Werewolves In London

S04 E17: Rise and Shine

 It's early, so I'll be brief: hope you enjoy this new episode. (Warning: may contain pretzels.)

...and, presumably, kick some ass.

 

PLAYLIST

Feist - When I Was a Young Girl

Incubus - 11am

 

Babyshambles - Carry Up on the Morning

Arctic Monkeys - Scummy

Red Hot Chilli Pepers - My Friends

Weezer - Velouria

 

Nouvelle Vague - Friday Night, Saturday Morning

 

DJ's Choice - Chicken Dance

LINKS

More on Officer #728 in Montreal

S04 E16: Wa$te

Is it possible that the episodes in which our form is finest happen to be when we're the angriest? Because we don't do much other than gripe this week, but never has negativity borne such sweet fruit. Enjoy!




It's comforting to realize that while corruption and waste exist in spades in Canada, all the stock images you can find on the subject still involve the American greenback. Sometimes it's nice not to be #1.

PLAYLIST

DJ Shadow - You Can't Go Home Again
Jason Lytle - Rollin' Home Alone

Arcade Fire - Rococo
Fleet Foxes - Montezuma

The Walkman - The Rat
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me

Alkaline Trio - San Francisco

S04 E15: Separations

It's always a challenge to find an episode's title. It's not as if we work from a theme each week; we talk about whatever holds our interest and look for links afterwards. If there's anything consistent about the disparate topics this time around, it's the idea of divides: in politics, culture, age, and appearance. And yet there is a thread linking much of the discussion, and he happens to co-host the show. Go figure, and enjoy!

Tyler Wood's new official publicity photo




Let's all play the new game: Six degrees of Tyler Wood

PLAYLIST

Pheonix - 1901

Minus the Bear - The Fix

 

Death Cab for Cutie - We Looked Like Giants

Spoon - I Summon You

 

Lisa Loeb - Stay

Barenaked Ladies - Lovers in Dangerous Times

The Subways - With You

 

Nada Surf - Sleep

 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

 

LINKS

 

Louis CK on being white

 

S04 E12: Incessant Vaginas

I'm not even going to try to give you the context of the title of this week's episode; you'll just have to listen to find out. I can promise, however, that it's a memorable one for at least a couple reasons, as you might imagine. Enjoy!

Meta, man... very meta.

PLAYLIST

Nina Simone - Feeling Good

Charles Winston - In Your Hands

Cold War Kids - Relief

Eight and a Half - Two Points Meet

Beach House - Myth

Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed

Crystal Castles (feat. Robert Smith) - Not In Love

Daniel Rossen - Silent Song

S04 E10: Together

Well, it's a special episode this week, in at least three ways:

1. We recorded in the same physical location for the first time in two years;
2. In honour of fellow SURPer Mike Wong's wedding, there's an appropriate musical theme;
3. And, for reasons I can't explain, it's also the shortest episode on record. (Many listeners probably see this as a relief...) Enjoy!

Yeah, we clean up nice.

PLAYLIST
Darlene Love - (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry
Martha & the Vandellas - Third Finger, Left Hand
The Dixie Cups - Chapel of Love
Gary Lewis and the Playboys - This Diamond Ring
Jimmy Soul - If You Wanna Be Happy For the Rest of Your Life
Adam Sandler - I Wanna Grow Old With You
The Detroit Cobras - The Real Thing
Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous

LINKS
Here's a rather unique way to propose.


(Correction: Our dear friend Mike Wong married the lovely Lorraine Lee, not Lorraine Wang as we referenced in the podcast.  Our sincere apologies!)

S04 E09: Questionable Tastes

We've been slowly making our way down our list of musical theme episodes, having quite a blast along the way. This week, we're tackling songs that ask questions. Why? Why not?

 Listen, toots, we ask the questions around here.

PLAYLIST

Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go?

Diane Warwick - Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

Marvin Gaye - What's Goin' On?

David Bowie - Life On Mars?

The Who - Who Are You?

Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With Him?

The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?

A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It?

Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?

Bat for Lashes - What's a Girl to Do?

Carole King and James Taylor - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (Live medly)

S04 E08: Moving & Grooving

If there's an upside about being too busy to record an episode, it's that once the smoke clears and we put the headsets back on, we've got plenty of stories to tell (and the music to accompany them). So here's hoping you'll enjoy our catching up after a month's absence more than the absence itself.

(Please note that Blogger has updated itself, so one cannot click the title to hear the podcast. Instead
Click here for Episode 8.)

I'm pretty sure this is the photo of Philly that Alissa asked me to post.

PLAYLIST
Electric Guest -Under the Gun
Electric Guest - Troubleman
Electric Guest - Waves
PS I Love You - Princess Towers
Eight And A Half - Go Ego
Electric Guest - This Head I Hold

LINKS
William Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces - The Street Corner
"When Obama Endorsed Marriage Equality"

S04 E04: Winds of Change

To go along with the title to this week's episode, we're going to try something different here: We're going lean. This little introductory paragraph that has accompanied every episode since we started the show is a shadow of its former self. That's right--none of that rambling that you have become accustomed to. It's all about concision! We're going to cut to the quick. Get right down to business. Beat the bush itself, and with large bats with nails on the end. Brevity has never seen better days. How's this for restraint, eh? Can you handle it?

Hmmm... never mind. Enjoy!

Yes, thank you, Google. That's exactly what I was looking for...

PLAYLIST

Of Montreal - Requiem For O.M.M.2

Gotye, feat. Kimbra - Somebody That I Used to Know

Rilo Kiley - A Man/Me/Then Jim

Tegan and Sara - Where Does The Good Go

Handsome Furs - What We Had

Kate Nash - Merry Happy

She & Him - Sweet Darlin'

LINKS

A map of the ridings from which robocall accusations have sprung.

The before mentioned image from Caldwell's presentation: The Planner, Food Systems and Food Policy: An Ontario Perspective. Dr. Wayne J. Caldwell, Unviersity of Guelph. Ontario Professional Planners Institute. October 2010. (Retrieved from: http://www.waynecaldwell.ca/publications.html)

S04 E03: Wouldstalk

This week, we wanted to create another fabulous musical theme episode. This usually means less work for us and more music for you. But you may have noticed that despite intentions we, well, like to chat. And so with all the songs about "stalking" and our conversations on the subject, the episode clocks in at nearly two hours. I guess it's enough for the dedicated fan to really get to know us with. Enjoy!

A meeting of the Awkward Silences Radio Show Fan Club

PLAYLIST

The Police - Every Breath You Take
Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
Lionel Ritchie - Hello

Kate Nash - We Get On
Blondie - One Way or Another
Tegan and Sara - Living Room

Sarah McLachlan - Possession
Badly Drawn Boy - Everybody's Stalking
Eminem - Stan

Radiohead - Creep
Coldplay - Shiver

Garbage - #1 Crush

LINKS

Facebook, apparently, is using you.

SNL's Digital Short, "Do the Creep"

S04 E01: What's New?

Welcome to season four! As for what's new with your hosts, you'll just have to listen to find out, won't you? Enjoy!

Since we couldn't find a relevant image for this episode,
we went with "cute".

PLAYLIST

No Doubt - Sunday Morning
Glee Cast - Rumor Has It/Someone Like You (Adele Mash-up)
Whitehorse - I'm On Fire
Feist - Caught a Long Wind
Foster the People - Houdini
Robyn - Hang With Me
Trent Reznor & Karen O. - Immigrant Song (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Soundtrack)

FYI, iTunes subscribers

Howdy folks.

We'll be changing some wiring in the next few weeks, so you'll likely be unable to follow the show on iTunes for awhile. You'll still find new episodes here on the website, though.

More anon.

Cheers.

S03 E21: Three's Company

To sell you this episode, we only need two words: Tara Tran! Enjoy!

Our guest did not provide us with a picture, so the closest we have
is this image of the Tara St. Train Station in Ireland.

PLAYLIST

Death Cab for Cutie - Title and Registration

Givers - Up Up Up

Mumford and Sons - White Blank Page

Interpol - Leif Erikson

The Dears - Whites Only Party

The Supremes & The Four Tops - River Deep Mountain High

LINKS
Hamilton: The Comeback Kid of Canadian Cities from the Ontario Business Report website
The feather in our bad news cab (Op-ed piece from the Hamilton Spectator)

S03 E20: Better Late

I suppose we could try to pass it off as some meta statement, but the awkward silence you've been getting from us lately was both unexpected and unpleasant. Apologies.

But the good news is that we're back, and we've haven't learned a thing from the experience. Click here for the latest episode. Enjoy!

It was something like this, but Tara Tran was involved.

PLAYLIST

Yeasayer - Tightrope

Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

Grouplove - Tongue Tied

Florence and the Machine - No Light ,No Light

The Beach Boys - I Know There's an Answer

Stuart Murdoch - Another Saturday

Echo & the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon

LINKS
Louis C.K. on Conan, on Twitter

S03 E17: Rants

This week, we return to the grand tradition we've developed organically over three seasons: namely, spending an inordinate amount of time talking without any real agenda. Strangely, it always seems to work out remarkably well... enjoy!

This week's random mumbling has taken the form
of some near-Mercer-level ranting.

PLAYLIST

Handsome Furs - When I Get Back

Arcade Fire - Deep Blue
The Dandy Warhols - Not If You Were the Last Junkie On Earth
Handsome Furs - Serve the People
John Hartford - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow

Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette - Hello

LINKS

StoryCorps' 9/11 section of animated interviews