For the past 8 years, I have put together a compilation of some of my favourite songs of the year. I started out doing them for my own interest (and as a feeble attempt to keep up with the Reids.) I thought it was a nifty Christmas gift to give to folks that I was too cheap to buy a real gift for. I thought it was fun and I thought that maybe it would get people to listen to the show (or keep listening.) It was a hobby, a historical document, and a labour of love.
The first collection was slapped together in 2002, with very little effort (it seems.) It ain’t the fancy quadruple CD box set that we currently put together, it was just a quickie collection of songs stuck in a slim case with some artwork already pre-made by the CD burning software. It seems kind of quaint and silly now.
Even the song selection seems a bit odd, in retrospect. Looking over the playlist, some of the artists have stuck with us and can be found regularly on the playlist today (Stephen Fearing, Kathleen Edwards, Neko Case, Fred Eaglesmith, NQ Arbuckle, Scott Nolan, etc.), and others are lost to the “where are they now” file (Michelle Shocked, Mia Sheard, The Brothers Creeggan, Kelele Brothers, etc.)
It’s kind of a weird, wacky collection. I don’t usually post these to download here, but this one’s so old, I doubt anybody will send the copyright police to my door. Of course, if I’m wrong and they come a knockin’, well… OOPS! (by the way, if anyone from the copyright police is reading this, my name is Stu Reid).
I forgot to include the “artwork” in the .zip file, but I’ll fix that later and remove this message (I hope). If you want it, just email me and you can print your own lo-fi, pathetic package.
Enjoy!