July indulgence's, Harry Potter and Kevin Hearn

Ah, sweet July. The epicenter of summer invites indulgences. This summer, two of Joe's are the mid-July release of the new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and an older Kevin Hearn CD.

Ok, the new Potter book is obvious, Joe has long been a fan. The Kevin Hearn CD
"H Wing" was actually released way back in 2001. It's been on Joe's to-get list for a darn long time but for some reason he never got around to picking it up (cartoon characters tend not to earn much). A few years ago, Kevin Hearn, keyboard player for the Bare Naked Ladies, had a serious fight for his life battling against leukemia. Released shortly after his recovery, this CD is Kevin's first, and it's hauntingly beautiful. 'Nuff said. There are lots more reviews of Kevin Hearn's music kicking around if ya really need 'em.

Review excerpt, Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide:

"Following his recovery, he returned to the Barenaked Ladies and played on albums by Rheostatics and Gordon Downie, but H-Wing is the first time he recorded his own material since that point. It's a very strange album in that it shows two impulses fighting each other -- the mournful "Death Bed Love Letter" is followed by a whimsical song about a "Bonefight at the Museum" ("They've thrown what was left of the tee-ran-a-saurus and Egyptian bowls/It's no fun getting hit in the head with a bone that's a million years old")."

That's all. If you don't need him, Joe will be in his hand-drawn hammock for most of July with a good book and a pair of earbuds.

For all you clever Canucks with hammocks of your own: