Wooden Arms is the third album by Patrick Watson, released April 28, 2009 on Secret City Records

Secret City Records

Secret City Records is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded in 2006 by Andrew Rose and Justin West, originally as sublabel of Justin Time Records. It became fully independent in late 2008....

. The album's first single, "Tracy's Waters", was released on March 5 and the group performed a new song, "Beijing", on CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

's Q

Q (radio show)

Q is a Canadian radio show, which airs on CBC Radio One. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, the program is a national arts magazine show. The program is also now syndicated to public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio International....

radio show on April 6. "Fireweed" was also released as a single and a music video was filmed, which features both live action and animation.

The album was nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize

2009 Polaris Music Prize

The 2009 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2009 in Toronto at the Masonic Temple and broadcast live online for the first time in its short history...

, an award that Watson won in 2007

2007 Polaris Music Prize

The 2007 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 24, 2007 in Toronto.The winning album was Patrick Watson's Close to Paradise....

 with the sophomore release, Close to Paradise

Close to Paradise

Close to Paradise is the second album by Patrick Watson, released on September 26, 2006. On September 24, 2007, the album won the Polaris Music Prize, after reaching the finals alongside such other albums as Neon Bible , Ashtray Rock , Woke Myself Up , and The Reminder .- Track listing :# "Close to...

.

The song "Big Bird in a Small Cage" was chosen as the Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

 iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 Pick of the Week for August 25, 2009.

The song "Beijing" was inspired by the movie Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich

Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American black comedy-fantasy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze. It stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, and John Malkovich, who plays a fictional version of himself...

 and the idea of finding oneself in someone else's life in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

.

Personnel

Guest musicians on the album include Lhasa de Sela

Lhasa de Sela

Lhasa de Sela , also known by the mononym Lhasa, was an American-born singer-songwriter who was raised in Mexico and the United States, and divided her adult life between Canada and France...

, Katie Moore

Katie Moore

Katie Moore is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Montreal, Quebec.She released her debut album, Only Thing Worse, in 2007, and followed up with Montebello in 2011....

 and Jace Lasek

Jace Lasek

Jace Lasek is a Canadian musician and producer living in Montreal. He and his wife Olga Goreas are the principal songwriters for the Montreal-based indie rock band The Besnard Lakes. Lasek plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. He is also the band's lead vocalist.Furthermore, Lasek runs...

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Track listing

Charts

Chart	Peak Position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	22
Dutch Albums Chart	34
French Albums Chart	104