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Archive for December, 2016

Thomas Wharton–“Bestiary” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #4] (2016)

Posted in Animals, Birds, Canadian Content, Dolphins, Fish, Horses, Laura Gibson, Lions, Monkeys, Penguins, Robert Kroetsch, Short Story, Spiders, Superstitions, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Thomas Wharton, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence, War, Yuck!, Zoos on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: LAURA GIBSON-Tiny Desk Concert #200 (March 5, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

gibsonLaura Gibson performed the first Tiny Desk Concert in 2008.  The whole enterprise was started because of her.  Bob had seen her in a club and her quiet music was overpowered by the audience.  So he invited her to play in his quiet office.  And now, here it was 200 shows later and Gibson is back–the first person to headline twice.

Things have certainly changed since then.  There was one camera on her face and another on her guitar.  There was minimal editing and the sound was fine.

Since then they have stepped up the game–multiple cameras, professional lighting and, as Stephen Thomspon writes: Bob’s desk “permanently houses a microphone that’s worth more than my car. (Three hundred dollars!).”

2006 was the release year of her debut album.  She had put out her third album in 2012.  She was quite back in 2006 and is still quiet in 2012.  But for this show she has brought along some help:  Brian Perez – Vocals, Percussion; Matthew Berger – Drums; Johanna Kunin – Vocals, Piano, Flute; and Jill Coykendall – Clarinet.

The songs are very quiet.  “Feather Lungs” begins with some lovely harmony vocals and then Gibson on keyboard.  The flute and clarinet add layers of music which really fleshes out this quiet song. The thumping drum that opens “La Grande” really sets the tone of a much heavier song.  This proves to be a romping song with Gibson on guitar and a lot of intensity behind her.

“Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed” slows things down again, with quiet percussion and Gibson’s delicate guitar and vocals.  She says that the last time she was there it was a Monday morning and there was not much enthusiasm to sing along with her.  But since it’s a Friday afternoon, she invites eveyone to hum a long to “The Rushing Dark.”  Of course, she has backing vocalists so it’s unclear if anyone else joins in, but this a capaella song sounds lovely.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Bestiary”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

“Bestiary” is an interesting “short story” because it is not exactly a short story.  It’s not even exactly fiction.  Rather, after an excellent epigram from Robert Kroetsch “We are the animals who talk the fables in which the animals talk.  We are talking animals, claiming that animal’s don’t talk.”  The piece consists mostly of factual stories about animal behavior.

Each one opens with a title that ties into the piece beneath it. (more…)

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Strand of Oaks [Winter Classic II, Night 3] (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016)

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Happy Birthday, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Strand of Oaks on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Strand of Oaks

2016-12-04-23-07-54I had gotten a notification  that Strand of Oaks was adding a 3rd show at Boot & Saddle because the other two sold out.  I really liked Heal a lot and thought that a chance to see the band in a small setting would be great.

I had no idea that the “band” would be only Tim Showalter (naturally) with opening act Jason Anderson.  I thought the show might be really loud, but it wasn’t.  They both played electric guitars, but not at ear splitting volume.  They played perfectly off of each other–waves and waves of guitars layered wonderfully (with occasional keyboards as atmospheric background).  There were no drums or percussion and the whole set was like an electrified folk show.

There’s a new Strand of Oaks album coming out soon, and this was a chance for him to play some new songs.  So his setlist was a mix of new songs and a few of the more recognizable songs from Heal.

I initially thought I’d be late for the show and that I’d never get close (150 person capacity seemed like it might be packed tight).  But no, I was able to get up nice and close to the stage.  Anderson started playing some gentle guitar sounds, then–and this is what I love about Boot & Saddle–I heard someone saying excuse me, and Showalter himself was making his way through the crowd to the stage right next to me.  So that was pretty cool. (more…)

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Jason Anderson (Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA, December 4, 2016) [STRAND OF OAKS Winter Classic II, Night 3]

Posted in Boot & Saddle, Jason Anderson, Philadelphia, PA, Sarah McLachlan, Strand of Oaks, Tim Showalter on December 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 4, 2016] Jason Anderson

I thought that this show started at 8, but parking wasn’t very friendly near the Boot & Saddle so I wound up getting in the place at 8:15.  I didn’t know who Jason Anderson was, but I always try to see the opening act.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised to discover he wasn’t going on until 8:30.

So I was standing there waiting for him to come up on stage, when the stage lights went out and a light above me turned on.  I thought they were just putzing with the lights, but then a guy with a guitar grabbed a chair and stood on it right behind me up against the side wall.

This was Jason Anderson.  He had opened for Strand of Oaks all three nights at the sold out shows at Boot & Saddle.  He said that he had told the crowd the last night that he would play an electric set, but it felt right to do this acoustic set right there.

The room was dim (so dim that I couldn’t even get a picture of him–this one is of him playing with Strand of Oaks (I didn’t realize he was going to do that)).  He had someone holding up a lyric book as he told us he was going to sing a couple of songs that he had just written.

And what came next was an incredible half an hour.

From the start, Anderson was passionate and personable and won everyone over as he described what each song was about. He was honest and emotive and was really earnest about how pleased he was that we were all there and how we needed to really appreciate where we were at the moment.

And it sounds kind of cheesy to write it, and it felt a little cheesy at first, but Anderson was able to break through the hard exterior of everyone in the place and allows us all to give into the moment.

The first song was called something like “Sometimes Windows, Sometimes Walls.”  He said it was about those times when we scroll through Facebook over and over in case you missed something.  After he sang the chorus, he asked us to sing along with it.  And we did.  And we sang louder when he asked and quieter when he asked.  The Boot & Saddle is so small (the show was sold out at 150 tickets) that it sounded amazing.  And we all fed off the energy.

Each of his six songs had a story (usually funny, but not always).  He often interrupted the song to comment or fill us in on something else.  And then he continued, talking about how great the vibe was in the room.  And it really was.

His second song was a bout a toll booth worker in New Hampshire (he’s from New Hampshire).  The song was full of wonderful details. He told us that his friend loved the song and that his chorus “I remember you.  You remember me” was totally Sarah McLachlan-and he sang a line of her song too.

Anderson continually asked everyone to step closer, making it ever more intimate as more people came in.  He said that he doesn’t go to church but his spirituality comes from music and events like this where all different people–friends and lovers and relatives ans strangers–all gather together and live in one moment as it happens.

For one of the songs he asked us to echo the first line of the chorus, which we did.  And when we echoed the second line, he stopped us and said that he didn’t think it worked.  he confirmed it with us and then said we should only do that first line.  We laughed and agreed and continued.

He thanked Tim Showalter (the heart of Strand of Oaks) for letting him play like this and then he said “This song is for Tim, it’s “For Mike.”” And we laughed and he said he didn’t realize how strange that would sound.  This was a touching song written for a friend whose wife had recently died.

The final song was “All My Love For You.”  He had the lights turned down even further (almost dark) and taught us the chorus.  As the song was moving along he jumped off of the chair and walked to the middle of the room and told everyone to take two steps closer.  He was surrounded as he sang.  And he encouraged us to close our eyes as we sang along.  As we sang, he told a story between our lines.  Eventually we opened out eyes and ended the song and it was over.

I have never been in an environment quite like that.  It was really amazing–warm and comfortable and strangely powerful.

The only bummer thing about it was how quickly the vibe dissipated after his set was over.

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Vanessa Hua–“Just Like Us” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #3] (2016)

Posted in Canadian Content, Craig Finn, Crowded House, Marriage Trouble, Neil Finn, Parenting, Racism, Sex, Short Story, Summer, The Hold Steady, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert, Vanessa Hua on December 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: CRAIG FINN-Tiny Desk Concert #193 (February 9, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

finnCraig Finn opened for My Morning Jacket when I saw them in New York.  However, we arrived late, so I missed him.  I was fairly certain that Craig Finn was actually Neil Finn when I saw his name, so I expected Crowded House, not The Hold Steady.

For this solo venture, Finn has crafted some slow folk songs.  He sings slowly and deliberately on these three acoustic songs.  The melodies are simple and his voice sounds very California to me. He’s accompanied by Ricky Ray Jackson playing a great-sounding echoey slide guitar.  In fact, I feel like Jackson is the highlight of the show.

“Apollo Bay” and “Western Pier” are from the solo album.  They are story songs.  The final song “Jeremiah’s Blues” is not on the record, but it’s fun to challenge yourself.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Just Like Us”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

I really enjoyed this story about a girl and her mom and the struggles they have had.  It opens with the excellent line: “It wasn’t easy to get kicked out of Happy Trails RV Park and Camp.”  The owner put up with a lot.  Including her son, who was rather a layabout.  He was injured in a construction job and is on disability–meaning he doesn’t do anything around the camp either.

Nina was fourteen, part white, part Chinese.  Her father returned to China when she was a baby  and sent them money for the first two years.  And then suddenly he stopped.  So her mama had spent time with many different boyfriends.  Her last boyfriend, Roy, seemed promising until she caught him cheating on her (for the third time).  And after that she decided it was time to get outta California.  So they got in their camper and took off.

There’s a line that I really enjoyed: “She turned on the radio…the lead singer wailed about a small-town girl escaping into a lonely world–the coincidence of a song about our lives.” (more…)

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Weezer (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, December 3, 2016)

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Hari Konabolu, Kiss, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, The Menzingers, Weezer on December 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2016] Weezer

2016-12-03-21-34-05Comedian Hari Kondabolu has a funny bit called “How Weezer Broke My Heart.”  He says that he was a huge fan in the late 1990s but when he went to the show a few years ago he discovered that their fanbase is still fourteen years old and that he was the creepy old dude–at 28!  But he rejects that and says that Weezer are the creepy old dudes–forty-year old men singing songs that teenagers can relate to is really creepy.

Well, my show was full of college students (and at least one dad who brought his daughter who was either too young to drive or maybe they bond over Weezer–I didn’t ask–but more on them later).  I may have been the creepy old dude, but since Rivers Cuomo and I are basically the same age, we’re both the creepy old dudes.

It was cool to like Weezer for about two years (circa 1996).  But before and after it decidedly wasn’t.  Nevertheless, I’ve always enjoyed them.  I often wish that Rivers Cuomo would write more substantial songs (musically and lyrically since he studied classical composition and graduated with a B.A. in English from Harvard) but it’s hard to deny how much fun his dumb songs are.

I thought about seeing them this summer, but decided against it.  However, when they announced they were playing in Bethlehem, a close venue that I like, I decided it was time to see them.  I’d been checking their recent setlists (to see what albums they were laying songs from–I try to never look at actual songs), and I was bummed to see that they weren’t playing anything from Pinkerton, the cool person’s favorite Weezer album.  In fact it seemed like the sets came mostly from their self titled albums (blue, green, red and white).

But whatever, because even if they weren’t playing my favorite album, I knew that they’d be playing a bunch of songs that I knew and liked, right? (more…)

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The Menzingers (Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem, PA, December 3, 2016) [WEEZER]

Posted in Bethlehem, PA, Rancid, Sands Bethlehem Event Center, The Menzingers, Weezer on December 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 3, 2016] The Menzingers

2016-12-03-20-13-55I hadn’t heard of the Menzingers before this show.  I looked them up and saw that they were a punk band on Epitaph Records, which meant I knew what to expect–poppy punk, kind of like Rancid (without the ska-although I understand that they were formed out of a Scranton based ska-punk band).  And that’s a fairly accurate blanket statement of what they’re like–catchy songs with a kind of growly singer and lots of harmonies.

Their previous album was highly regarded and they have a new one coming out.  I was excited to see them.  I was also pretty excited to be at a show at the Sands again–my last show there was when I got a drumstick.  But imagine my surprise when there was a huge snarl of traffic getting into the venue.  I’ve seen a few shows there and have never seen traffic getting into the venue.  And then an enormous line to present tickets inside.  So I wound missing–well, maybe it was only part of the first song.

And that delay was because the show was packed.  Packed I say!  (I guess every college student in Bethlehem was there?).

I’m usually early enough that I can pick my place, but, wow, I was further back than I’ve been for almost any show I’ve seen lately.  And there was a pretty pushy crowd too.

So that kind of sucked.

But the band was good and a lot of fun.  (more…)

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Anakana Schofield–“Under the Taps” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #2] (2016)

Posted in Anakana Schofield, Anna Calvi, Bathtubs, Blue Velvet, Canadian Content, Courtroom, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert on December 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: ANNA CALVI-Tiny Desk Concert #189 (January 26, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

calviAs with many artists on Tiny Desk Concerts, I thought that Anna Calvi was someone else (conflating two other names I’m sure).  But I certainly didn’t know this British guitarist born in 1982.

I find it unsettling that Calvi doesn’t take off her overcoat.  The drummer leaves his hat on, but that’s another thing altogether.  It seems odd that a woman who rocks would remain in her coat seeming very unrelaxed.

She plays three songs in under ten minutes and it’s a shame that the audio is mixed so poorly on this one, because the drums are louder than just about anything else and you really can’t hear her voice all that well.

“River To The Sea” is a cool instrumental that really shows off her guitar skills.  She’s all over the fretboard with different tempos and sounds.  It’s slow and moody (with a neat echo effect) until the end when there’s some really cool fast soloing.  I love the section where she’s playing some crazy looking chords on the high notes and that she emphasizes the individual strings and the chords at the same time—it’s great to watch (and to hear).

For the next two songs, it becomes apparent that she has on jeans and that she doesn’t seem quite a stiff and bundles as he coat suggests.  Phew.  “Surrender” has a very moody surf guitar feel.  This comes from the way she plays and the harmonium chugging along behind her.    Her singing style is very moody as well—I could see this song appearing in Blue Velvet.  Calvi has a captivating voice, but it is mixed way too quiet (it’s also embarrassing that there appears to be about 10 people watching her).

“Jezebel” is a rocking song, staying in that same vibe of 1950s surf guitar.  I like the way she plays the three brash chords at the end of each section.  She really belts out the last few words—I wish she was mic’d better throughout the show.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Under the Taps”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

This story started out in a very confusing way.  Set in Ireland, it opens with the narrator saying “This is what I intend to say tomorrow in court.  Be assured.”

It jumps to third person to give some context: she was the middle child, she had to learn to wait.

Then it jumps to the present.  She has brought her statement (what we are reading) to her solicitor.  He didn’t look at it when he filed it away.  He believes that she should compromise–it’s the only way to get her off.  But she will not compromise. (more…)

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Charles M. Schulz–The Complete Peanuts: 1995-1996: The Definitive Collection of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip masterpiece: Dailies & Sundays (2015)

Posted in Angst, Baseball, Basketball, Bill Corbett, Birds, Charles Schulz, Comic Strips, Conor Lastowka, Fantagraphics, Football, Funny (ha ha), Halloween, Hockey, Humiliation, Jealousy, Joe Shlabotnik, Kevin Murphy, Letters, Marbles, Math, Mike Nelson, MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Peanuts, Pranks, Rifftrax, Sandi Patti, Sean Thomason, Set at School, Surreal, Technology, The Bible, The Future, Tinariwen, Tiny Desk Concert, Up Front, War, World War I, World War II on December 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »

peanuts-1995SOUNDTRACK: TINARIWEN-Tiny Desk Concert #184 (January 5, 2012).

tinariwenTinariwen are a band from northern Mali, whose members met in the training camps of Col. Moammar Gadhafi. Much has been written about them and their story, which is pretty amazing.  I’m only going to talk about this Tint Desk Concert.

Typically, they play an interesting electric guitar kind of trance music.  But for this one they were all acoustic.  As Bob Boilen notes, they are his “favorite electric-guitar-based band on the planet.”  But he says he was:

“initially worried and disappointed when I learned that it was coming to play the Tiny Desk as a trio carrying acoustic guitars. My heart sank a bit more when the three Tuareg musicians from the Sahara arrived in jeans and polo shirts instead of the beautiful, flowing robes I’d seen them wear on stage so many times.

But they switched clothes and they do not disappoint on acoustic guitar.

I don’t know their music all that well, but it feels like the acoustic nature of this show is even more soothing and trance inducing.  The two acoustic guitars interweave–one playing lead (which is mostly hammered notes–not a “solo” per se) and the other strumming.  The percussion is the sound of two hands rubbing, clacking (with a cigarette lighter) and pounding (for bass drum) a large gourd.

The songs tend to be almost looping.  Like they could go on forever.  There’s no real verse chorus structure that I can tell.  It’s more of a meditative sound.

All of the vocals are in Tamashek and I have no idea what the songs are about.

On “Adounia” both guitarists sing and the voices sound very traditional, almost atonal. “Takkest Tamidaret” opens with a more conventional sounding guitar lick, but it’s all so quiet in the mix, that you can’t tell how much his fingers are moving.  The lyrics are a bit slower, but still in that droning style.  I love the way “Tenhert”  has a a cool riff from the lead guitar–one that probably sounds more intense on electric guitar.  He sing/speaks incredibly quickly.  “Tahlamoyt” is a much slower song with the lyrics pretty much all spoken word.

The “Mali sound” is pretty distinctive and Tinariwen are great proponents of it, spreading it around the world for all to hear.

[READ: June 8, 2016] The Complete Peanuts 1995-1996

I was under the impression that these last few volumes of books would show a serious drop in quality.  I had assumed that with the amount of product the Peanuts characters were sponsoring that these strips would be more cute.  But that is far from true.  I enjoyed this book as much if mot more than some of the other recent volumes.

I was also surprised to discover that I really enjoyed the Sunday cartoons more than the dailies.  In the past I haven’t really gotten big laughs form the Sundays–it seemed like the big stories and jokes were in the dailies and the Sundays were unrelated one offs with varying degrees of punch.  But I enjoyed a dozen or so in this book.

One of the major additions in this book is the inclusion of a slightly older Rerun.  He is now mobile and even heading to kindergarten (I love that he is aging while the others aren’t).  But rather than using Rerun for obvious cute child jokes (he’s no longer riding the back of his mom’s bike) Rerun is now making funny “outsider” observations about the world of Peanuts–he is constantly disenchanted with the way  things are going and with the belief that people are always lying to him.  There are also a ton of strips of him trying to shoot a basketball and failing miserably.  Schulz has always tended to take an idea and run and run and run with it, but this one is pretty good for the number that he uses it. (more…)

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Kevin Wilson–“Hunger Strike” [The Short Story Advent Calendar #1] (2016)

Posted in Canadian Content, College, Food, Kevin Wilson, Screaming Females, Set at School, Short Story, The Short Story Advent Calendar, Tiny Desk Concert on December 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-12-05-21-06-09SOUNDTRACK: SCREAMING FEMALES-Tiny Desk Concert #186 (January 17, 2012).

I’d published these posts without Soundtracks while I was reading the calendars.  But I decided to add Tiny Desk Concerts to them when I realized that I’d love to post about all of the remaining 100 or shows and this was a good way to knock out 25 of them.

scremfemScreaming Females are a band from New Brunswick, NJ.  They’re a trio who has been around for about ten years and they play (as their name suggests) loud punk.  The band is fronted by Marissa Paternoster who sings and shreds guitar solos like nobody’s business.

The band is typically pretty loud, but in this tiny desk not only are they quieter, they look rather small—all crowded in behind the desk–standing inches away from each other.  Although I understand they play in all kinds of tiny basement clubs in New Brunswick, so this is probably nothing new.

What I really liked about “It All Means Nothing” is that bassist King Mike plays chords while Paternoster is shredding so it doesn’t sound spare.  And while she is playing some simple chords, he’s wandering the fret board playing some interesting riffs as well.  There’s not too much to say about drummer Jarrett Dougherty because he is reduced to a floor tom and rims shots.

Paternoster has an unusual vocal delivery—very pronounced vowels–in her singing.  It’s especially noticeable in this quieter setting.

It’s interesting that she sings loudly and brashly and plays a great solo (with some cool basswork accompanying) at the end of the song; however, when Bob asks her who the picture is on her strap, she seems so quiet and insecure.  It’s hard to believe that she can front this band, but seems so nervous about talking.

“Little Anne” is a quieter song that’s predominantly a guitar melody and drums.  She sings along with this lovely melody for a few verses.  And just as the bass comes in and it seems the song will take off, it abruptly ends.

The final song they play is “I Don’t Mind It.”  It seems like this song might normally blast, but in this set, they hold back. It still sounds great.

I was given their most recent album (the one that came out a couple of years after this set) and I really liked it.  I’m going to have to go back and explore their more brash earlier songs.

[READ: December 6, 2016] “Hunger Strike”

Near the end of November, I found out about The Short Story Advent Calendar.  Which is what exactly?  Well…

The Short Story Advent Calendar returns, not a moment too soon, to spice up your holidays with another collection of 24 stories that readers open one by one on the mornings leading up to Christmas.  This year’s stories once again come from some of your favourite writers across the continent—plus a couple of new crushes you haven’t met yet. Most of the stories have never appeared in a book before. Some have never been published, period.

I already had plans for what to post about in December, but since this arrived (a few days late for advent, but that was my fault for ordering so late) I’ve decided to post about every story on each day.

I wish I had gotten this collection on time (it arrived on the 5th). I especially wish that because this story was a great way to start the calendar.

I know a lot of contemporary stories are rather downers.  Well this had just the right amount of humor in a futile situation that I really enjoyed.

Even the premise is pretty funny.  A college professor has been fired for looking at porn on his computer.  And four of his students are outraged–who did it hurt if he did that?  What was the big deal?  And even worse, his replacement has turned their class Pop Culture in the Late 20th Century from comic books and summer blockbusters into photojournalism in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Outrage!

And so these four freshmen decide to go on a hunger strike until the teacher is rehired.  (more…)

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Antony Gormley, Jeanette Winterson, Clare Richardson–Land: An exploration of what it means to be human in remote places across the British Isles (2016)

Posted in 1-Speed Bike, Antony Gormley, Art, Black Ox Orkestar, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Clare Richardson, Constellation Records, Do Make Say Think, Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Exhaust, Frankie Sparo, Godspeed You Black Emperor, HangedUp, Jeanette Winterson, Nature, Polmo Polpo, Re: Fly Pan Am, Sackville, Silver Mt. Zion, Sofa on December 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

landSOUNDTRACK: SONG OF THE SILENT LAND [CST2 COMP] (2004).

silentlandThis is a great compilation of Constellation artists from 2004 and earlier.  What makes it so good is that 13 of the 14 songs are released here for the first time.  So it works not only as a sampler of the labels artists, it also works as a great rarities collection.

ELIZABETH ANKA VAJAGIC-“The Sky Lay Still” [stripped down version of album song].  This song starts with slow echoing guitars and Elizabeth’s voice which sounds a bit like Carla Bozulich (but cleaner).  Two minutes in, it shifts tones to an awesomely catchy section with great vocals.

DO MAKE SAY THINK-“Winter Hymn Winter Hymn Winter Hymn”   This is the entire Winter Hymn … album remixed into a 5 minute track.  I’ve often complained that I dislike remixes but this one is great.  It includes some big guitar chords, some quiet drums, some notes and maybe gives you a feel of the album, but maybe not.  The end of the track plays some very fast heavy chords and then gets sped up out of existence.

EXHAUST-“Wool Fever Dub” [from their self-released cassette]  This song has a big thumping beat and some cool echoed harmonics on the guitar. This basic song structure runs through a 3 minute instrumental with a different “chorus” and some intense drumming at the end.

HANGEDUP-“(Re)View From The Ground (remix)”  This is a very catchy, fun remix.  Noisy clattering drums and all kinds of feedback squalls keep this propulsive track moving—this is my kind of dance remix.

BLACK OX ORKESTAR-“Toyte Goyes In Shineln”  This track comes from their album Ver Tanzt? And is one of my favorite of their songs from this disc.  An Acoustic guitar and bass play a simple melody over what I assume is quiet Hebrew singing.

SACKVILLE-“This Machine”  This is an unreleased track from the band.  It is a simple downbeat folk song with a really catchy chorus.  I like Sackville a lot but haven’t mentioned their full length yet–coming soon.

SILVER MT. ZION-“Iron Bridge To Thunder Bay” This is an unreleased track from the Rusted Satellites session, it begins with squealing feedback that slowly changes pitch until the thudding drums and bass come in.  They play a rumbling rhythm underneath the otherwise noisy sounds.  After 6 minutes, the song ends in squalls of feedback until the last minute just echoes until the end.

SOFA-“String Of Lights” [from the self released cassette].  I really like Sofa and wish they’d released more music.  This song actually sounds a bit like the Black Ox Orkestar song above-a- slow broody acoustic piece, but I love the way the chorus brightens the song.

POLMO POLPO-“Dreaming (…Again)”  This track is described as “constructed of materials from the Like Hearts Swelling sessions”  It’s a pretty, upbeat song with some slide guitars and a groovy rhythm.

RE: “Slippage” [unreleased track from the Mnant sessions]  This song has clanging percussion and oscillating keyboards which make this soundscape interesting and compelling.

FLY PAN AM-“Tres Tres ‘Avant'” is an improvisation with Tim Hecker and Christof Migone.  There’s a funky bass and drums with some groovy keyboards.

1-SPEED BIKE-“Fair Warning” [ remix of “New Blue Monday” from their album].  The track starts with a person saying “Okay we’ll call this one Fair Warning.”  You can hear the music (primarily the guitar echoed) and the riff from New Order’s “Blue Monday” and then he starts reciting passages in a great Canadian accent: “heroin crop in Afghanistan is 3 times higher this year than last year because the Taliban got taken out and replaced with the Americans.”  “We don’t want funerals because people like to party too much, Capice?”  The second half of the song is a lot of swirling statics and noise with repeated notes.

FRANKIE SPARO-“See My Film” [working mix of an unreleased song].  This song has a sprinkling of guitar notes and Sparo’s mellow but rough voice singing a cool melody.  The addition of a violin melody really elevates the song.  The end is even better as he adds another vocal line and some da das making it even catchier.

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR-“Outro” This is a live performance of a concert finale recorded in France on 14 May 2003.  This slow song opens with glockenspiel and strings–a slow, pretty melody that evolves over 7 minutes to add a bigger string section.  The last 2 minutes include a very nice violin solo that plays over the top of the rest of the band.  GYBE has never officially released a live album, so this is a good opportunity to hear what they can do live.

[READ: August 20, 2016] Land

This is a book about Anthony Gormley’s five statues on Landmark Trust Property.

The five statues in this book are life-sized cast iron sculptures installed in five Landmark Trust sites across the British Isles from May 2015 to May 2016.  Saddell Bay, Mull of Kintyre; South West Point, Lundy; Clavell Tower, Kimmeridge Bay; Martello Tower, Aldeburgh, and Lengthsman’s Cottage, Lowsonford.

The sculptures are by Antony Gormley, the photos of the sculptures are by Clare Richardson and the text is by Jeanette Winterson.  Winterson is the only person I’d heard of in this book but as soon as I flipped through the pages, I was instantly struck by the sculptures.

Gormley works with the human form in very heavy sculptural designs.  There’s another book about his work called Human that shows even more of his sculptures. (more…)

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