I Just Read About That…

 SOUNDTRACK: COLD SPECKS-Live at Massey Hall (May 23, 2014).

After enjoying the Rheostatics Live at Massey Hall video, I thought it would be interesting to check out some of the other artists in the series.

The very first artist to play was Cold Specks.  I had never heard of Cold Specks and I was blown away by their set.

So who is Cold Specks:

Cold Specks is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Ladan Hussein, who was previously known as Al Spx. Her music has been described as doom-soul. The name Cold Specks is taken from a line in James Joyce’s Ulysses (“Born all in the dark wormy earth, cold specks of fire, evil, lights shining in the darkness.”).

As the set opens, Al Spx (for that is what she was known as at the time) speaks about Massey Hall, learning about it from Charles Mingus and Neil Young albums.

And then the band comes out and they play “A Broken Promise.”  There’s such a great moodiness to the melody and the sound of the guitar (and bass pedals).  There’s interesting keyboard effects throughout as well as a spare but powerful unconventional drum rhythm.  And then there’s her voice powerful and a little menacing–arresting and gripping.  There’s a Nick Cave vibe to what she does, but with a very different texture because of her voice.

“Bodies at Bay” is a bit more uptempo and rocking with a wonderfully dramatic slow down for the powerful chorus.  I hear a bit of Marianne Faithfull and some of the more out there vocals of Tina Turner in her voice.  But the contrast between her voice and the music is very engaging.  “Living Signs” is a bit more spare–really focusing on her voice.

She describes “Hector” as “an old one” (which means it came from her other album).  Al Spx plays guitar and I love the way her guitar adds a new layer of music.  The melody in the bridge/chorus is fantastic.

“Let Loose the Dogs” starts a capella.  She sings it off mic (I wonder who could hear her) and then the band comes in with a quieter synth sound.  It’s a much less dynamic song, but a nice mellow moment.

She explains that she doesn’t play Toronto very much and yet this is her fourth time at Massey Hall. “I’ve informed my booking agent that shows in Toronto will be strictly limited to Massey Hall.

“Old Knives” is slow and moody but builds really nicely–a great song overall.  The big, crashing middle section is intense.  As the song ends, they let the music ring out as the guys leave.  As they are walking off, she says, “they fucked off before I could introduce them.”  So they are: drums: Loel Cambpell; guitar: Tim D’eon; the magic corner over here, including Marxophone: Jim Anderson.

While they are gone she says she’ll play “a song or two on my own here.”  She plays guitar and sings “Blank Maps.”  It has the same moodiness just unplugged–the guitar melody is simple, but very cool.  I’m glad I watched this, it has made me a fan.

You can watch the footage here.

[READ: March 19, 2018] To Kick a Corpse

At the end of the previous book, the Qwikpick Adventure Society was in trouble.  Lyle (whose parents work at the Qwikpick and the kid who has access to all of the Qwikpick goodies) was seen as bad influence on the other two.  His best friend Dave had been grounded, but that has finally been lifted.  But Marilla, the girl on whom Lyle is massively crushing (and the funnest girl ever), has been banned from ever seeing him (or the Qwikpick) again.  It was so bad that her parents even told the school principal that she was not to be seen talking to or eating lunch with Lyle (somehow Dave was not deemed so guilty).

It’s a pretty sucky couple of months.

One day the local historical group came by with fliers looking to Save Greenhill Plantation, a local farmhouse that belongs to Colonel Shergood.  Dave and Lyle were joking about the terrible speech when they were tapped on the shoulder and given in-school suspension.

But then Marilla, who is a rule follower to the letter and never wants to upset her parents, broke the rules and shouted “Good” when she heard the plantation was being turned into a Kmart. This guaranteed her an in-school suspension as well.  When they asked her why she would do that, she explained that she hates Colonel Shergood and she wants to “go kick his dead *&%!”

Marilla has never said a bad word in her life, and the boys are shocked.

Why is Marilla so upset?

The flier the ladies handed out said

Colonel Shergood was buried standing up in his crypt.  According to local folklore, the old Southern gentleman asked to be buried in this unusual position so he could continue to keep an eye on his slaves.

Marilla is appalled that this slave owner (bad enough) wanted to watch over his slaves after he died.  And she is angry that “instead of people being like ‘This guy was an @#&%*$%,’ these ladies are like ‘oh, let’s save Shergood’s house’ and ‘isn’t it cool how he had himself buried standing up?'”

Her cursing goes on–she is sick of being a good little girl, especially since she has been being treated like a criminal from her parents.

So she wants to go there and kick the corpse of this dead slave owner.

The kids make some secret plans (Marilla is able to sneak out once or twice to join with the plans).

They plan to go to the grave site on Memorial Day (with a wreath just in case) and then when no one is looking, kick the crypt.

There’s lots of jokes along the way like the fun they have at the expense of their “friend” Elizabeth.  Dave has a crush on her but won’t talk to her.  Marilla likes her, up to a point, but Elizabeth has been mocking Marilla all night (they had a sleep over) and Marilla is over it.

Also, the kids have a new game where whenever someone says something weird and there’s a pause they repeat the word or phrase and say “The Musical” and then try to think of the first few lines of the proposed musical  “Actually, It’s in Wisconsin: The Musical.”

On their journey across town the kids even run into the OTHER Qwikpick which is surprisingly different (and run by a cranky lady).  The adventure proves to be fun and a little sad as they see things that they imagine the won’t see again as the QAS.

When they finally arrive at the plantation, some new revelation comes to them.  It’s kind of funny and kind of sad and Marilla has the best reaction to it.

But after that, she has some pretty upsetting news.

Angleberger has stated matter-of-factly that this is he last Qwikpick story.  He says there were only ever three found.  The story doesn’t exactly end on a cliffhanger but it is written in such a way that makes you really wonder about their future–it is deliberately thoughtful about what happens to them a few years down the road.  And I guess we’ll never know.

Once again, the great illustrations are by Jen Wang