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Archive for July, 2019

Donald Antrim–“The Pancake Supper” (New Yorker, December 27, 1999 & January 3, 2000)

Posted in Canadian Music, Donald Antrim, Funny (ha ha), Huh?, Humiliation, New Yorker, Pancakes, Rheostatics, Short Story, The Jack Family, Therapy, Work on July 31, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: THE JACK FAMILY-“You Are My Sunshine” (Moose: The Compilation, 1991).

Back in the 1990s, it was common to buy a compilation or soundtrack or even a band’s album based on one song.  Only to then find that you didn’t really like anything else on it.

Maybe that single sounded like nothing else on the album.  Maybe the movie was almost entirely one genre, but they had that one song that you liked over the credits.  Or maybe the compilation was for something you didn’t know, but a song you really wanted was on it, too.

With streaming music that need not happen anymore.  Except in this case.

I bought this compilation, used, recently exclusively for one song, Rheostatics’ “Woodstuck.”  It’s a goofy song and this is the only place you can get the studio version.  The actual compilation was not well documented, so I didn’t know what the other bands on it might sound like.  It turns out to be a compilation for Ontario based Moose Records which specialized in Rock, Folk, World & Country.  They put out another compilation in 1992 and that’s all I can find out about them.

According to Reno Jack’s biography: The Jack Family was a bunch of musicians who jammed out to whichever song was chosen by whoever was singing. Unrehearsed and free floating each member choosing an alias with the last name Jack just having fun away from the pressures of presenting original music. The band had names like Reno Jack, Bunk “Everyone Drums” Jack, Chief Don Jack, Mercedes Jack, Monterey Jack, Nevada Jack, One-Eyed Jack, Y “Tip” Jack and The Jackets backing singers.

This is the slowest, mopiest take on “You Are My Sunshine” I have ever heard.  Reno Jack is know for “country blues” and this version sounds like the most depressing part of both genres.

[READ: July 30, 2019] “The Pancake Supper”

Thomas suggested that all of the teaching analysts go out for a pancake supper twice a year.  Not at the fancy pancake house, but at the modest open-all night Pancake House & Bar.

Because Breakfast foods, except for cereals, that contain inordinate amounts of sugar, have, in my experience, a comforting, antidepressant quality.

The first to arrive was Manuel Escobar who disagreed with that sentiment: “I suppose that is true is you are an American.”

Escobar flirted with the waitress.  He also wanted to make love to Thomas’ wife.  Thomas was introspective about this:

It has occurred to me from time to time that an affair between this man and my wife could be harmless enough, and might solve a variety of problems in my home life.

Up next was Maria who immediately praised Escobar’s work. (more…)

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Edna O’Brien–“Forbidden” (New Yorker, March 20, 2000)

Posted in Canadian Music, Edna O'Brien, Farming, Irish Writer, Lost & Profound, Marriage Trouble, New Yorker, Parenting, Rheostatics, Short Story on July 30, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: LOST & PROFOUND-“All Consuming Mistress” (Moose: The Compilation, 1991).

Back in the 1990s, it was common to buy a compilation or soundtrack or even a band’s album based on one song.  Only to then find that you didn’t really like anything else on it.

Maybe that single sounded like nothing else on the album.  Maybe the movie was almost entirely one genre, but they had that one song that you liked over the credits.  Or maybe the compilation was for something you didn’t know, but a song you really wanted was on it, too.

With streaming music that need not happen anymore.  Except in this case.

I bought this compilation, used, recently exclusively for one song, Rheostatics’ “Woodstuck.”  It’s a goofy song and this is the only place you can get the studio version.  The actual compilation was not well documented, so I didn’t know what the other bands on it might sound like.  It turns out to be a compilation for Ontario based Moose Records which specialized in Rock, Folk, World & Country.  They put out another compilation in 1992 and that’s all I can find out about them.

Lost & Profound has a fantastic name.  They are from Calgary and were originally called The Psychedelic Folk Virgins (quite a different concept). The band is based around the married musicians Lisa Boudreau (vocals) and Terry Tompkins (guitars).

This is a slow song sung by Lisa Boudreau.  The credits don’t list a violin, but it sure sounds like there’s one on the song.  Maybe it’s an e-bow.  This song, a low-key folk song seems to be a good representation of the band’s sound.  A find this a moody and enjoyable song.

[READ: July 20, 2019] “Forbidden”

This is a story of a woman and her mother.  A symbiotic relationship of two women on a farm in Ireland.

In dream, my mother and I are enemies, whereas in life we were so attached we could almost be called lovers.

Her mother was a superstitious woman who looked for augurs and signs.  So that when the narrator began writing, her mother said that literature was a precursor to sin and damnation.

Her mother hated the books she brought home from college and when she wrote fanciful pieces for a railway magazine her mother seethed. (more…)

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Salman Rushdie–“The Little King” (New Yorker, July 29, 2019)

Posted in Anne Bourne, Canadian Music, Corporate skewering, Don Kerr, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Lawrence Howarth, Loreena McKennitt, Ron Sexsmith, Salman Rushdie, Short Story, Sloan on July 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: ANNE BOURNE-“Evangeline” (Moose: The Compilation, 1991).

Back in the 1990s, it was common to buy a compilation or soundtrack or even a band’s album based on one song.  Only to then find that you didn’t really like anything else on it.

Maybe that single sounded like nothing else on the album.  Maybe the movie was almost entirely one genre, but they had that one song that you liked over the credits.  Or maybe the compilation was for something but a song you really wanted was on it, too.

With streaming music that need not happen anymore.  Except in this case.

I bought this compilation, used, recently exclusively for one song, Rheostatics’ “Woodstuck.”  It’s a goofy song and this is the only place you can get the studio version.  The actual compilation was not well documented, so I didn’t know what the other bands on it might sound like.  It turns out to be a compilation for Ontario based Moose Records which specialized in Rock, Folk, World & Country.  They put out another compilation in 1992 and that’s all I can find out about them.

This is one of my favorite songs on this record (that’s not the Rheostatics song).  The song is deep and low with a cool rumbling bass and drum pattern.  Anne Bourne’s voice is deep and intense and generates a wonderful slow burn.

Maybe I like it because Don Kerr, a future Rheostatic, plays cello on it.

Interestingly, there is an Anne Bourne who is a Canadian cello player. I have to assume it’s the same person, but it’s very hard to tell.  If it is, she has played on a huge number of great Canadian albums by Cowboy Junkies, Ron Sexsmith, Sloan, Jane Siberry and Loreena McKennit.

[READ: July 29, 2019] “The Little King”

Salman Rushdie obviously has a reputation as being a cryptic writer who is hard to read–deserved from The Satanic Verses, but otherwise rather unfounded.  Especially when you read a story like this.

This two-pronged story is about two men, distantly related, who couldn’t be more different.  The first man that we meet is obsessed (like really obsessed) with the Indian talk show host Salma R.  The other man is Dr. R.K. Smile, the world-renowned creator of a tremendous pain reliever called InSmile.

The first man had no real friends.  The only thing he wanted to do was obsess over Salma R.  He had never met her but he characterized what they had as love.  He even christened himself Quichotte for Don Quichotte and resolved to be her beloved knight-errant.  Everyone who heard of his plans tried to dissuade him–even people he friended on Facebook told him it was terrible idea.   And this is where Rushdie proves that he is not a snobby writer

In response to his posts there were frown emojis and Bitmojis wagging fingers at him reprovingly and there were GIFs of Salma R. herself crossing her eyes, sticking out her tongue and rotating a finger by her right temple all of which added up to the universally recognized set of gestures meaning “cray cray.”

Quichotte worked in pharmaceutical sales for his wealthy cousin, the very R. K. Smile mentioned above.  Dr. Smile was hugely successful and although he knew that Quichotte was a terrible employee, he felt that it was his duty to protect this layabout–lest he turn into a Willy Loman character.  Since R.K. Smile’s business had recently taken off in a massive way–he was now officially a billionaire–he could easily afford to have an unproductive relative as an employee. (more…)

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Newport Folk Festival Recap (Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI, July 27 & 28, 2019)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Amanda Shires, Amy Ray, Benmont Tench, Billy Strings, Bob Boilen, Brandi Carlile, C., Chris Funk, Colin Meloy, Courtney Marie Andrews, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, CSN, Dawes, Dolly Parton, First Ladies of Bluegrass, Fleet Foxes, Fruit Bats, Hozier, Hurray for the Riff Raff, J.S. Ondara, Jade Bird, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, Jim James, Judy Collins, Jupiter & Okwess, Lake Street Dive, Lucy Dacus, Maggie Rogers, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Molly Tuttle, Muppets, My Morning Jacket, Native Americans, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, Nilüfer Yanya, NPR/PRI/PBS, Our Native Daughters, Pete Seeger, Portugal The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, S., Sheryl Crow, Susto, T., The Decemberists, The Highwomen, The Milk Carton Kids, The Shins, Trey Anastasio, Vacation, Wilco, Woody Guthrie, Yola on July 28, 2019| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27 & 28, 2019] Newport Folk Festival

Back in 1998, I won a radio contest (not through luck, I knew the name of a song and couldn’t believe no one else did!) and scored a ticket to the Newport Folk Festival.  It was in a lull back then and also, I believe there was only one stage (it’s hard to remember).  Now it is at full power, selling out before artists are even announced.

S. and I have talked about going and finally this year I saw when tickets were announced and I bought 4 tickets for us.  I knew that our son wouldn’t want to go, but I decided to make a long vacation out of it–a couple days in Rhode Island and then about a week in Maine.  He couldn’t say no to going to that.

I didn’t get Friday tickets because three days seemed excessive.  Plus, you never know who is going to appear until long after you buy the tickets. and that actually worked out pretty well.   Turned out, there wasn’t anyone I really wanted to see.

So we rolled in for Saturday.  I was told that if you wanted to get the poster you had to get their very early.  We arrived at 12:30 and they were long sold out.  Oh well. (more…)

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Hozier (Newport Folk Festival, July 28, 2019)

Posted in Hozier, Mavis Staples, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, Nina Simone, Portugal The Man, XPN Fest on July 28, 2019| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2019] Hozier @ Newport Folk Festival

Ever since I learned that Hozier’s “Nina Cried Power” featured Mavis Staples who knew Nina Simone, I was more blown away by the song.

From Billboard:

it was important to me to have Mavis involved. She was kind of there at the beginning of the song. Even when the song was in its embryonic state and the idea of it was forming, I wanted to credit the legacy of the artists in that song and the names were kind of popping into my head, [and] I knew it needed Mavis. I just felt incredibly fortunate and honored that she got where the song was coming from and vibed with it and was up for being a part of the song.

I’d already been impressed by “Take Me to Church” and “Jackie & Wilson,” so I knew I’d want to see him live. (more…)

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Trey Anastasio (Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, July 28, 2019)

Posted in Mike Gordon, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, Phish, Trey Anastasio, Vida Blue on July 28, 2019| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2019] Trey Anastasio @ Newport Folk Festival

I have seen many variations of the Phish band.  I’ve seen Phish a number of times, I’ve seen Mike Gordon solo, I have also seen the Trey Anastasio Band and soon I’ll be seeing Vida Blue.  So here was my opportunity to see Trey solo.  I’d heard that his solo shows were terrific.  And this was terrific.

His show was the one I was most excited for on this day, even if there were a few other bands I wanted to check out.  I was happy to have gotten pretty close to the stage (again, if I ever go back, stand on the other side, with the sun at my back).

Unlike at a Phish show where Trey barely says anything (usually not even hello), Trey is very chatty solo.

This shows feel very intimate (even in an outdoor venue with thousands of people).  I know he has a lot of solo music out so I was pretty thrilled at how much Phish he played. (more…)

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Sherman Alexie–“Indian Country” (New Yorker, March 13, 2000)

Posted in Alex Radeff & Donkey, Books about writers, Canadian Music, Donkey, LGBTQ, Native Americans, Sherman Alexie, Violence on July 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: DONKEY-“Memory Haunts Me” (Moose: The Compilation, 1991).

Back in the 1990s, it was common to buy a compilation or soundtrack or even a band’s album based on one song.  Only to then find that you didn’t really like anything else on it.

Maybe that single sounded like nothing else on the album.  Maybe the movie was almost entirely one genre, but they had that one song that you liked over the credits.  Or maybe the compilation was for something you didn’t know, but a song you really wanted was on it, too.

With streaming music that need not happen anymore.  Except in this case.

I bought this compilation, used, recently exclusively for one song, Rheostatics’ “Woodstuck.”  It’s a goofy song and this is the only place you can get the studio version.  The actual compilation was not well documented, so I didn’t know what the other bands on it might sound like.  It turns out to be a compilation for Ontario based Moose Records which specialized in Rock, Folk, World & Country.  They put out another compilation in 1992 and that’s all I can find out about them.

Donkey is NOT the Donkey from Atlanta.  This is a band from Toronto founded by Alex Radeff (the band now goes by Alex Radeff & Donkey). It’s a shame this song is buried so far down on this album, because it’s really great.  It’s got a cool Byrdian sound, but with a slightly darker feel.  This song sounds mildly sinister.  And then with chorus of “memory haunts me every single day,” you can tell why the tone works.

It’s got a guitar solo that sounds like it was recorded in a tinny room, with the rest of the band dropped down somewhat so it really stands out.  It’s certainly a peculiar song.  Like his website says: Founded by singer/songwriter/guitarist Alex Radeff as a vehicle for his eclectic songs.  The song even ends with a bit of backwards guitar solo.  Cool stuff.

[READ: July 20, 2019] “Indian Country” 

This is a story about Low Man Smith, a Coeur d’Alene Indian and successful writer.

He was returning to the Reservation (which he said was always horribly monotonous until some horrible violence interrupted the monotony) to meet up with Carlotta.

But when he arrived, she had sent someone to meet him because she had just run off and gotten married to Chuck.  She wasn’t planning on it, but Chuck showed up a couple days ago, eleven years sober and they ran off together. (more…)

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Jeff Tweedy (Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, July 27, 2019)

Posted in Jeff Tweedy, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, Wilco on July 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2019] Jeff Tweedy @ Newport Folk Festival

I have seen Wilco once and have seen Jeff Tweedy solo once.  He is a lot of fun live–chatty, funny, very loose and playing a great collection of songs.

This set was fifty minutes and he played about a dozen songs.  I was sure I had taken more clips than I did, but I’m going to blame it all on the sun.  Note to self: if I ever go back to Newport, be sure to stand on the other side of the main stage with the sun at your back.

Jeff was funny and engaging.  And, most surprising, he wasn’t wearing his hat! (more…)

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Lucy Dacus (Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, July 27, 2019)

Posted in Bob Boilen, Jeff Tweedy, Lucy Dacus, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI on July 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 28, 2019] Lucy Dacus @ Newport Folk Festival

I have seen Lucy Dacus twice and she has been really amazing both times.  I was very excited to see that she would be at Newport.  But I was really bummed to see that she would be running into Jeff Tweedy’s set.  I had to decide who I wanted to see more, Lucy or Jeff.  Since I had seen Lucy twice and more recently, I decided to pick Jeff.  (It also seems more likely that Lucy will tour again before he does).  That meant I could only see a few Lucy songs.

S and T came and we all sat under the big tent.

She sounded great (of course) and her band was in great form.

She opened with “Addictions,” a fantastic song.   I knew there wouldn’t be much that I hadn’t heard from her before.  Neverthless, I was delighted that we got to hear “La Vie en rose” which is tremendous live (and which S. liked very much). (more…)

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Colin Meloy (Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI, July 27, 2019)

Posted in Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy, Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI on July 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2019] Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy was at Newport Folk Festival to read his new book The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger.  It was announced shortly before the Festival and S and I were super excited to see him.  He was in the kids tent and did a reading in between two bands that played on the main stage.

He came in and chatted with us and then read the book. (more…)

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