SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Alt House, University of Western Ontario, London, ON (January 23 1997).
This show takes place at the University of Western Ontario, an unusual location for the band, but they had an appreciative crowd. There’s a long introduction in which Don Kerr is late to get to the drums. They say that he’s sick and, in fact, they’re all sick, but they don’t sound sick when they play.
The college atmosphere seems to relax them. Indeed, Martin tells a very lengthy story about a painter near his home town in Italy (as an introduction to “Motorino”). He rarely talks much on stage so this banter is a rarity. Dave asks if the fans like the banter. He takes a poll. Songs and banter? Much cheering. No banter. Apparently one vote. Upon hearing that one vote, Dave says, that guy, security! Some fans shout “only banter no music,” but the band doesn’t acknowledge that.
They once again mention martin’s new Chickadee banner and they even throw in some jokes about chickadees in “Four Little Songs.”
This show they explain that they get a little bored playing older songs so they like to mix them up a little. “Record Body Count” sounds rather different and it has a very pretty guitar outro by martin that leads into the intro of “Michael Jackson.”
The opening band was People From Earth, the band that Martin’s brothers were in. I can’t find out much about them and I can’t find any music from them, but I’m very curious to know what they sound like.
This is a really enjoyable show. The recording level is a little too quiet at times, but the sound is quite good.
[READ: February 24, 2014] Keon and Me
This rush of Rheostatics music has had me investigating what the band has been up to since they split up. They have all released some solo records, and Dave Bidini seems to have devoted a lot of his time to writing as well. In addition to his column at the National Post, he has written a dozen or so books. I’ve already read his two earliest books (which were about touring and hockey respectively) and thought I’d read some of his other books too (about baseball, hockey, touring, hockey, hockey, music etc). I thought about reading his third book, but then–amazingly coincidentally–his newest book, Keon and Me was staring at me from a pile of new books at work.
How exciting! Sure it was out of sequence, but that was fine.
The only problem (and the reason I wasn’t too too excited to read it in the first place) was that I had no idea who Keon was. I had gleaned that he was Dave Keon, a hockey player. But I’d never heard of him. It turns out he was the captain of the Toronto maple Leafs in the 70s, during the Leafs’ heyday. Aside from his achievements, which were quite impressive, what was most impressive about Keon was that he only got into one fight in his entire career–and that was in his last game with the Leafs–which garnered him a 2 minute penalty. That’s pretty impressive given that it was the era of goons and thugs when fighting was often more important than hockey.
But this book isn’t really a biography of Keon. Rather, it is a memoir of Bidini growing up and loving Keon. And of his fanaticism to the Leafs (who have sucked ever since Keon left). It is also the story of young Dave Bidini, grade schooler, who was bullied by the classroom thug (and biggest Flyers fan). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RALPH STANLEY-Tiny Desk Concert #31 (October 13, 2009).
Ralph Stanley is apparently a living bluegrass legend, although I’ve never heard of him. He plays a clawhammer banjo (and apparently has for 63 years).
The concert lasted only 6 minutes, but in that time he sang three a capella songs: “Gloryland,” “Turn Back, Turn Back” and “Amazing Grace.”
It’s hard to assess a legend based on this performance. I’ve no idea how good his voice was back in the day. He sounds fine here, albeit understandably quite old. I’d have liked to hear his banjo.
[READ: January 3, 2014] Grantland #8
It is becoming apparent to me that Grantland loves basketball. Like, a lot more than any other sport. This issue had a ton of basketball in it. And, I have to admit I was a little tired of it by the end–there was a lot less pop culture stuff, too. So, it felt especially basketball heavy. I realize of course that the time frame covered was the playoffs, but still.
BILL SIMMONS-“Searching for a Superman”
A lengthy article about Dwight Howard, discussing the pros and cons of signing him again.
MARK TITUS-“How Did He Get So Good?”
A look at Paul George and Danny Green doing better than expected in the NCAA playoffs.
CHARLES P. PIERCE-“A Dark Day in Boston”
Pierce wonders about Boston after the Boston Marathon bombing–he says the city will come back stronger. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Bathurst Street Theatre, Toronto, ON (October 7, 1994).
This show was broadcast on the radio, and indeed, this is an encore broadcast that you can download from Rheostatics Live.
Anyhow, it begins with people raving about the Rheos on the radio. And then the band kicks in. The set is 45 minutes, although I assume the original must have been longer. Why? most of their shows are longer and this feels like it might have some cuts for commercials and whatnot.
They play ten songs, and it’s alike a highlight reel of their earlier music: “Take Me in Your Hand,” “King of the Past,” “Queer,” “California Dreamline,” “Soul Glue,” “Claire,” “Northern Wish.” But it’s also got its far share of goofiness: some improvs and the resolutely silly “Full Moon Over Russia” and “Alomar” (which sounds really tight here). It’s a great set and a great introduction to early Rheos live music.
[READ: January 29, 2014] “My Man Jeremy”
Everyone mostly knows Cera as an actor (who I’ll see in anything). But he’s also a writer. His previous piece in McSweeney’s was very funny. And so is this one. Although now the two published things I’ve read by him were both about being an actor, so maybe its time to broaden the range a bit.
Anyhow, this is basically a set up about text messaging. He opens by explaining that people ask him is he has any funny stories about texting (this part is in italics). Then he tells us this tale about Jeremy. The text messages are written straightforward, with interjected comments by Cera as he “studies” the exchange.
It begins with a text from an unknown number “Sup you coming to this thing?”
Michael writes back. “Hi oops I don’t know this number. I’m Michael, who is this?”
Now, this isn’t especially funny, but it did make me smile to think that anyone would respond to a wrong number this way. At any rate…. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: An open letter to the Rheostatics (2014).
To Dave, Martin, Tim and assorted drummers:
I’ve been a fan of the Rheostatics for a long time. I recall traveling to Toronto from New Jersey back in the 90s and tracking down Introducing Happiness at Sam the Record Man. And then later driving around the Niagara Falls region listening to the strange and wonderful album. I’ve enjoyed all of the subsequent albums.
You were a unique band with a unique sound. I was sad when you split up, even if that meant that now there were three solo projects to enjoy. Of course, there’s been a lot of bands that have broken up, it’s just part of being a fan. But the thing about the Rheostatics breakup is that you three (or four or five or six) have remained friendly. You’ve done a few reunion shows since the breakup, which I think that’s super cool. It’s especially cool because RheostaticsLive tends to post them after a while so that those of us who don’t make the shows can hear them.
I’ve never seen you guys live, and I imagine I never will. And I’m okay with that. What I’m mostly bummed about is that there will be no more new music from you. You put out approximately ten albums (there’s a few miscellaneous things that are hard to qualify). Those records include soundtracks and live albums and all manner of things, so there’s really seven proper albums (the others are great, don’t get me wrong). Anyhow, my gut feeling is that there needs to be some new Rheostatics music. I know you’ve all been doing solo stuff (and I have it), but sometimes the sum is greater, etc.
Clearly I’m getting at that it’s time for a new album from the Rheostatics. Before you scoff, I’m not talking reuniting for a grand tour, or even any tour, I’m not even talking a live show. Heck, I’m not even talking about you guys hanging out for more than a couple weeks. Just an album of new songs. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable that you would get together for the expense of an album without major label support. But now, the cost is so much lower and with your fan base expanding, I assume it would be easy to recoup the expenses.
So what do you say? Since it seems like everyone is still friendly and creative, maybe you can throw some ideas around in the email, see if there’s anything magical happening. Obviously, if there’s nothing there or you just can’t work together, then don’t continue. No one wants to hear a crappy Rheostatics album. But if there’s even a chance that you guys can throw some ideas together and pull out another “Horses,” or “Northern Wish” or “CCYPA,” or holy cow, “King of the Past,” or, hell, anything you’ve done, then it’s absolutely worth it.
I don’t imagine any of you will read this, but maybe if you google yourselves, Tim Vesely, Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, you’ll see this and think that, yes, dammit, seven records of Rheostatics music is not enough.
Thanks for the music, Paul Debraski.
[READ: January 26, 2014] Worst. Person. Ever.
I told myself that I wanted to read this book before anyone requested it. And I did. In fact, I wanted to finish it before the weekend was up, which I did as well. It’s nice to meet a minor goal.
The last few Coupland books that I read (see last week) were very dark. Since those books, he has broadened his palette somewhat, including writing a children’s book and some more non-fiction. And then we get this. A vulgar, very funny sendup of modern culture. The introduction to the book says that it was based on a short story that he wrote for McSweeney’s #31 called “Survivior.” That story was written in the style known a biji which they described as
Biji is sort of a notebook, which contains legends, anecdotes, scientific notes and local wisdom. Accounts of everyday life mix with travel narratives as well as lists. It is meant to represent a picture of the culture at the time of writing.
I thought that this style was well suited to Coupland, because he includes all of that stuff anyway. And so he has taken that story and fleshed it out into this full novel.
The worst person ever is named Raymond Gunt. He thinks he’s Jason Bourne, but he’s really just a metaphorical extra in a Bourne movie (one who probably gets killed). Gunt is a cameraman working in England. He is divorced. His wife is a raging harpy (at least from his point of view, which is all we see). Since their divorce, she has become wildly successful in television production. He calls in on her at work and she tells him about a job working as a B cameraman on a show called Survival. He knows that the job must suck or she wouldn’t give it to him, but he needs to work. Of course, he is most upset at the thought of having to work with Americans (Americans are majorly abused in this story). Although by its very nature a B cameraman position is not as good as an A cameraman, Ray needs the work, so he agrees to fly to some godforsaken tropical island to watch beautiful people starve and try to have sex with each other.
On his way out of the building he sees a homeless guy. And since Ray is the worst person ever, he kicks him. But the homeless guy is no pushover and he chases after Ray. He catches Ray in an alley and pummels him, ultimately pushing his face into some garbage. The man is Neal and although he acts crazy, he’s actually quite sharp (why he is homeless is not addressed). After forcing Ray to sing the female verses of “Don’t You Want Me,” Neal gives him this sage advice:
“Stop being a cunt to the world and the world will stop being a cunt to you.”
Advice which Ray simply cannot follow.
When ray learns that he needs a personal assistant, um, slave, he immediately thinks of Neal. So he tracks him down, cleans him up and gives him a job. And off they jet to make some TV.
In the course of the book, a series of crazy things–the kind of things only Coupland thinks of–sidetrack them from Ray’s goal. (His real goal is to get laid, naturally). First, it turns out that Neal, despite being homeless, is a total babe magnet. And throughout the story, as he gets cleaner and fresher, he becomes irresistible This, of course, ruins Ray’s plans of bedding hot women. And as Neal gets cleaner, he becomes less and less Rays assistant and more and more Ray’s equal.
They jet to L.A., (he was supposed to be in first class, but was bumped and is super angry). He also gets in trouble with the airport bartender, Lacey, who comes back to haunt him in ways one could never predict. He gets first class seats on the way to Hawaii and he abuses the privilege. Then, because of unforeseen circumstances, they have to stay in Honolulu (with lots of Spam jokes). And because of those unforseen circumstances, they need to recast the show, which means Ray’s wife has to jet down and be around them. And Ray’s wife, Fiona, is delighted to make Ray’s life miserable. Eventually, they head to their intended island and prepare to set up for the show.
In the meantime, the U.S. has decided to destroy the Great Pacific Garbage Patch–in a very imaginative way. And ray is on hand to witness the destruction. This plan causes all manner of trouble with shipping and airplane traffic. Which has the effect of isolating everyone on the Survivor island–causing a literal survival situation.
Raymond Gunt may not be the worst person ever, but he is pretty darn close. He tries to sleep with anyone. He tries to screw over everyone else (but never seems to get anywhere). And he genuinely likes to torment others. And all the while he repeats his mantra, “I consider myself a reasonable enough citizen.” Despite Gunt’s personality, he (or at least the story) is funny enough that you want to keep reading (and maybe even to succeed in some of his designs). And that made this story a major page turner. And it was very funny as well.
Coupland really gets the feel for writing a British story. It doesn’t read like any of his other books and while it’s not full of crazy accents or overt Britishisms, his main character is defiantly not American. As I said, all Americans are fat, sweaty, stupid and prudish in Ray’s mind.
This is also the worst person that Coupland has ever written. He is such an abominable person with an incredibly filthy mouth. The above quote is just one of just many curses in the book. In fact there’s a whole subplot about how prudish Americans are about people saying “fuck” despite their cavalier acceptance of violence and other things (we say friggin, when everyone knows we mean fucking).
I have to assume Coupland had a ton of fun writing this. And it really comes through. I’m also going to guess that a lot of people’ won’t like this book because Gunt is so reprehensible. But if you can get past that, the story is funny, and makes some pointedly humorous observations about a lot of contemporary life. Like “Survival [sic] is a popular reality TV show… You’re either into this show or you’re not. It’s binary.” or “‘Come on Eileen’ was a single in 1982…What’s weird about this song is that it was so huge at the time and now you listen to it and wonder, what the hell was everyone thinking? Well, that’s pop culture for you.” It even has what seem like Wikipedia entries of things throughout in the book (and a YouTube link which is bizarre to see in print).
I really enjoyed this, and I’m thrilled that Coupland has unleashed his inner black humorist.
Watch him talk about the book with Jian Ghomeshi, a great interviewer
SOUNDTRACK: SARAH SISKIND-Tiny Desk Concert #23 (July 27, 2009).
I don’t know much about Sarah Siskind. She is a country-ish singer who seems to have gained some fame once Bon Iver started covering her song “Lovin’s for Fools.” She tells a pretty interesting story about how he came to learn her song (by looping it–thereby missing out on the words to the second chorus. And yes she did wonder why he didn’t play that chorus).
She plays three songs in this Concert. I like her guitar work, especially on the first song, “Falling Stars.” But there’s something about either her voice or her delivery that I just don’t really like. I’ve listened a few times ow and I have grown to appreciate her style, but it’s just a matter of personal taste that I don’t really care for her.
[READ: January 17, 2014] “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”
One thing that I like so much about Alice Munro is that her stories are so timeless. This story was originally published in 1999 (wonder why they didn’t re-publish that first story which I wrote about yesterday), but there are no real indicators of when it was written. (There are some clues to the time frame of the story, but it was clearly not set in the late 90s).
This is a straightforward but fairly complex story, with a lot of emotional heft. A married couple, Grant and Fiona, have been together for a long time. Fiona had always written notes to herself, but Grant sensed recently that the notes were becoming somewhat alarming. Instead of books to read or appointments to keep, she was writing “cutlery” on the kitchen drawers. Then she started forgetting normal things–like how to drive home or that something which she thought had happened last year had actually happened 12 years ago. Not major problems, but causes for concern.
And so, Fiona was sent, at first temporarily, to Meadowlake. And Grant was not to show up for the first month–they found that patients settled in better if they were not reminded of their house and old life. After a month of wondering about her and thinking about her, Grant goes to Meadowlake, excited to see Fiona. But when he arrives she is not in her room–the touching reuniting scene will not be enacted as he pictured. And the nurse seems rather impatient with him when he asks where she is. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: THE DAVE DOUGLAS BRASS ECSTASY-Tiny Desk Concert #22 (July 20, 2009).
This is the first jazz Tiny Desk Concert. I imagine it was very loud in there!
So the Brass Ecstasy is a five piece band with trumpet, tuba, french horn and trombone (and drums). They play three songs: “Spirit Moves” and “Twilight of the Dogs” two compositions by Douglas (who plays trumpet) and “This Love Affair” a Rufus Wainwright song!
The originals are jazzy and fun with a kind of old school feel. And “Twilight of the Dogs” is even political (and yet instrumental). I don’t know the Rufus Wainwright song, so i don’t know how well they do it, but i never would have guessed it was one of his.
The blurb says that the trombonist left the contents of his spit valve under Bob’s desk. Ew.
To see everything (but the spit valve) click here.
[READ: January 18, 2014] “Greener Grass”
This is a story about Canadian hippie parents, which I rather liked.
The daughter of the story is named Shell. Shell and her parents are house hunting–they currently live in a rental and want to get a proper house–for one where they can have an art studio and a garden. So when they see an interesting house, they stop the Dodge Dart and decide to investigate the place.
They knock on the door and a boy answers. He is drinking Mountain Dew and has a harelip. He calls out “Gare” and a man who Shell calls “Shark Nose” appears. Shark Nose tells them that the house is solid and shows Shell’s dad around. He talks about all the good things in the house and the sad fact that the basement is always damp (the foster kids all have asthma, so they can’t really stay down there). [Interestingly, between this and Douglas Coupland’s Eleanor Rigby, that’s two stories that are critical of the Canadian foster system in the 1970s].
Even though the dad is a hippie (big of beard and seeking places to garden), he is no fool. And he climbs up on the roof. He also gets all of the dogs (who suddenly start barking) to silence with a shrill whistle. But the story really focuses on Shell and the little boy. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: BILL CALLAHAN-Tiny Desk Concert #21 (July 13, 2009).
Bill Callahan (formerly known as Smog) plays beautiful slow ballads. He has a deep, calming, gorgeous voice. And his songs have a very traditional acoustic feel (even when he plays electric guitar). He is excellent at what he does.
But I’m afraid I just don’t really like his style all that much. I can absolutely appreciate why he is so well-regarded, because even as I’m listening to this Tiny Desk set I keep thinking how good everything he is doing is. Man, his voice is so interesting, and his music is so pretty (the strings add a very nice touch).
But I just can’t imagine myself ever choosing to listen to his album.
In fairness, a song on a mix tape would probably be awesome, and I did enjoy the three songs here: “Jim Cain,” “Rococo Zephyr” (great title, and my favorite of the three) and “Too Many Birds.” And I can imagine if I was ever on a mellow music kick that this would be where I’d start. So if you enjoy pretty, mellow music done incredibly well, Bill Callahan is definitely your guy. I feel like he is not as well-known as he ought to be, so check him out.
[READ: January 23, 2014] Eleanor Rigby
Completing three Douglas Coupland novels in two weeks may seem daunting, and it is especially so when the books are as dark as these have been. (With Coupland’s follow up book, JPod, he would go in a different direction and kind of break the darkness somewhat. And the new book which just came out seems like it is more humorous than dark). This book is perhaps the most insular of his career and perhaps the most insular book I’ve read. The title is puzzling (and is ultimately revealed), although Coupland says that he was inspired by wondering what happened to Eleanor Rigby after the (Beatles, duh) song was over.
So in this story, the main character is named Liz Dunn. Liz is a blank. She claims that she is so dull that if she were an extra in movies, she would be asked to leave the scene because she is too devoid of character to even be an extra. (Actually, Liz lays the self-pity on a little too thickly throughout the book–we got the point). Liz has a brother, who is an accomplished world traveller, and a sister who lives nearby and pops in to check on her once in a while. Both are married and have their lives together, unlike Liz who lives by herself in a room with no personality at all.
Liz’ sister is beautiful and got up to all kinds of trouble in school and William has always been successful, but Liz was…nothing. She didn’t like to do much. And she pretty much holds herself up as the antithesis of her sister. She watches movies all the time in her living room. And then she goes to sleep. She works at a well paying but dull job and she has saved a ton of money because she never spends it on anything.
As the story starts, she is getting wisdom teeth out. She takes a week off from work, but he boss (the Dwarf Whom I Report To) calls to say that someone will bring some work over to keep her busy. She has bought a bunch of tear jerker movies in hopes of riding out the painkillers with them. And then she gets a phone call. A man named Jeremy has her name on his medic alert bracelet and he is in the hospital.
Liz doesn’t know who he is, but then takes a guess and goes to see him in the hospital. And it turns out to be…her son. (more…)
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed her Tiny Desk Concert. Unlike most of the musicians, she busts out an electric guitar, and although it’s quiet, there’s some good buzzy distortion on it, especially in the first song “Heavy Snow.” And it sounds good with her voice, which is powerful, even if she does seem nervous.
On “Ce Charmant Coeur” she sings in French and then messes up when she admits she’s thinking of other things and is distracted by the intimacy of the setting. Bob and company calm her by saying that she is sweating less than Tom Jones did (and there’s very funny joke about her breasts popping out (they don’t)).
She plays “Tailor.” It seems like she tried earlier and stopped half way through and is now trying again (the Concert itself starts midway through, so I assume that’s what was cut off). It’s a pretty, mellow song (very different sounding from “Heavy Snow”).
For the last song she plays “Consolation Prize” which she says is unlike any she’d written before. There’s a chaotic section in the middle which they agree we can just imagine because shes not going to play it in this setting. The blurb with the show says that she normally rocks out pretty hard–something that I’d like to see.
In looking up Doiron’s past she was on Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop, so I must have seen her name a lot back in the day. I now see she has recorded with all kinds of bands that I like, and I’m curious to hear her more rocking edge (especially since she is so polite and sweet and nervous here).
After finishing the exciting All Families are Psychotic I moved on to his novel with my least favorite title and with a horrendous cover. You’d think that I would remember these books but I had no memory of this one either, and I’m fairly certain I read it within the last ten years.
Coupland must have been in a very dark place with this book as well.
There are four sections, each from a different person’s point of view. This technique of having a person tell his or her story is something Coupland does very well in all of his works–he loves to tell stories about telling stories.
But the darkness about the book is that it is set in a school just as three student gunman come in and shoot up the cafeteria, killing dozens of students, including the first narrator, Cheryl. This was written with the Columbine shootings in mind, although it has nothing specifically to do with Columbine.
In Part 1, Cheryl has already been killed as she is relating this story to us. She tells us about herself and her decision to join Youth Alive! a religious group in school. She and her friends in the group are very moral and are quite clique-y (and they are not widely liked).
The latest thing in Cheryl’s life which has her preoccupied and which has her Youth Alive! group very upset is that she has been spending a lot of unchaperoned time with Jason. Everyone knew they were dating, but it seems to have gone further now. And Cheryl explains to us (but not them) that she and Jason have started having sex. But not until after they rushed off to Vegas and were quickie-married (which no one knows, not even their parents). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARIA TAYLOR-Tiny Desk Concert #19 (June 29, 2009).
I’d never heard of Maria Taylor before this Tiny Desk Concert. She was part of the duo Azure Ray (who I also don’t know). Then she went solo and as of this recording has released three albums.
Taylor has a pleasant voice (she reminds me of a number of different Lilith Fair singers, although I can’t pinpoint who specifically), but it’s not especially remarkable. The first song “Ladyluck” I found to be nice. The second song “Time Lapse Lifeline” fared better–the guitar melody was a little stronger, and the harmonies really helped.
The final track, “Clean Getaway” is another pretty gentle ballad (the two guitars really help add texture to all of these songs). Although even the end seemed to just stop without actually ending.
I didn’t find Maria Taylor to be terribly memorable. However, the Tiny Desk setting seems to be the best way to hear Taylor as her voice is well suited for an intimate location.
[READ: January 17, 2014] All Families Are Psychotic
I saw recently that Douglas Coupland had a new book coming out in 2014. And I also knew that I had three of his older novels to re-read, so I decided to make this the Winter of Douglas Coupland and read all three of those books before his new one came out. Then I got to work and saw his new book on top of a pile of newly delivered titles. Sigh.
Well, there was still no reason I couldn’t read the other three in a row, possibly even before anyone wanted his new book. So, off I went. And indeed, I finished this book on our little vacation. And even though I’m fairly certain I’ve read it before (it came out just before or after 9/11/01, gasp) I didn’t remember a thing about it.
This book has a title that I’m mixed about. It’s a great sentence, but I’m not sure it’s a great title. And although someone speaks the title in the book, it doesn’t really explain the book very well.
In fact it’s pretty hard to explain the book quickly. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: RHEOSTATICS-Alt House, University of Western Ontario, London, ON (January 23 1997).
This show takes place at the University of Western Ontario, an unusual location for the band, but they had an appreciative crowd. There’s a long introduction in which Don Kerr is late to get to the drums. They say that he’s sick and, in fact, they’re all sick, but they don’t sound sick when they play.
I don’t know Julie Doiron exactly–her name sounds familiar, and I know the band Eric’s Trip (she was the bassist), but I don’t really recognize her.
I Just Read About That... 