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Archive for the ‘Canadian Content’ Category

The 2009 Edmonton Folk Festival

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Edmonton Folk Festival, Loudon Wainwright III on March 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

efolk
Back in November, I promised a faithful reader that I would provide updates about the upcoming Edmonton Folk Festival. I secretly hope I can go to it although realistically, getting to Edmonton from New Jersey for a concert seems pretty unlikely.

The festival is August 6-9th.

And, just to make myself jealous, here’s the first batch of confirmations:

The Steeldrivers
Rodney Crowell
Alex Cuba
Kathleen Edwards (whom I love on John Doe’s “The Golden State”)
Pavlo
Pine Leaf Boys
Loudon Wainwright III (yes!)
Sam Baker (from Lambchop) with Gurf Morlix
Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir
Fred Eaglesmith

These are just some of the bands appearing.  And I so wish I could go.

You can find more information about the Festival here.

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Alice Munro–“Some Women” (New Yorker, December 22 & 29, 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Christmas Album, Marriage (Happy), New Yorker, Short Story, Sufjan Stevens on January 7, 2009| 3 Comments »

TNY 12.22&29.08 cvr.inddSOUNDTRACK: SUFJAN STEVENS–Ding! Dong! Songs for Christmas Vol. III (2006).

dingdong1Disc Three of the Sufjan Christmas collection is my favorite.  It returns to the more mellow, folksy style of the first disc (and is replete with banjo!).  It opens with some thing of a reprise of “O Come, O Come Emanuel” (only a minute long).  It’s piano and vocals and very pretty.  It proceeds to his boppingest, Christmas song on the whole set: “Come on, Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance” with multiple singers and lots of instruments (and a fugue pattern of voices, too).   It continues with two traditional songs: “We Three Kings” (possibly the best version I heard all season) and “O Holy Night.”  I’ve mentioned that “O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and this version is quite good, with lovely harmonies (from different people listed although, no one credited specifically for the track) and the way it builds to such a full song by the end.

Despite the title, “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” sounds beautifully reminiscent of Sufjan’s catchiest banjo-infused songs on Illinois (the mellow ones without orchestration).  “Ding! Dong!” is a short instrumental.  “All the Kings Horns,” is an original.  And the disc ends with “The Friendly Beasts,” which some will note is Sarah’s favorite Christmas song.  I like this version more than most others, although the doubling vocals make it a little hard to understand.

So, hooray for Vol. III!

[READ: January 5, 2009] “Some Women”

Alice Munro continues to be shockingly prolific.  At this rate I’ll have read her entire forthcoming short story collection before it even comes out. (more…)

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Peter Behrens–“Feel This” (The Walrus, December 2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Cancer as plot device, Drinking, Fishbone, Marriage Trouble, Peter Behrens, Ska, The Walrus, War on January 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »

boniwalrus-dec08SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Set the Booty Upright Bonin’ in the Boneyard single (1990).

This is a slight remix EP of their classic “Bonin’ in the Boenyard.”  The two remixes of the song (Bonin’ in the Jungle) and (New and Improved Bonin’) are okay (really nothing beats the original which is not included).  But the 3 other songs are fun b-sides.  “Love and Bullshit” is particularly good (even at under 2 minutes). It’s fast and furious.   “In the Name of Swing” is a jazzy romp with a few different sections for fun, and it features the nonsense that the band members talk and shout to each other in the background.

This is not essential by any means.

[READ: December 26, 2008] “Feel This”

This story about a brother returning from WWII has more depth than it might at first appear.  As we learn that the brother, Jack, has returned from the front under special circumstances, we see the family’s reaction to how he was discharged…honorably? …dishonorably? …or something else.

But really the story is about the family’s father, and how he handles disappointment (grief not really being an option for him). (more…)

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Richard Van Camp–“Show Me Yours…” (The Walrus, November 2007)

Posted in Canadian Content, Consumerism, Dreams, It's a Wonderful Life, Richard Van Camp, Short Story, The Walrus on December 31, 2008| Leave a Comment »

walrusnov07SOUNDTRACK: FISHBONE-Fishbone EP (1985)

fishboneAfter listening to “It’s a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)” at Christmas, I had to bust out the old Fishbone discs, which I haven’t done in quite some time.  So I’m beginning with the EP that started it all.

This EP will always have a special place for me. It is fast, funny, energetic and is an awesome mix of ska, punk and just plain old offensive silliness.  There’s 6 songs.  “Ugly” has the chorus “U-G-L-Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you’re just ugly.”  They are surely not the first bunch of people to say that (I seem to recall saying it as a kid myself), but they certainly do it in the most catchy fashion.  It also sets the tone for the EP: fast ska, silly lyrics and totally fun.  “Another Generation” is more serious, but as a good sign for things to come, it is no less catchy, and it highlights the various singers in the band.  “? (Modern Industry)” is a favorite.  It’s just a list of radio stations, but it’s set to an awesome skanking rhythm.  And it’s fun to pick out the stations near where you live (if any are still around 22 years later).  “Party at Ground Zero” will always be an amazingly fun song.  The horns are great, the tune is great.  Everything: great.  “V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F.” Twenty-two years later I finally learned that this title stands for Voyage to the Land of the Freeze Dried Godzilla Fart. Thanks internet.  And of course, the last track “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” always made us laugh in college.  It is silly and rude.  As a sensible grown up, of course, I disapprove of the lyrics, but really it’s very funny.

Fishbone was headed for greatness in just a few short years.

[READ: December 26, 2008] “Show Me Yours…”

This story comes from the special Arctic issue of the Walrus.  When the story began I was concerned that it was a story steeped in Inuit tradition as I was pretty lost for the first couple paragraphs. (more…)

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Brian McLachlan & Tom Williams–No Dead Time (2004)

Posted in Alfie, Books about music, Brain McLachlan, Canadian Content, Consumerism, Corporate skewering, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Graphic Novel, Oni Press, Smarty Pants, The Divine Comedy, Tom Williams on December 17, 2008| Leave a Comment »

nodeadSOUNDTRACK: THE DIVINE COMEDY-Casanova (1996)

casanovaFollowing Promenade, Neil Hannon released Casanova.  Stylistically it is very different.  It features more of a band, rather than an orchestra (although it retains an orchestral feel).  Perhaps because of this, there were three singles from the album, all of which charted in the UK.  “Something for the Weekend” is a wonderfully fun song, full of twists and double crosses, sex and debauchery and, of course, something in the woodshed (all in just over 4 minutes).  It’s a fantastic lead off single.

The second track was the second single “Becoming More Like Alfie.”  This was long before the remake of the movie Alfie, so I had no idea what the song was referring to.  I have not seen either version of the film, but I know now that Alfie is a ladies man, as the chorus leads off, “Everybody knows that no means yes…”

In fact, the whole album deals with sex.  Loving sex, debauched sex.  Sex, sex, sex.

“Songs of Love” follows a few of the more debauched songs with a beautiful ballad of a shy young man who sits in his bedroom noticing that “while they search for a mate/My type hibernate/In bedrooms above/Composing their songs of love.”  The next song “The Frog Princess” was the third single.  It is a sweet and tender ballad of love.  Until you get to the end of the song in which the narrator wonders, “But how was I to know that just one kiss/Could turn my frog into a cow?”

The album is solid and wholly enjoyable.  And it’s clear that Neil wasn’t done with songs about love as shortly after Casanova he released A Short Album About Love.

READ: [December 2008] No Dead Time

From time to time I do an order directly from Oni Press.  I tend to order a bunch of graphic novels at a time, and this was one that sounded interesting.  The general premise is that Nozomi is a young girl who works in a record store.  She’s fed up with the stupid people she has to deal with all day.  (“You were looking for (Led) Zeppelin under Z, weren’t you?”) Meanwhile Seth is an IT guy who is sick of the corporate world, and sick of dealing with his boss.

But really the first thing you notice about this comic, is the totally bizarre looking characters.  (more…)

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Kerry Colburn & Rob Sorensen–So You Want to Be Canadian: All About the Most fascinating People in the World and the Magical Place They Call Home (2004)

Posted in Books about music, Burt Bacharach, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Corner Gas, Funny (ha ha), History, Hockey Night in Canada, Holidays, Ian Ferguson, Johnny Cash, Kerry Colburn, Mike Ford, Moxy Fruvous, Nanaimo Bar, Poutine, Rob Sorensen, Short Books, Will Ferguson, Woody Guthrie on December 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

so-youSOUNDTRACK: MIKE FORD-Canada Needs You volume two (2008).

fordThis is the long awaited follow up to Mike Ford’s first Canada Needs You CD.  Volume Two covers Canada’s history in the 20th Century.

The album is more fun than the first because there are several tracks where Ford uses a stylistically appropriate music to go with the songs: “Talkin’ Ten Lost Years” uses a Woody Guthrie-inspired “talking blues” to go along with the Depression-era lyrics.  “Let’s Mobilize” is done in a great swing style for a 1940s/50s era song.  “Joey Smallwood” uses a near-perfect Johnny Cash style (it may not be time-appropriate since Cash is timeless, but it works great for the song).  “Maurice Richard” is a perfect Dylanesque folk song.  And finally, the pièce de résistance is “Expo 67!” It is so wonderfully Burt Bacharach-y, so perfectly late sixties it gets stuck in your head for days! C’est Magnifique!

The rest of the album, especially the first three songs do not try to match a song style to the time it discusses.  Rather, he sings about Canadian history in a folk/rock style ala Moxy Fruvous (“Creeping Barrage” and “In Winnipeg”) or in a great R&B/girl group style–with actual female singers, not himself in a falsetto (“Tea Party”) or reggae on “I’m Gonna Roam Again.”

The songs are all great.  And, yes, it’s a great way to learn some history (I’ve already Googled Joey Smallwood, just to see who he was.  I’m trying to get all of the lyrics down, but it’s not always easy, especially if you don’t know the details of what he’s singing about.  Which leads to my only gripe.

My gripe is that the disc packaging doesn’t include much information.  And, since he is essentially teaching people about the history of Canada, I’d think that some details should be included in the packaging.  I realize of course, that he says that the he’ll have the information on his website, but since we’re carrying the disc with us (not the website), it’d be nice to have at least a summary like on Volume One.  Because frankly, I don’t know enough about Canadian history to know what he’s talking about on most of the tracks.

The only problem is that as of this writing he hasn’t put the information on his website yet.  D’oh!

[READ: Christmas 2007] So You Want to Be Canadian

iamcI am Canadian.  Okay, I’m not, but I’ve had the beer, and I’ve seen the commercial (hilarious) and I’ve been there several times. I even have Canadian satellite broadcast into my home (long story).  So, I’ve seen Rick Mercer’s Talking to Americans, and I’ve been a fan of Corner Gas long before it was broadcast down here. (more…)

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Patrick Lane–“Red Dog, Red Dog” (The Walrus, October/November 2008)

Posted in Alice Munro, Canadian Content, King's X, Marriage Trouble, Patrick Lane, Short Story, The Walrus on November 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

walrus-octSOUNDTRACK: KING’s X-XV (2008).

xvIt’s funny that it was the release of this King’s X album that got me to re-listen to all of them.  I was really pleased with this record when it came out because I had felt that I wasn’t enjoying King’s X as much as I used to.  But upon listening to this one again, I found I didn’t like it as much as some of their other more recent releases.

I’m not sure what it is, but something seems slightly less substantive on this record than say, Ogre Tones.  But I don’t think it’s the songs themselves, if that makes sense.  It has to be something about the overall feel of the disc or the track listing or even the production that detracts, because there’s not really a bad song on the disc.

“Pray” is as excellent a rocking single as you’ll hear these days: the bass is that cool watery sounding bass that Doug has been experimenting with lately.  And, while some may think it is a return to religious songs, I think it is just the opposite.  “Blue” and “Repeating Myself” are decent ballads from Doug and Ty respectively.  While “Rocket Ship” is another one of their Huh? songs, with the inscrutable chorus “Would you like to spend the night in my new rocket ship?”

But overall, the album seems to spend more time with their softer side.  Not that’s there’s anything wrong with their softer side, but their softer side has changed somewhat.  On earlier discs, the softer songs were beautiful, layered, harmonized ballads, but these seem to be mid-tempo rockers.  “Julie,” “I Just Want to Live,” and ” I Don’t Know” are mellow certainly but they lack the celestial quality of their earlier songs.  Again, they’re not bad, but they’re just good songs.  But lest you think they’ve gotten too old to rock, there’s still “Alright” and “Move” which get things back on the harder/faster track. The album ends with the raucous, awesome sing-along “Go Tell Somebody.”

There are two bonus songs (what does a bonus song mean anymore anyhow?  They used to be there to get people to buy CDs over LPs, so, where are these “bonus” tracks NOT available?”).  Love and Rockets (Hell’s Screaming)” is the heaviest/darkest thing on this album, or possible any album by them.  While “No Lie” is a fun little blues jam.

In re-listening, I can’t say that I dislike any of the songs and hearing any song by itself would be great. And even a few days later while writing this, “Alright” (one day (one day) it’s gonna be (it’s gonna be) alright (alright) alright! (alright!) just won’t leave my head.  But somehow the flow of the album is just not quite perfect.  Maybe I miss the gorgeous harmonies, or some of the real highs and lows of a typical KIng’s X album.  In fact, this may be their most mainstream sounding disc, suitable for all, and maybe that’s why I don’t like it quite as much.

[READ: November 6, 2008] “Red Dog, Red Dog”

This story follows in a tradition of rural Canadian stories full of bleakness and despair. Its temperament reminded me somewhat of Alice Munro, except there was no really redemption, which you often get from Atwood. (more…)

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Janice Galloway–“Opera” (The Walrus, April 2008)

Posted in Alexisonfire, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Janice Galloway, Moneen, The Walrus on November 6, 2008| Leave a Comment »

walrus-aprilSOUNDTRACK: ALEXISONFIRE/MONEEN Split EP (2005).

alexisThis is a disc in which the Alexisonfire guys play 2 Moneen songs and the Moneen guys play 2 Alexionfire songs. (Plus two originals from each band).  I picked this up when I ordered AOF’s Crisis, because according to MapleMusic, they couldn’t ship it outside of Canada.  I figured it must be some kind of rare thing, until I saw it on Amazon, so I just ordered it there.

The “selling point” of the disc is, of course, hearing these guys play each others’ songs.  However, I don’t know the originals, so it’s hard for me to comment on the covers.  Regardless, this is a fun collection of two bands respectfully playing each others songs (albeit in a fun way).

Knowing what I do about the two bands, it’s interesting to see the different styles that they bring to the songs.  AOF’s growl-y singer brings a hardcore edge to Moneen’s more emo tracks, and conversely, Moneen soften up AOF’s songs with their math rock leanings.  Plus, there are a few surprises as well: “Passing Out in America” (done by AOF) has a great a capella section where the guys sing what I assume is a musical passage in Moneen’s original.

The Maplemusic listing and cover suggests that this is called “The Switcheroo” although my copy doesn’t state that on it.  Maybe that’s what couldn’t leave the Canadian border.

[READ: November 1, 2008] “Opera”

This story feels like an excerpt, although I’m not sure that it is.  There seems to be some things missing, which are only noticeable because of the things that are not missing.  For instance, Michaela is off the boat from Ireland, but it doesn’t say where she presently is or where the story is set. The other character, Lola has no characteristics that mark her as being Irish (it doesn’t say she is, for instance) yet she uses the most general Irish slang when talking to Michaela: calling her “hen,” saying “in wee pieces” and “on you go.”  None of these phrases are as Irish as say “caid mille failte” but they do give a bit of lilt to the character.  But Lola’s background is basically left out, she may be Irish, she may not. (more…)

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Ali Riley–“Hag” [excerpt] (The Walrus, May 2008)

Posted in Ali Riley, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Creem, Funny (strange), Joni Mitchell, LGBTQ, Sloan, The Walrus on November 3, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: SLOAN-Parallel Play (2008).

I’ve enjoyed Sloan since my friend Al played me their first single “Underwhelmed” back in the 1990s.  Unlike Al, however, I have enjoyed them ever since.  In fact, a few of their discs rank up as my favorites of all time (Between the Bridges, in particular).

The one thing I have never been able to do, however, is keep track of who is who in the band and who writes/sings which songs.  I think if I were younger and had more free time I’d be all over keeping these things straight.  However, at this point, it’s not worth the effort.  Which is fine, as I can’t decide who is my favorite songwriter anyway.  Just when I’m sure that “Witches Wand” is my favorite track on the record, I remember “All I Am is All I’m Not” or “I’m Not a Kid Anymore” and I give up trying to decide which guy makes me happiest.

What’s interesting about this album is that (at least according to one interview) the four guys wrote and played each one of their songs by themselves.  There are 13 tracks which means they each got 3 songs and someone got a bonus track.  The joke of the title is that, much like 2 year-olds who play next to each other but don’t interact, this album was played by 4 friends who never interacted with each other.

So, you get 4 songwriters, playing the full spectrum of their ideas, but who are all still Sloan, and you get a wildly divergent album that retains the overall sound of the band.  It’s really tremendous.   This album is also under 40 minutes, so you get great hook-filled songs that come in, rock your world, and then leave.  It’s also hard for me to pick a favorite Sloan album at this point, because each one has so many good songs.  Their last album, Never Hear the End of It was a little too long at 70 minutes, but it was still full of fantastic songs (and I guess if you have 4 songwriters each contributing something you’d be hard pressed to create crap).

Sloan are back, and still producing great stuff.  Now, if anyone wants to tell me who is who, that would be terrific.

[READ: October 29, 2008] “Hag”

I didn’t realize this was an excerpt until the very end where it states that you can read an expanded version of the story here.  I thought the story seemed unfinished, so that makes sense.  Anyhow, this story won the 2007 Summer Literary Seminar.

This two page excerpt shows Lance and the narrator hitching a ride to Calgary.  The time is the mid 70s, as noted by Creem Magazine (I used to love that mag!), Joni Mitchell’s Hejira record and vinyl albums lovingly stored in plastic sleeves.  (more…)

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Greg Hollingshead–“Whyte Avenue Blue,” David Bergen–“Just the Thing,” Charlotte Gill–“Terminal City,” Donna Morrissey–“Red Carpet Caper,” Michael Winter–“Beyond the Overpass,” Heather O’Neill–“The End of Pinky” (The Walrus, January/February 2008)

Posted in Canadian Content, Charlotte Gill, David Bergen, Donna Morrissey, Gangsters, Greg Hollingshead, Heather O'Neill, King's X, LGBTQ, Michael Winter, Noir, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, Threats, Violence on October 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X-Ogre Tones (2005).

No one should be made to feel ALONE! And with that Kings X are back.  It’s the most aggressive scream I’ve heard from King’s X (and it comes from Ty, not Doug no less).

After what seemed like something of a hiatus with Black Like Sunday and Live All Over the Place, King’s X seem rejuvenated and excited to be rocking out.  Despite the hardcore opening scream of “Alone,” the song is their catchiest single yet.  Lyrically the song is about tolerance and compassion.  Its also pretty short (just under 3 minutes), as are the next 4 songs.  It’s as if they had these great ideas and just had to get them out.  “Stay”  returns to the style of old King’s X, with a minor change: it’s the vocal harmonies that are dissonant not the guitars.  “Hurricane” also tinkers with the formula where part of the chorus revels in their harmonies of old and the other part plays with a new aspect: gang vocals, bringing power rather than subtlety.  “Fly” is yet another great shoulda-been a single.  And “If”is yet another Stellar ballad, where Doug sings verses and harmonies bring in the chorus.

A controversial song (for fans anyway) is “Bebop.”  This is one of their experimental tracks, and it kind of hearkens back to some of the tracks off of Bulbous with very staccato guitars, unusual bass lines and the nonsense lyrics of “Bebop be alive ya’ll. Awhop boba lo bop a wop bam boom!.”  While it’s not their best work, it’s certainly catchy as anything, and I give them credit for throwing in some experimentation.  And frankly, it’s pretty fun if you loosen up a bit.

The next few tracks play with the basic formula of the album, until you get to “Sooner or Later” which, lets Ty noodle around on the guitar for 5 or 6 minutes, like an extended jam off of Faith Hope Love.  “Mudd” ends the album proper with a really touching, sweet song.  It could easily fit on Gretchen.

The last two songs I don’t really count.  “Goldilox (Reprise)” is, as you might guess a remake of “Goldilox.” I don’t know why they’d remake one of their most beloved songs.  Aside from the fact that they’ve been playing it since 1987, and the band has changed their style somewhat, they could show everyone what it would sound like if they made it now.  Otherwise, why bother.  It does sound good, mind you, but the original sounds better.  The last track, “Bam” is a historical recording of Thomas Edison’s phonograph.  It’s a weird way to end a record.  But nothing can take away from the fact that King’s X are back in form and they still sound great.

[READ: October 24, 2008] “Whyte Avenue Blue,” “Just the Thing,” “Terminal City,” “Red Carpet Caper,” “Beyond the Overpass,” “The End of Pinky”

I had put off reading these stories because I was in the middle of a couple of other things at the time.  When I finally got around to reading them (and they’re all very short…about a page or two each) I had forgotten that the “theme” behind the stories was noir.  When I started reading them, I kept thinking…none of these stories is even remotely believable.  It’s like the authors are trying really hard to craft stories that are transgressive, almost beyond belief in some way.  Well, when I re-read the sub-heading for the stories, I realized: “The Walrus asked Canadian novelists to sketch their cities as grittier, sexier, and darker than you might ever have imagined…”  So that explained it. (more…)

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