SOUNDTRACK: JIM BRYSON & THE WEAKERTHANS-The Falcon Lake Incident (2010).
I don’t know who Jim Bryson is (he’s a Canadian folk singer, duh), but I do know The Weakerthans. And since this CD is always listed in The Weakerthans’ discography, I thought it was worth investigating.
All of the songs have a Weakerthans feel, there is no question (I mean, they play all the music). And while I like the album quite a lot, I feel like without John K. Samson’s voice, the disc is missing something. Nevertheless, the album is a wonderful folky album, a great mix of upbeat and slow tracks.
“Metal Girls” is a wonderful upbeat folk rocker. It’s incredibly catchy. “Fell Off the Dock” is a much slower, sadder song with the final repeated line, “everybody loved it here, but you.” “Wild Folk” ups the tempo again. “Constellation” is another slow song, this one with beautiful harmonies.
“Freeways in the Frontyard” has even better harmonies, from Jill Barber–a kind of minor key harmony that works very well. “Up All Night” is another more uptempo track that could easily be an adult alternative hit. “Kissing Cousins” is a slight track that seems like it should be funny but isn’t really. “Decidedly” is one of my favorite tracks on the disc. It’s boppy with a fun chorus: “Why would you ever grow leaves just to watch ’em fall off again.”
The first and last tracks feel more like filler or intro/outro than real songs. But that’s okay. It’s a tidy little album of very pretty songs. And the tempo changes keep everything interesting for half an hour or so. You can’t complain about that.
And in case you were wondering, the Falcon Lake Incident is a reported UFO encounter near Falcon Lake, Manitoba, Canada claimed to have occurred on May 20, 1967 (thanks Wikipedia).
[READ: January 19, 2012] “Happy New Year”
Of course, I wish I had read this article earlier in the month, but then I only found out about it a couple of days ago.
This is an article (I assume from the editor of The Lotus Magazine) which bemoans the loss of the New Year’s Day tradition of going to (pretty much) anyone’s house for meals and snacks and drinks and good times.
The article states that it may have been about 35 years ago (circa the 1880s) that the Dutch custom was abandoned. Before then, people in New York City would throw open their doors and it was:
a breach of etiquette to omit any acquaintance in these annual calls, when old friendships were renewed and family differences amicably settled. A hearty welcome was extended even to strangers of presentable appearance.
Indeed, it seems that certain houses were known for:
particular forms of entertainment. At one was eggnog; at another, rum punch; at this one, pickled oysters; at that, boned turkey, or marvelous chocolate, or perfect Mocha coffee, or, for the connoisseur a drop of old madeira, as soft as rainwater and as delicate in flavor as the texture of the glass from which it was sipped. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 