SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Fall Nationals The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto (November 17, 2003).
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Violet Archers playing on this same night. This was night 8 of 13 in the Rheostatics Fall Nationals 2003 Tour. This was called SoloStatics Night. Martin played and then Tim and the Violet Archers played. And then Luke Doucet’s band Veal played (not sure if they were first or last). Evidently Dave was sick, so he didn’t play.
The band for Martin’s set is Monica Gunter (Violin), Greg Smith (Bass), Ford Pier (Guitar), Michael Wojewoda (Drums), Luke Doucet (Pedal Steel).
It’s a short set (only 45 minutes) and he doesn’t play any Rheos songs (which makes sense). It opens with “Double X” which is just him on guitar and Monica the violin. He plays very aggressively. It’s great. Being in a fun mod he mentions that tonight is the solo show for the Rheostatics and whatnot, then he says that that’s not true, the Whatnots are playing tomorrow.
This is the first live instance of “The Temperance Society Choir.” But he forgets a verse and they all seem to put their heads together trying to remember it until he says “somebody help me with this fucking song.” There’s some wild bass and guitar noises on this song, too.
For “Sergeant Kraulis,” there’ a big chorus with everyone singing along. And Martin gets out his Steinberger to really wail And I love watching him (see video below) make the crazy noises at the end of this song. Luke Doucet joins them on “Winnipeg.” It’s a really good, robust version of the song, with Ford Pier taking some of the vocal lines (like “get the fuck off the stage.”) And also jumping around like a lunatic during the more rocking moments.
They rock out “That’s What You Get for Having Fun” and the cover of “Cold Blood Old Times” (which Martin says they have to play faster).
Before the final song they start asking each other if any of them has any T-Bone, they all say they got mashed potatoes but no T-Bone (which references a Neil Young song, but is still pretty weird).
The set ends with a solo acoustic guitar version of “From the Reel,” which is beautiful.
It’s a really great performance and amazingly, it was captured on video, too.
[READ: October 22, 2015] The Sun Has Forgotten Where I Live
In all of the Christian McPherson blurbage, it mentions his two books, Six Ways to Sunday & The Cube People. And these are the two books of his which I have not read. Huh.
This was McPherson’s second collection poetry. It is very much like his first collection: musings on being a dad (which are quite tender and sweet and very true to life) and then darker thoughts about society and such.
And he gets to the crux of what I find hard to know about whether I like his poems. The entirely of the poem “trying to” consists of this valid exchange: (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON (April 5, 2002).
By April, Martin was back in Toronto. The newer album would be coming out in 2003, and he plays 4 songs from it. The rest of the songs comes from his first solo album with a couple of Nick Buzz songs, a Rheostatics track and a Joni Mitchell cover thrown in.
For the first three songs, it’s just him and his acoustic guitar. “World in a Wall” sounds great and he even plays a gnawing sound on the guitar strings (sliding the pick up them). He’s got cool, aggressive strumming in “Double X.”
For Joni Mitchell’s “River” Kevin Hearn plays piano. It’s quite lovely (and Hearn is applauded, of course). Then Martin plays an outstanding version of “She Said ‘We’re on Our Way Down’” (each live version gets better).
Before playing “My Sweet Relief” he says “stay tuned for Operation Infinite Justice.” He is clearly keeping this as the band’s name, even if the next album will be changed somewhat to Operation Infinite Joy.
There’s a great percussion sound on “That’s What You Get for Having Fun.” On Voices in the Wilderness” he finally just comes out and mentions the source of the lyrics: after singing “if you choose not to decide…” he changes his own words to “I know Geddy, he don’t know me” (from the usual “I know him, he don’t know me”).
During “Sgt Kraulis” (one of the newer songs) they have a jam section in the middle it turns reggae and someone starts singing “Legalize It.” And in “Love Streams” the piano (I assume no longer Kevin Hearn) plays a “stoned” melody when the lyrics speak of being stoned (musical humor!).
“Saskatchewan” sounds great—it’s a really passionate versions (with some backing vocals going “woah woah” near the end).
Martin has fun with “How Can You Sleep?” he seems to be talking during it, expanding on a line in the song ”Want to quit drinking? Cut off your head.”
This is a outstanding show. The recording quality us great and Martin is in fine and funny form throughout.
[READ: October 20, 2015] Killer Dope
Since I found some McPherson books in the library, I decided to also grab this book. This is a short story, but it was published by Bad Moon Books (in a limited edition of 150 copies) and was the winner of 2004 New Cat Tattoos. I believe that it was reprinted in his short story collection Six Ways to Sunday (but I cannot confirm this).
So this story is, as the title suggests, all about drugs.
Our two protagonists are Two Seconds (whose name has a wonderful derivation) and Little Fish (whose name is also cleverly derived). Little Fish is painting graffiti under a bridge (a UFO flying out of the eye of a kid shooting smack). Two Seconds is watching him add details and believes it to be the best art he had ever seen.
Then Little Fish asks him if he is ready for tonight. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Richard’s On Richards Vancouver BC (March 30, 2002).
The download for this show is notable for being (in my opinion) out of sequence. After the second song it seems pretty clear that the concert is now over. Looking at some of the other shows at the time, I wasn’t sure if I could reconstruct the actual order. It was a bit harder than I anticipated, but I think the show actually went like this
World in a Wall
CCYPA
Double X
Love Streams
My Sweet Relief
That’s What You Get for Having Fun
Voices from the Wilderness
OK by Me
That’s How They Do It in Warsaw
I’ll Never Tear You Apart
Winnipeg
Beauty On
I’m guessing “World in a Wall” is first because before playing it he does a brief intro of “CCYPA,” and it seems unlikely that he would do it again after he just played the song. For this set he is solo for the first three songs . He’s kind of all over the place in “Wall” throwing in some extra lyrics and repeating verses—I’m surprised he didn’t get mad at himself.f
Then the band comes out and he introduces them as Operation infinite Justice (incidentally, “Operation Infinite Justice,” was the name of the military intervention that the U.S began after 9/11. Muslim groups protested the name on the basis that their faith teaches that Allah is the only one that could provide “infinite justice”. Thus, “Operation Infinite Justice” was changed to “Operation Enduring Freedom” on Sept. 25, 2001). So clearly, Tielli was making a point. The band consists of Greg Smith on bass, Barry Mirochnick on drums and Ford Pier on guitar and keys.
For “Ok By Me” he gets that great chorusing guitar (that sounds like Queen) just like on the record. For “Love Streams” it’s just him and the piano (presumably Ford Pier) who at the line about being “stoned’ play a riff from Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine” (did anyone know that was a cover of a J.J. Cale song?)
“Shaved Head” stays in the delicate style of the previous show and for “My Sweet Relief,” he starts the song solo and the band kicks in about 1/2 way through.
After playing “That’s What You Get for Having Fun” someone in the band says that they have merch in the back of the room and that they will be flogged by their manager if they don’t mention it.
In “Voices in the Wilderness,” he sings the actual Rush lyric “if you choose not to decide” (rather than “if you choose not to be free”) and has fun with the word “squeaky” in squeaky voice. There’ as mellow jam at the end of the song.
The penultimate song is “Winnipeg.” It’s the first live version of this song on the site. I like that since it was a new song the guys who recorded the shows didn’t know what it was called. And it’s such a peculiar song with different things that could be choruses that the author of this recording calls it “Anyday” and in the next show they call in “I’ve Had Some.” But it sounds great live.
The show ends with “Beauty On,” the opening track from his upcoming album (although he leaves out the humorous “Cincinnati” bit–which makes sense).
It’s another great show, running just about an hour.
[READ: October 19, 2015] Cube Squared
I found this book at work and judged it by the cover. I decided it would be fun. And it was.
This is the sequel to McPherson’s first novel (which I have not read) Cube People. I thought that perhaps there would be zombies in this novel (given the cover) and there are, but not in the way one might suspect.
The basic set up is this: Colin MacDonald works for the Canadian government. He is in a tech job which is not very techie. He works in a cubicle, deals with his co-workers and plans to write the great Canadian novel (if such a thing exists). He has already written two books. The first one was successful, the second one less so. And he would very much like to get a third book written.
But he is now married with three little kids, he has to paint his house and his father just died.
This last bit is pretty important to the story. Even though his father was never a very good father to him (he was an intense drunk and then an intense convert to Christianity), he has mixed feelings about his father’s death. Worse yet, his father seems to be talking to him a lot more now than he ever did when he was alive. And he is fairly certain that his father thinks he’s a waste of time and effort with little to show for himself (or at least that’s his take on his father). (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Horseshoe Tavern Toronto, ON (2002).
After the Rheostatics’ Night of the Shooting Stars album, the band took a few years before recording their final album. During that hiatus of sorts, Martin Tielli released his second solo album Operation Infinite Joy. But before getting that album out, he did a short tour in 2002. This is the second date of that tour (although, as with other bootlegs, I find it funny that the date is lost). Speaking of lost dates, there are no dates at all for Martin Tielli on Setlist.com. Shocking!
Anyhow, this show has great audio. It’s one of those recordings where you can hear the audience, but they are not louder than Martin himself.
As with many of the shows of this era, Martin opens the show on solo acoustic guitar—with some awesomely aggressive chord strokes. He just seems really into this set, with a great growling “ain’t necessary” line in “Double X” and one of the best versions of “She Said ‘We’re On Our Way Down’” that I’ve heard (better than the album).
Before Martin is joined by more musicians, someone asks him how old his jacket it. He says about 14 years old. Then Greg Smith joins him on bass for “My Sweet Relief”
When he switches back to the quiet “World in a Wall” it’s practically like a dramatic reading the way he performs it. He says he was living in a cruddy apartment when he wrote this song. As an opening for “Voices from the Wilderness” he says he used to criticize Dave Bidini for writing songs about music, but he finally embraced it and wrote this awesome song.
For “Farmer in the City,” he says they’re going to try something really quiet—and the audience is rapt. It’s pretty cool. Selina Martin plays crystal on this song (which I assume means glasses?)
When they get to the Nick Buzz song “Love Streams” it’s very quiet and you can hear someone in the audience loudly shot “Shut the fuck up.” He doesn’t acknowledge that but says that the band Nick Buzz was named after the cigarettes that he is now craving. After getting his smoke he introduces”That’s What You Get For Having Fun” by saying this is gonna be a gooood song.
He plays a quieter, more intimate version of “Shaved Head” with a lengthy outro. The track listing says “Stolen Car” is next but there is no “Stolen Car.” They play a rocking version of “Sgt Kraulis” with some fun mechanical voices over the end.
This is a great set that runs about an hour. The crowd I really into it and so is Martin.
[READ: October 19, 2015] Poems That Swim From My Brain Like Rats Leaving a Sinking Ship
I started reading Christian McPherson’s Cube Squared. And when I looked him up I saw that my library also had a few collections of his poetry. So I decided to check them out.
This was his first collection (after a collection of short stories). Most of his poems are fast paced and immediate (as the title suggests). There’s not a lot of reflection in them, they are more designed to get a point across.
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-“We didn’t even suspect that he was the poppy salesman.” (2001).
I wrote about this album once before, and while I made notes about it after listening to it again, I found out that they were pretty much exactly what I thought of the record four years ago. So I’m going to simply repost the review here, but I’m going to add some new notes seamlessly intermingled.
Martin Tielli’s first solo disc is a proper solo release: it’s almost all him on acoustic guitar and his gorgeous alto voice. I hadn’t listened to this disc in a while and I was delighted by how much of the disc I knew so well.
The opening track, “I’ll Never Tear Your Apart” is deceptively simple: beautiful harmonic’d guitars and his gentle voice. There’s a great video to go with it here. That is followed by the wonderful “My Sweet Relief” which sounds like a great Neil Young folk song: great verses an a strong chorus. Lyrically, though, it is all Tielli. “Double X” highlights Tielli’s beautiful acoustic guitar work. It’s another great story song, this one about a destitute person hanging under a superstore with a K and an M.
“Voices in the Wilderness” is a simply beautiful song, a lovely guitar melody and Tielli’s high voice singing along.. I also love that the lyric (mis)quotes Rush very nicely: “‘If you choose not to be free you still have made a choice,’ said a high and squeaky voice.”
“Farmer in the City” is the only track that Tielli didn’t write. It’s a nearly 8-minute song by Scott Walker. I had never listened to the original, but having now done so, I find the Walker version to be far superior. Walker’s voice is so eccentric and wonderful. So even though I love Martin’s voice, he just can’t compare to the original. Also find Martin’s version to be just a little spare (the Walker version has lovely strings. Kevin Hearn plays celeste and Selina Martin plays wine glasses on the track.
It’s followed by the delightful “World in a Wall” which uses mice in the wall as a metaphor for a broken relationship (with wonderful detailed lines like: She’s like a mouse, I know she’s around It’s a gnawing sound. Leaves little brown poohs from a little pink bum.”
This is followed by “That’s How They Do It in Warsaw” which is the first really rocking song (it has bass and drums) and a voiceover in Polish by Kasia Zaton.
It’s coupled with a slightly less rocky but still loud track “How Can You Sleep?” (which makes another fun musical allusion, this time about Guided by Voices). It has a co-songwriting credit from Dave Bidini and has a kind of vocal allusion to Bob Dylan, although I doubt it is about him.
“She Said ‘We’re On Our Way Down’” is a song that I really want to enjoy more. But It is so spare and Martin’s vocal line is so abstract, that I can never really get int it. But the guitar riff is really powerful and cool. And yet, the song seems to eschew melody but then a gorgeous guitar or vocal line shines through and really sounds brilliant. “From the Reel” is a beautiful, aching acoustic ballad.
The disc ends with the odd, seven minute “Wetbrain/Your War.” The first part (wet brain) is kind of slow but it builds into a beautiful dark song about addiction.
This is a really beautiful album, although there are moments when I fell like Martin gets too delicate, it’s amazing to hear just what he can do when he’s on his own.
[READ: October 19, 2015] Academia Waltz
Way back a long time ago I was pretty excited to read all of the Bloom County reissue books. Somehow I only got through Books 1 and 2, although I see now that five volumes were released in total.
Presumably at the end of that run, (which technically ended in 2011) comes this volume. Academia Waltz is the strip that Breathed wrote back in college. This book collects some (but apparently not all) of the strips. It’s odd to not collect them all since there is also an art gallery with all kinds of original pieces (complete with edits and scribbled notes) that duplicate many of the earlier strips.
The first part collects pieces from Academia Waltz the 1979 collection. The second part comes from Bowing Out, the 1980 Collection. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Jane Bond, Waterloo, Ontario (September 29 2001).
The second Martin Tielli solo show on Rheostaticslive comes two years after the first one. It’s a new band and Martin’s debut solo album We Didn’t Even Suspect He Was the Poppy Salesman is due out soon (or just came out, it’s hard to be sure). Although interestingly, he plays some songs that will wind up on his next solo album (which is years away). The show is at Jane Bond in Waterloo, and unlike the previous show, this one has massive audio problems. There are 4 songs that are nearly inaudible and the whole set is recorded very low. Which is a bummer because the set is very good.
As seems to happen a lot to Martin, he is having all kinds of technical troubles and he gets shocked a number of times during the set (I don’ think I’ve ever heard of this happening to people before, but it seems to happen to him a lot.) He also asks the crowd quite often if they can hear okay.
The show opens with the backing music of Talking Heads (which is quite loud). And then Martin and company open the show with the slow Scott Walker song “Farmer in the City.” Then they play a Nick Buzz song, “Love Steams” and Martin gets shocked so bad that he takes a break. He re-starts the song and it sounds really good.
Then inexplicably, Martin’s voice drops out and the bass gets really loud. And the next four songs are really hard to enjoy. You can also hear the crowd really loud. (Did Martin almost fall or something? there’s a big gasp from the audience at one point. You can also hear someone loudly ask “You want a beer?”).
The audio slowly starts to improve from there. By “She Said ‘We’re on Our Way Down'” it’s quiet but it’s very good otherwise.
Then Chris Gardiner comes out to help on “Waterstriders,” which is bit louder. By the time “My Sweet Relief” comes in, the sound has gotten better (probably because it is a full rocking song) with a very country/twangy feel). He tells a little story about the history of “That’s How They Do It in Warsaw” which is for Kasia (she recites the Polish on the album). He tells a funny story about how she went to Warsaw and developed feelings for her cousin).
There’s a lot of funny banter in this set. Martin talks about a movie he was watching in a bar. It was presumably on Show Case, and he described a woman being tied up and a man masturbating and then someone collects something in a syringe (presumably semen) and injects it into a vagina. What could it possibly have been? It sounds like someone might have given him the answer, but we can’t hear it–so we’ll never know! One of the band members shouts out that it was “Who’s the Boss.”
They play a great version of “Digital Beach” and “Shaved Head.” “How Can you Sleep” has a great solo.
Also at the end of “Sgt Kraulis” (which is from the next album) they say it is last call (for everyone who is not on the stage). There’s a funny comment where someone says, Watch how this law gets broken. And they all order rye and cokes. “Sgt Kraulis” has a funky opening (they play some of Abba’s “Mama Mia”).
The set ends with a nice version of “Take Me in Your Hand.” And then a surprise (to me) of “Blue Hysteria.” Then he plays the second part of “Wet Brain/Your War” (just the “Your War” part).
And he ends with a great version of “Record Body Count” and “a stolen song from borrowed tune,” the opener of the next album: “Beauty On.”
There’s so much great music here, it’s a bummer the quality isn’t better.
[READ: June 13, 2015] The Ondt & The Gracehoper
This fascinating book is an excerpt from Finnegans Wake (Book III Chapter I). Thomas McNally has taken one of the fables in Joyce’s Wake and has illustrated it. The book includes a few essays about the Wake and about expressionism and why McNally illustrated the book the way he did.
I have never read Finnegans Wake. And I am fairly certain I never will. I feel like this is a minor failing on my part, and yet it’s not pushing me to read this largely incomprehensible book. So I was excited to see this weird little excerpt of the fabled difficult book (with pictures!)
In the introduction, McNally explains that despite everything we’ve heard about the Wake, it was, in fact, meant to be read and it is indeed, quite funny. Joyce is playing around with language in incredible ways–throwing in multiple meanings in different languages in all kinds of words. He says that for a first read, one should just read it–preferably aloud–and not worry about the various meanings that you are undoubtedly missing. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: MARTIN TIELLI-Steamers, Victoria BC (September 1, 1999).
Of all of the three main Rheostatics, Martin Tielli has released the most music outside of the band. He had a band called Nick Buzz who has released three albums and then he has released three solo albums under his own name. His first came out in 2001. And this tour was something of a preview for that album.
He called “Farmer in the City” (a song with this title, originally sung by Scott Walker was released on the 2001 album). This was the second night of the tour (Torfino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island was the first date).
What is most amazing about this show (aside from the fact that the audio quality is outstanding) is that there are a number of songs here that never made it onto any albums.
Also interesting is that even though the show sounds great, Martin was having trouble with his monitor all night. He keeps asking if the crowd can hear him, and saying that he could barely hear himself at all. And yet his voice sounds fantastic.
The show begins with an intro loop—Martin playing his guitar in waves and crescendos. It’s interesting and unexpected. “Farmer in the City” is probably my least favorite Martin song—and I find it interminably slow and spare on the record. Although each live rendition reveals something new in it.
The songs that are heard only on this bootleg include: “Elkdog” (a description of horses as seen by people for the first time) it’s a rocking and fairly conventional song. The next is “Indian Arrow” which is as song about his dad being killed by an arrow. It’s a simple rock song (and I just learned was actually recorded very early on a Rheos demo). “Dear Darling” is a slow song with lots of dramatic singing—very Tielli. “Redwing Blackbird” is another fairly conventional song but with great harmonies.
“Don’t You Forget It” is a loud, vulgar, sexual song which is dedicated to Vivian (happy birthday). It’s even got a kind of funk metal middle section. And “All My Life” is a funky song too.
Although Martin is not very chatty, his band is. The rest of the band includes Mike Keith on guitar Andrew Routledge on bass and Max Arnason on drums (Mike introduces them as Bob Loblaw on bass and Basic Max on drums). He also says that during their three days in Torfino, Andrew became a certified surfboard mechanic to which Andrew replies that Mike became a driftwood sculptor (len Tukwila).
There are a number of covers as well-Joni Mitchell’s “River” (which is on the Nick Buzz album, too) Three Bruce Cockburn songs, the mellow “Thoughts n a Rainy Afternoon” (I prefer the original) and then a blistering take on his “Arrows of Light” (I love this version a lot) which segues into “Joy will Find a Way.”
They even do a cover of the Suzanne Vega song “Tombstone.” Actually, the backing band plays it while Martin goes for a smoke. It sounds nothing like the original, as their version is loud and rocking. When Martin comes back from his smoke break he says it didn’t sound like a Suzanne Vega song (I had to look it up by the lyrics). The other cover is Neil Young’s “Barstool Blues,” which is a rather unusual Neil Young cover I would think.
After a few songs Mike the guitarist says that they were eating some tasty spicy black bean chips which he’s going to pass around for everyone to share… But don’t take them all ”you guys with the hat you take everything.”
They also do a Nick Buzz song “That’s What You Get for Having Fun,” which is a rocking song that sounds great.
He throws in some Rheos songs too. Their versions of “Digital Beach” and “California Dreamlne” sound great. Martin is in fine voice and although it is somehow different than with the Rheos it still sounds fantastic. “Shaved Head,” is more dramatic. A quieter take on the song with no guitar solo.
But when he plays “Record Body Count” he messes up the lyrics so bad that he stops and says “I fucked up my own song.” He refuses to play the end and when someone says he’s being pretentious, he says he’s not he just can’t play it.
The final two songs are just him on his guitar. He plays “Self Serve Gas Station” which sounds great. After this he says he doesn’t know what to play. Someone shouts out “Claire” and he says that he didn’t write that (of course he didn’t write the other covers either, but that’s a funny answer). For the final song he plays “Christopher” which is truly fantastic.
This is a fantastic show, with lots of dramatic songs, a bunch of real rockers and some rare treats. It’s a great starting point to listen to Martin solo, and a must listen for any Rheos fan and you can get it (and all these live shows) from the Rheostaticslive site.
[READ: July 27, 2015] Inside the Rainbow
I grabbed this book because I am intrigued by Russian and Soviet art. I don’t always like it, but I find it utterly fascinating (I wish I could read Cyrillic too, which I think is such a cool looking language). This book collects illustrations–covers and interior pages from Russian children’s books.
The Soviet Union was formed in 1922 and Joseph Stalin was head of the Union. A nutshell history of the titular terrible times is: Stalin launched a period of industrialization and collectivization that resulted in the rapid transformation of the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial power. However, the economic changes coincided with the imprisonment of millions of people in Gulag labor camps. The initial upheaval in agriculture disrupted food production and contributed to the catastrophic Soviet famine of 1932–33, known as the Holodomor in Ukraine.
The images in this book do not date to the Socialist propaganda style (the striking graphic images of red black and white), rather, these are a more pastoral style. All of the images come from the Raduga (Rainbow) publishing house. (more…)
I am a huge fan of the Rheostatics, but I never saw them live before they broke up. There was an attempt at a reunion a few years ago but it fell through (apparently do to Martin Tielli’s stage fright).
Then earlier in the spring I saw the incredible news. The band was going to reunite for three nights at the AGO. They were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Music Inspired by the Group of 7 and they were going to play the entire album. Now, I’ll admit it’s not my favorite Rheos album. I like it fine, and there’s some good stuff on it, but it is mostly instrumental, and there’s only really 2 “songs” on it. But who cared? It was the Rheostatics!
And who cared if the show was in Toronto, an 8 hour drive away. I knew the venue was small (it sold out pretty fast). On the day of tickets sales, I arrived late to work so I could order online. And after I secured them, I thought….now how in the hell am I going to do this?
Well, we decided to make a vacation out of it. The show was Saturday night, the kids didn’t start school until Tuesday, so I took some days off of work and we drove up to Niagara Falls on the Wed before the show. We toured the Falls and then drove to Toronto, where we did so much sightseeing, my legs were tired. And then, when concert time approached, Sarah and I headed off to the AGO. (more…)
Nick Buzz is a side project of Rheostatics singer/lead guitarist Martin Tielli. This album was reissued in 2002, when I bought it But it came out in 1996, right around the time of the concerts I’ve been posting about. Martin says that this album is pure pop, and that he is genuinely surprised that people don’t see this. Of course, when your album has screeching monkeys, cars honking and circus music, pop is not the first thing that comes to mind. There are certainly pretty songs on here, but it is an album that resists easy entrance. There are short manic pieces, slow, languorous, almost lounge music pieces, and an improved cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” And then there’s the instrumentation: piano, violin, guitar, voice (no drums, although there is percussion on some tracks) and other weird sound effects.
“Step Inside” opens the disc. It seems like a normal, mellow song (with slightly falsettoed vocals). But 34 seconds in the circus music starts—a deviant and unsettling circus that pushes its way into the song briefly then vacating and allowing the pretty melody to return. It’s like a mild form of Mr Bungle (with more actual circus). It’s unsettling at first but then strangely catchy after a few listens. There is fanfare as the song ends, interrupted by the sound of a tape speeding up (or going backwards) until song two bursts in.
“That’s What You et for having Fun” is less than three minutes and while weird, it is certainly accessible and funny. The guitar sounds like he is slapping the strings rather than strumming them. The refrain of “there’s a monkey in my underwear” gives a sense of the absurdity (especially when the President of Canada (sic) says he has one too). “Just Because” mellows things out a lot—simple guitar with a kind of lullaby feel (it’s a bout wishing on stars). It’s so slow after the craziness of the first two songs. After 3 minutes of a lounge type song, it ends with a distant radio sound of an even more loungey song which melds into the live version of “River.”
The mellow “River” is followed by a raucous bass clarinet solo and wild guitar solo that is interrupted by the long (nearly 6 minutes) “Sane, So Sane.” This is the most conventional song on the record—a simple piano melody with repeated lyrics (conventional aside from the weird distant music in the background of course). Although it does gone on a bit long. “A Hymn to the Situation” is an eerie two-minute wobbly song.
“Fornica Tango” is indeed a tango presumably sung in Italian. This song features a crying baby, an interesting sounding “Italian” chorus and the screeching monkey at the end. “Love Streams” is a pretty, slow ballad. “Aliens Break a Heart” is another pretty song. Although this is the song that ends with traffic sounds. “The Italian Singer/Just Because I’m Nick the Buzz” has a kind of Kurt Weill atmosphere to it with spoken words and falsettos.
It took me several listens before I could really find purchase with these songs. I find that I really enjoy most of them now–some of those slow ones are a little too meandering for my liking. But it seems like a fun outlet for Tielli’s songcraft.
[READ: October & November 2013] A Moment in the Sun
I read this book last year…finished it just before Thanksgiving, in fact (I was proud of my pacing). But it was so huge that I didn’t want to write about it until I had a good amount of time. And now here it is four months later and I probably have forgotten more details than I should have and the post will be nowhere near as in depth as I was saving time for in the first place. Bah.
When people see this book, they say, “That’s a big book.” And it is a big book. It’s 955 pages (and they are thick pages, so the book itself is nearly three inches thick–see the bottom of this post for an “actual size” photo); it’s got three “books” and dozens of characters whose stories we read about in full. It is about the United States, racism, The Gold Rush, the assassination of a President, the Spanish American War, a World’s Fair and even the exploration of moving pictures. This is a fairly comprehensive look at the Unites States from the 1890s to the early 1900s. And, man was it good.
John Sayles is known more for his movies than his books (18 films directed, nearly as many different ones written and only 4 novels), but the cinematic quality that is clearly in his blood comes through in this book as well. (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: MARTIN TIELLI-Fall Nationals The Horseshoe Tavern Toronto (November 17, 2003).
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Violet Archers playing on this same night. This was night 8 of 13 in the Rheostatics Fall Nationals 2003 Tour. This was called SoloStatics Night. Martin played and then Tim and the Violet Archers played. And then Luke Doucet’s band Veal played (not sure if they were first or last). Evidently Dave was sick, so he didn’t play.
I Just Read About That... 