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Archive for the ‘Neko Case’ Category

James Sturm, Andrew Arnold and Alexis Frederick-Frost–Ogres Awake! (2016)

Posted in #10yearsof01, Adventure, Alexis Frederick-Frost, Andrew Arnold, Children's Books, Fantasy, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Gnomes, Horses, James Sturm, Kelly Hogan, Neko Case, Short Books, Tiny Desk Concert on October 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

ogresSOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-Tiny Desk Concert #316 (October 31, 2013).

nekoI was pretty excited when this show happened, because NPR streamed it live.  But I gather they have since edited it down and there’s no finding that full version.

But that’s all fine because I don’t know that all that much has been cut out.  And we still have evidence of Neko Case singing in a gorilla suit and Kelly Hogan (of the gorgeous pipes) sings with her eyeball in a bird’s mouth.

Her band plays three songs from her then new album, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You.

It’s funny that the tone when she arrives is spooky (with a heart beat and whispered comments), but when they begin “Night Still Comes,” it sounds as beautiful as ever.  The music is spare–just keys and drums, but between Neko and Kelly’s vocals, the sound is amazing.

For “Calling Cards” the keyboardist switches to guitar and, delightfully, Kelly Hogan uses the blades from a Garden Weasel as beautiful chimes.  We have the same tiller and they really do sound clear and pretty like that.  It’s also delightful to hear Kelly’s voice coming out of a creepy skeleton creature.

The final song is “the spookiest number”… “it could get stabby.”  Neko says she tried to get a sexy gorilla costume, but they were out.  “Local Girl” features one of the best Kelly Hogan vocal lines: “you know you do all of you shame on you all of you lie.”  I can’t help but think that Neko brings the best out in Kelly.  And of course, Neko’s voice sounds great all the way through the set.

The show is just way too short for how good it is!

Happy Halloween!neko2

[READ: September 8, 2016] Ogres Awake!

I’ve really enjoyed the books in The Adventures in Cartooning series, and that includes the Adventures in Cartooning Jr. Books, like this one.

These books are all short (which makes it hard to write about them without spoiling everything), but they’re a lot of fun and they work hard at helping young kids learn to draw.

The Knight is playing fetch with Edward, his horse.  They hear a rumble and plan to go inside before it rains, but then the Knight notices that Ogres are all around the castle, sleeping.  He knows how much trouble the ogres can cause so he runs to tel the king. (more…)

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The Organist Season 2 (part 1) [podcast] (2014)

Posted in Alena Smith, Amber Scorah, Andy Kaufman, Big Black, Carrie Brownstein, Daniel Fishkin, David Wain, Dylan Thomas, Edgar Oliver, Ezra Pound, Fiona Apple, Frank, Frank Sidebottom Oh Blimey Big Band, Fred Armisen, George Saunders, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Greta Gerwig, Harmony Korine, James Franco, James Joyce, Jon Ronson, Judy Blume, Lena Dunham, Magnetic Fields, Mal Sharpe, Meredith Monk, Mike Mills, Neko Case, Nick Antosca, Optiganally Yours, Rachel Dratch, Ross Simonini, Silver Jews, Solex, Sonic Youth, St. Vincent, Stephin Merritt, Sun Foot, Tao Lin, Teenage, The Collectors, The Motherhood Archives, The Organist, The Wire, This American Life, Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro on August 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: August 2015] The Organist

organistFor the second season of The Organist, they switched formats from the once a month 45-55 minute long amalgam of stories of last year to a one story an episode, once a week format.  The length hovers around 20 minutes now with some shows being much longer and others being much shorter.  It doesn’t make too much of a difference if you listen all at once as I did, but I can see that if you’re listening when they come out that a weekly podcast would be more satisfying.

However, they have also opted to have an “encore” episode every fourth episode in which they take one of the segments from an earlier episode and play it on its own.  How disappointing would it be to tune in and get a repeat?  And why on earth would they repeat things if all of the previous episodes are available online?  It’s very strange and frankly rather disappointing.  I mean, sure, it’s nice to have the new introductions, but it’s not like you’re getting some kind of special version when they repeat it.  It’s exactly the same.  And, boy, they tend to repeat some of my least favorite pieces.

Also the website now gives a pretty detailed summary of the contents of each episode, so you get a good sense of what’s going to happen. (more…)

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Thomas Pierce–“This is an Alert” (New Yorker, March 30, 2015)

Posted in Dystopia, Jakob Dylan, Neko Case, New Yorker, Short Story, The Decemberists, The Wallflowers, Thomas Pierce, Tiny Desk Concert, War on June 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

march30SOUNDTRACK:  JAKOB DYLAN-Tiny Desk Concert #53 (April 2, 2010).

jakobI was not a fan of the Wallflowers–I had an unfair dislike of Jakob Dylan.  But I can appreciate his songwriting skills and that, although he looks and sounds a ton like his dad (especially with sunglasses on) he holds his own very well.

But for me the most interesting part of this solo band is his backup singers–Kelly Hogan (whom we just saw touring with The Decemberists) and Neko Case (!–there’s no photos available, so you’ll have to watch the video to see her awesome hair).  Joining Dylan on guitar is Paul Rigby.

There’s something old school about “Nothing But The Whole Wide World” (probably the refrain of practically spoken “nuthin”) that I really like.  I enjoyed the way the backing vocalists don’t do as much as you might think–their restraint is really infectious.

“Everybody’s Hurtin'” is a nice minor key song (obviously a downer) and the backing singers contribute a lot more to this one.

The final song, “Holy Rollers for Love” features Hogan and Case doing different things which really fill out the song.

I guess I’m not sure how successful he would have been had his name not been Dylan, but this is an enjoyable concert and makes me reevaluate Dylan’s career somewhat.

[READ: April 13, 2015] “This is an Alert”

Here’s yet another story from Thomas Pierce that I really liked.

The story is set in some future time (although it doesn’t seem that distant) in which there are wars going on in the upper atmosphere.  And it has a trope that I rather enjoy in short stories (although I would find annoying in a novel).  Pierce gives us no details about the war or the future or anything.  We are thrown into the story and we just have to deal with it.

It is written in first person and the narrator assumes we know what is going on. So, as the narrator (a mom) and her family are driving to her mother in law’s house.  They are all crouched down on the side of the road with gas masks on.  They are hot and cranky and they will definitely be late for lunch.  And all of this because of the speaker yelling “This is an Alert.  This is an Alert.”

She wonders whose voice it is coming out of those speakers and how he was chosen for the job.  But when the alerts stop, they pile back in the car and continue on their journey. Her husband, Neal, is sick of the drills, of the gas mask, of the constant interruptions.  They seem to have gotten worse lately–especially today.  And perhaps the most annoying thing of all is that you can’t see anything of this war–from the earth you have no insight into what is happening or what has caused the latest round of Alerts. (more…)

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Miss F.J. Erskine—Lady Cyling: What to wear & How to Ride (1897)

Posted in Canadian Music, Cycling, F.J. Erskine (Miss), History, Jim James, M. Ward, Neko Case, Sexism, Short Books, Suzanne Vega, The New Pornographers on November 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

ladySOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You (2013).

nekoSarah got this disc for me for Christmas last year.  Amusingly, she wrapped it and then we couldn’t find it  So I got to listen to the auto download on amazon and to wonder who threw it out.  When we took down the tree several weeks later, we found it on one of the branches.  Belated Christmas gift!

I have enjoyed most of Case’s output since I first heard he several years ago withe New Pornographers.  And this album is no exception.  There are 12 songs and most of them are quite short (no guitar solos for Case–well, okay a couple). And I love how great her voice sounds.  Although, perhaps surprisingly I do not like her voice in the few a capella moments she does.

“Wild Creatures” showcases her great songwriting.  “Night Still Comes” has some amazing harmonies in the chorus (I didn’t realize this but vocals are by Jim James).  I love the way the song builds and retracts as she criticizes “you” for not holding a falling star “at the right angle.”

“Man” is one of my favorite songs ever.  It’s so punchy and rocking.  And lyrically it is both subversive and really funny.  In addition to the whole premise “I’m a man, that’s what you raised me to be/ I’m not your identity crisis” it features the great verse: “and if I’m dipshit drunk on pink perfume, then I am the man on the fucking moon, coz you didn’t know what a man was until I showed you.”  There’s also a great simple guitar riff from M. Ward.  And at 3 and a half minutes I could listen to it over and over.

But Case plays with all differs style soft music on this record, so “I’m from Nowhere” is just her and an acoustic guitar (and her voice is gorgeous in this stripped down setting).  “Bracing for Sunday” is just over 2 minutes, but it’s not a fast punk song it’s just a speedy shuffling rocker (with horns!).

Then comes “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu.”  I don’t think I have hated a song as much as I hate this one.  It is more emotionally fraught that “Suzanne Vega’s “Luka” (which I like) with none of the subtlety.  I’ve only listened to it once or twice and don’t even want to listen to it again to say what else I hate about it.  Maybe if it was spoken instead of sung it would be more palatable, but ugh it is awful, and really seems to ruin the mood of the record for a couple of songs (even if I skip it).

“Calling Cards” is a countryish song, mellow and pretty, but after the bad taste of “Honolulu” I feel lit just kind of falls flat.  “City Swans” brings back the thumping drums and rocking guitars.  “Afraid” is a more successful a capella ish song (with vibes and autoharp accents).

Of course, I prefer when the album perks up again.  “Local Girl” has a simple but cool bassline and great backing vocals.  After a slow weird intro, “Where did I Leave that Fire” turns into a cool jazzy number.”  Although I don’t have a clue what she’s singing about at the end.  The final song, “Ragtime” has a kind of dreamy “Blue Moon” quality until the big horns kick in at the and it really swings and makes me want to listen to the album again

Despite how much I like Case’s voice I just don’t like the slow a capella moments on the album.  There’s so much I do, but I feel like those moments really mar the disc for me.  And yet after the final song, I’m always game to listen again (especially when “Man” comes on).

[READ: November 16, 2014] Lady Cycling

I saw this book at work and thought that with that title and that cover that it would be a very funny tome about how women shouldn’t really ride bikes (I mean “what to wear” comes first, right?). But to my surprise and delight, this book is actually very pro women riding (Miss Erskine herself is a rider) and while she does warn women not to overdo it (no more than 40 miles a day!), it is actually quite a practical and, dare I say still, useful book for female and male riders.

The funny, out-of-date parts are mostly about dress—she encourages all women to wear wool all the time because cotton chafes and wool keeps you warm when you get wet (and you will sweat a lot).  Now I’m not going to overstate the practicality of it in modern society, really, but there are some things in it which are terribly useful and which many contemporary riders do not observe.

But from the get go, Erskine is adamant that women do and should ride bikes.  She says it is much cheaper than owning a pony (true) and is more than just recreation it can also be a means to an end.  She addresses the then controversy by saying that if women “ride fifty miles when ten ought to be their limit—in short, if in cycling they cast reason and common-sense to the four winds of heaven—then, beyond all doubt, cycling is harmful.” (2). The one really out of date aspect here is that she says women ought not to race (it is bound to end in disaster), although I’m unclear if she disapproves of women racing or of racing in general.

In chapter three she answers the question about what kind of bike women should buy. And while she doesn’t exactly name brands she does sensibly say that a cheap bike will wear out and be less well constructed, so it is worth spending more up front.  More practically, she also talks about the location and adjustment of the seat and handlebars. She even talks about the proper way to pedal (using rat-trap pedals—which are apparently the ones we still use today with the metal grippers). (more…)

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George Pelecanos–“Twisted” (New Yorker, June 10 & 17, 2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Anna von Hausswolff, Dead Can Dance, George Pelecanos, Memoirs, Neko Case, New Yorker, Shoplifting, Swedish Music, Threats, True Crime, Unlikable main character on June 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_06_10_13Schossow.inddSOUNDTRACK: ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF-“Funeral for My Future Child” (2013).

anna-von-hausswolffThis was selected as one of NPR’s favorite songs of the year (so far).

It’s probably hard to like a song with a title like that, but there’s something strangely compelling about the whole proceeding–the great intricate percussion and drums that start the song, the ponderous pipe organ that lays down the melody, and then Anna’s voice which has a country-ish feel (kind of like Neko Case), but also has a kind of Dead Can Dance vocal style.   Or perhaps that’s just because she is Swedish.

By the time the chorus comes around, the ache of the song is apparent.  And the end has more of that amazing percussion.  I rather like the beginning and the end of the song more than the middle, which I guess doesn’t say a lot for it, but it is intriguing.

Evidently this album is primarily full of pipe organ, an interesting choice for a rock album.  I’d be curious to hear more.

[READ: June 17, 2013] “Twisted”

As if anticipating that I would not be able to write posts this week, the New Yorker has supplied me with a series of very short “True Crimes” pieces.  In fact, the whole issue is a fiction issue, which means a half a dozen or so stories as well.   But it’s these “True Crimes” that will keep me posting this week.

The first is from George Pelecanos, and it’s a story of his own crimes.  He explains that when he was younger, he did all manner of illegal things but had never been caught (aside from a few minor infractions).  He broke into houses and stole records from someone he didn’t like.  He rode in a stolen car, stole wallets from strangers at stores (at this point I really don’t like this guy).  But he doesn’t try to make excuses for himself.  He was a boy and he was having fun.

But the crimes continues long past adolescence.  In 1985 he was 28 and got involved in a high-speed chase.  He was drinking and smoking pot at a wedding.  He and his fiancée stopped at a convenience store where he backed  into someone’s car.  A gang of people came out and the threat of violence was imminent.  But he hopped in his car, drove on the sidewalk and sped off with the police in pursuit. (more…)

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Cormac McCarthy–“Scenes of the Crime” (New Yorker, June 10 & 17, 2013)

Posted in Adventure, All Songs Considered, Canadian Music, Cormac McCarthy, Death, Drugs, Excerpt, Greed, Neko Case, New Yorker, Short Story, The Counselor, Threats, Violence, Yuck! on June 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_06_10_13Schossow.inddSOUNDTRACK: NEKO CASE-“Man” (2013).

neko-case-the-worse-things-getIt was Neko Case who got me out of my NPR summer music doldrums. From her new,  wonderfully titled album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, comes this fast, rocking track.

It has everything that Neko does great—fast, clever lyrics over a simple but propulsive beat.  There’s a cool, unexpected guitar squiggle at the end of each verse that just makes the song seem that much faster.  But it is just an uptempo stomper from the great Case.

The song slows down in the middle with just a bass and drums and then as Case starts singing about her manliness, a harpsichord plays over the back giving it a nicely pompous air.  Which is quickly deflated by the buzzy guitar solo.  The song is clever and pointed and very well done.

The only thing missing is a great Neko Case wail, but the song (and the lyrics) are too fast for her to hold any notes for too long.  I’m really excited about this new album from her,.

[READ: June 18, 2013] “Scenes of the Crime”

The New Yorker doesn’t often tell you when something is an excerpt, but this time they tell us right up front.  This is an excerpt from an upcoming Ridley Scott film written by McCarthy called The Counselor.

Although I am told that I would love McCarthy, I have never read him with any seriousness.  And from what I have heard of his writing I don’t think I would like him.  This excerpt is more or less a useless attempt to try and get any sense for McCarthy as a writer.

There is no dialogue.  Rather, it is just a series of scenes–shot after shot, establishing the action of the movie.

I have no idea if there is dialogue in the movie or not.  I would be really impressed if there was no dialogue during these scenes and this whole sequence took twenty some minutes–with no dialogue at all.  That would be pretty cool. (more…)

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Nathan Poole–“Stretch Out Your Hand” (Narrative, Winter 2012)

Posted in Barbara Manning, Death, Depression, Narrative, Nathan Poole, Neko Case, Portastatic, Short Story, South, Superchunk on May 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: BARBARA MANNING-“Though with People” from Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers (2009).

I have a Barbara Manning disc, although I don’t remember it very well.  In this song, Manning’s voice is strong and good, but not terribly memorable–perhaps a less distinctive Neko Case?  It’s a catchy cover–a good 90’s era rocker.

The original is also a 90s era rocker. The song is by Portatstic, which is a side project from Superchunk’s Mac.  It doesn’t sound all that different from Superchunk (a little less manic, but Macs voice is distinctive enough that perhaps this just sounds like a slower version of their song).

I like Manning’s cover enough to go dig out 1212 to see what I haven’t listened to in a while.

[READ: April 13, 2012] “Stretch Out Your Hand”

This story came in second place in the Fall 2012 Narrative Magazine writing contest. I read this one first because it was much shorter than the other two stories and I needed a shorter piece for today !

I was disposed against the story from the start because of my own prejudices—I don’t really like stories set in the rural South from the early 20th century.  It’s a combination of my inability to relate and to my overexposure to clichés about the time, where everyone says “Momma” and everything sucks.

And so, when in the first few paragraphs, a young girl named Ruth has finally broken a fever and the father calls the mother “Momma” and the mother can’t stop thanking Jesus, I was not excited to keep on.

But then I started paying attention to the writing.  It was wonderful.  Ruth’s brother starts watching his sister’s fever evaporate and lift into the room.  Then he gives us this observation: “And which of these things is more miraculous: the incandescent movement of my sister’s fever, or the way my father held her.  I can’t say.  There is a place in me where these things go.”

The narrator does not conform to the stereotype of rural Southerners, which makes this transcend a story of sickness and grief. (more…)

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Peter Behrens–“The Smell of Smoke” (The Walrus, October 2006)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Martha Wainwright, Neko Case, Peter Behrens, Romance, Sex, Short Story, The Walrus, Virginity (Loss of) on May 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: MARTHA WAINWRIGHT-Live at the 9:30 Club (2006).

This show had Martha Wainwright opening for Neko Case (a nice bunch of Canadians, eh?)  I’m not sure if the set is truncated or not (she claims to be hungover) but it’s only 30 minutes.  I guess that’s not terribly short for an opening act, but it seems on the brief side–although it is 9 songs.

Martha is a bit cranky as the set opens, (or maybe that’s just her speaking voice) but she kind of warms up and is a funny chatterer.  Seven of the songs come from her debut self-titled full length (which I don’t own). One song is new (“So Many Friends” which appears on I Know You’re Married…) and one comes from an EP (“New York, New York, New York”).

Martha has a unique voice that I find hard to describe.  It can easily polarize listeners–some will find it way too exotic.  It comes as a special surprise after she has just bantered with the audience in her low gravelly voice when it busts out with her higher (perhaps nasally) voice. I think once you get used to her voice it brings a special resonance to the lyrics.

She is also not afraid of the four letter word.  The final song, crowd favorite “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole” is just one of the obscene things that she sings here.  The funny thing is that she never sounds angry when she’s singing these lines.  He voice is charming (and yes odd) but never angry.  It’s a weird mix, but one that I like.

This is a good introduction to her music (and Neko Case on the same page).

[READ: March 18, 2011] “The Smell of Smoke”

Unlike “What He Saw” which was erotically charged but hard to believe, this Walrus story–which is even more erotically charged and, on the surface utterly unlikely–was easier to believe as a story.

Green is a fourteen year old boy.  Maggie is his twenty-one year old neighbor.  As happens in a story like this, she seduces him.  And they spend most of the summer having crazy sex.  This all seems really unlikely, but I’ll throw in the detail that it’s 1968 and her parents are away quite a lot (which also seemed to happen a lot then).

The story is told in third person from Green’ point of view.  And, despite the horny teenage fantasy story that this really is, the writing is tender and sweet and fairly believable.

For me the nice thing about the story was that although it eventually had to end, it never ended because they got caught or had any kind of scandal.  Rather, she went off to college.  But it doesn’t just end there. (more…)

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Cory Doctorow–Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (2003)

Posted in Canadian Content, Canadian Music, Cory Doctorow, Death, Destroyer, Drugs, Huh?, Neko Case, Sci-fi, Short Books, Technology, The Future, The New Pornographers, Threats, Walt Disney World on February 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: NEW PORNOGRAPHERS-Together (2010).

I enjoyed The New Pornographers’ debut album Mass Romantic, but I didn’t bother getting their later discs.  In the ensuing years, I’ve grown appreciative of both Neko Case solo and Dan Bejar’s Destroyer.  And, while I intend to get the NP’s middle discs, in the meantime, I am totally enamored of this one.

Their first disc sounded like a group of great songwriters doing their own thing.  This disc (their fifth) sounds like a group of great songwriters working together.  The album sounds cohesive and, frankly, wonderful.  It’s hard for me to pick a favorite song, because when the disc is over I find myself singing bits and pieces from so many of them.

The songs work well together, with different vocalists coming to the fore.  But there’s an overall cohesiveness to the disc.  Even the Dan Bejar songs (three on this disc), which sound very distinctly Bejar, act like a change of pace but retain the album’s style, rather than sounding like Bejar solo songs.

And I like the Bejar songs quite a lot (“Silver Jenny Dollar” is always in my head), but it’s the Newman songs (those sung by Neko Case and otherwise) which rise into the pop stratosphere.  The gorgeous delayed chorus of “Up in the Dark,” the beautiful cello of “Moves.”  Even a song like “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” which opens a little quietly compared to the rest of the disc, pulls out a stunning chorus.

“A Bite Out of My Bed” is weird and wonderful and, of course, those first 6 songs are amazing.  “My Shepherd” is a stunning song and “Your Hands (Together)” is a catchy rocker which should have been a huge single.  Just when you think that “As a Rule” couldn’t possibly get any catchier, along comes a whistle solo.  Fabulous. And the album closer, “We End Up Together” has great group vocals and a nice return to those catchy strings from the opening.  It’s a great release from start to finish.

[READ: January 24, 2011] Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

I loved Doctorow’s Little Brother.  And when I recently said I would be going to Disney, an astute reader said I should read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom (which I’d never heard of).

Knowing what I know about Doctorow (this and all of his books are published under a Creative Commons license and if you go to his site, you can download the entire book for free), I expected that this book might bash Disney (the main source for our current copyright extension laws–see The Copyright Extension Act also known as The Mickey Mouse Protection Act).  The title also hinted at is as well.  But in fact, this book does not bash Disney World in any way.

Rather, it embraces the Magic Kingdom as a sort of traditional refuge, something that should be immune to technological update.  Of course, since it is a science fiction novel, it is also futuristic, full of bizarre technologies and lots and lots of behavior control.

The book opens in the undetermined future (although later in the book we learn that it’s probably sometime around 2069).  The Prologue is full of words that won’t be defined until later in the book (if at all):  “Deadhead” as a verb, “Bitchun Society,” and this whole sentence: “I took a moment to conjure a HUD with his Whuffie score on it.”

So, we know that this is not a typical story.  And it stays atypical.  Chapter One opens:

My girlfriend was 15 percent of my age, and I was old-fashioned enough that it bugged me. Her name was Lil, and she was second-generation Disney World, her parents being among the original ad-hocracy that took over the management of Liberty Square and Tom Sawyer Island. She was, quite literally, raised in Walt Disney World and it showed.

The story is set in Disney World.  Julius, the narrator who is 100+ years old but has been rebooted several times and appears 40, is dating Lil, who was 19 or so when they met.  And despite her youth and apparent airheadedness, they really hit it off.

As stated, her parents were more in less in charge of portions of Disney.  So, when they decide to deadhead, it puts Lil (and by proxy Julius) in charge.  Lil’s domain is the Hall of Presidents (and there’s fun insider knowledge about the Hall, and Lil is often seen with her head inside Abraham Lincoln).  Julius, meanwhile, loves loves loves The Haunted Mansion (and the story of his first time(s) there is really great).  And he works behind the scenes there now, constantly trying to make it better (shave a few seconds off here, make this part a little scarier, etc).

And all is great until Julius is killed. (more…)

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Ian Frazier–“Fanshawe” (New Yorker, November 2, 2009)

Posted in Canadian Music, Funny (ha ha), Ian Frazier, Kathleen Edwards, Neko Case, New Yorker, Short Story, The Tragically Hip, The Trews, Woody Allen on November 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

nySOUNDTRACK: KATHLEEN EDWARDS-Asking for Flowers (2008).

flowersI first heard of Kathleen Edwards because of her duet with John Doe on “The Golden State.”  I thought her voice was great and I wanted to hear more.  I picked this album because it was her newest.

My first impression was mild.  I thought initially, great, I’ve gotten yet another Canadian country singer.  And yet, as with Neko Case, there’s something about Canadian country-tinged music that I really like (I’m not a fan of U.S. country, by and large).  And so, while there are trapping of country music on this disc (slide guitar is scattered throughout), after the third or fourth listen, something clicked and I fell hard for this disc.

While listening, especially on the more rocking songs, I kept thinking of The Tragically Hip.  And while I would not in any way say she sounds like the Hip, there is something about her sensibility, lyrically and tonally, that I think is very Hip-like.  She sings with great passion about moderately esoteric things and about Canadiana (referencing Gretsky in one song, titling another song “Oh Canada”).  And as The Hip have recently released a more folky album, the two could probably share a coffeehouse stage quite easily.

Edwards’ voice is beautiful.  But it wasn’t until I really started hearing her lyrics that it made the songs that much more intense.

“The Cheapest Key” is a rollicking song (that reminds me of The Hip in many ways).  Especially the lyrics: “A is for all the times I bit my tongue / B is for bullshit and you fed me some.”  And while I think the whole disc is great, it’s the trifecta of “I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory,” “Oil Man’s War” and “Sure as Shit” that makes this album amazing.  Lyrically, musically, passionately, they’re simply awesome.  Individually, each song is great, but together, the rocking humor of “Dough” followed by the moving sadness of “Oil Man’s War” and the mildly vulgar wit of “Sure as Shit” show such depth in just three songs.

She also pulls out a really powerful song in “Oh Canada.”  I recently wagged my finger at The Trews for being too preachy on their song “Gun Control,” Edwards tackles a similar subject by going in a different direction and by making poetry, not preachery: ” It’s not the year of the gun / We don’t say it out loud / There are no headlines / When a black girl dies / It’s not the lack of a sense / It’s called ambivalence.”

The final song, “Goodnight California” has a chord progression that sounds somewhat familiar, and yet the vocal line she lays on top of it is different, just off enough to be really enchanting.  And even though it is a slow moody piece, it has a fairly scorching harmonica (!) solo.

I’m delighted to see that she has other discs out because I can’t wait to hear more from her.

[READ: October 29, 2009] “Fanshawe”

This Shouts & Murmurs piece was really funny.  It was easily the funniest one I have read in a long time.  It reminded me a lot of early funny Woody Allen pieces (especially when he mentions what the mother died from).

The story is about Fanshawe.  He has just the one name (and comes from a long line of people named simply, Fanshawe.  (more…)

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