vintage

A few things I have been thinking about lately:

• Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” is an awesome song. It’s #217 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time - a list which is, of course, biased toward American and British acts, left out various influential artists, and includes nothing before 1940, but still! - and it is truly excellent. Not only does Dolly deliver marvelously, but the very structure of the song lends itself to a sound of desperation. Oh my lordy, I have listened to it seven times today.
   

• I didn’t manage to catch on to hip hop well enough in 2007, but Aesop Rock’s None Shall Pass and Buck 65’s Situation are both absolutely amazing (and would have been on my top 10 list, had I been smart enough to hear them when they were released). The former features tunes with the likes of John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats, and even has a song called “Bring Back Pluto” that begins And then there were eight, just like that. Um, awesome. Situation features Spanish guitar and quotes of the Clapping Song and Allen Ginsberg, as well as some seriously great singles like the percussion-filled “Dang”.
   

• The Futureheads‘ album This Is Not The World is awesome. I said I would review it and dropped the ball, so here it is in a few words: it is better than News & Tributes and almost as good as The Futureheads. The first single, “The Beginning of the Twist”, is classic catchy, spastic Futureheads fare; the production on everything is a little cleaner than their S/T, but thankfully not as slick as the unfortunate News work. I like it more and more every week. Well done, Sunderlanders. Now bring back Field Music!
   

• I am seeing Squeeze in 17 days. Not that I am particularly excited or anything.

Goodies:
Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass
The Futureheads, The Beginning of the Twist
Buck 65, The Outskirts

This is kind of a hybrid concert-review/band-ramblings/album-review post. Hopefully it is not too confusing.

Toronto’s blues-rock-country-drunken-party band The Schomberg Fair hosted a marvelous CD release party this past Saturday at the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, smack in the middle of a weekend transit strike that essentially paralyzed much of the city (and caused terrifying gridlock for those of us attempting to transport ourselves to the show via other peoples’ wheely machines). However, it was remarkably well-attended, and featured a host of their friends’ bands on the bill as well. To make things somewhat confusing and rather narcissistic, two of those - not one, but two - were bands that I am a member of, namely Entire Cities and The Cheap Speakers. So I will forego the review of those, although I would like to mention that I think both sets were a lot of fun, and playing at the Horseshow really rules.

The third band was, as the others, a veteran of the Rancho Relaxo’s Two Way Monologues showcase; they were Tin Bangs, and to be honest, I didn’t enjoy their set all that much. I will refrain from commenting too extensively on it, mostly because I was extremely tired (having played back-to-back sets) and somewhat impatient to see the Fair’s notably crazy, country-filled goodness. I also was somewhat bored by their stylings. They are, to their credit, great musicians; the set was really tight and really poppy, but there was something the same about all of it, which left me pretty cold. According to a friend, they covered the Hives and the Strokes during their stage time, but I will freely admit I had no idea (not because of the way they played, just because I wouldn’t recognize a Hives song if it was waving an airport pick-up sign).

And finally, the power trio, banjo-filled, and (this night) completely drunk Schomberg Fair. They make you want to break out the hooch and your cowboy hat and go find some handsome lads or pretty ladies on the dance floor. Let me tell you, if you have any opportunity to see them, you must.

In a nutshell, the Fair are like rock ‘n’ roll with a lot of extra roll - that good old-style twang, banjo, and some incredible bass vocals courtesy (of course) the bassist, Nate Sidon. They do covers of Townes Van Zandt (really well, too) and also of the favourite “Wade in the Water,” sung entirely two octaves below sea level by Sidon, who continuously draws shocked and disbelieving looks from listeners and audience members as he defies normal vocal capability. Seriously. It’s excellent.

Frontman, guitarist, banjo player and vocalist Matt Bahen is no second fiddle, though. Even while listening to him noodle around on guitar during a soundcheck, it’s clear he knows how to play the good ol’ blues, and play it well. His voice and instrumental stylings are a combination of Those Who Rock and Those Who Country (er, that was not a verb until just now), and together with spirited drummer Jake Stewart, often a vocal contributor as well - and an excellent one - the three make up one of the most talented good-time party bands to hit Toronto in a while.

Their new album Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground is a good embodiment of all of these characteristics. A few bonuses is that it’s a bit easier to hear all the crazy things that Bahen does on his various instruments than it is live (where often some of the subtleties get lost in the confusion), as well as to hear Sidon’s vocal-cord rumblings for mostly the same reasons. The songs are well-produced and have just enough twang to appeal to those who enjoy, but not excessive enough to repel those who are wary of it - a pretty awesome feat, honestly.

The one thing I wish it had a little more of was their on-stage exuberance, although much of it is still present in all facets of the recording. Perhaps a little more restraint on that is good, since the further you go into “exuberance” the further you inevitably go into “sloppiness” after a certain while. Still, that doesn’t take away from what is definitely a contender for my list of best albums this year (I was just about to enumerate some of the other contenders, and then realised that would probably be a silly idea).

Conveniently, the Fair are featured today as CBC Radio 3’s Track of the Day with the title song from said new record, so do yourself a favour and go check it out right here.

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On a totally unrelated and fairly gratuitous note, I am really obsessed with the following albums lately: Murmur, Ball, Challengers, Heretic Pride, and It’s Never Been Like That. (If Wikipedia had music samples every other website would be DESTROYED FOREVER.)

Wow, my friends, it has been too long. Blame it on the black hole they label “school”; now that that’s out of the way, we’re back in business here. Shows to review! Artists to talk about! So much music.

I recently picked up Jason Collett’s latest LP Here’s to Being Here (it’s on marble pink vinyl!), which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying. I don’t know that there’s any song quite as catchy as “I’ll Bring the Sun” (from Idols of Exile), but “Papercut Hearts” is cute and a really good time, and “Roll On Oblivion” is a well-chosen way to open the record. The groovy “Charlyn, Angel of Kensington” is a slightly sultry, funky, fun song that I’ve been pretty into since getting the album, and Collett’s voice on this and a few others sounds uncannily like that of Peter Elkas. Funny, as the two are actually on tour together, covering both Canada and the United States in a giant sweep; clearly a well-matched pair.

I also got the newest Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride (also on vinyl, but unfortunately, not coloured). Right away, Darnielle’s voice seems remarkably more nasal than on previous records, hitting its peak on the title track with its jerky lyric; I’ll have to admit, that track bothers me a bit stylistically, but most everything else seems to make up for it. Songs like the slightly ethereal, muted “Sept 15, 1983,” for example - perfectly arranged and performed, and probably among my favourites. It’s true, the titles seem to be more reminiscent of Zappa than Darnielle sometimes (”How to Embrace a Swamp Creature,” “In the Craters on the Moon”) , and I have yet to find songs that I love as much as I do those on We Shall All Be Healed, but like with most Mountain Goats albums, I think it’s a grower.

I have to say, too, that I recently discovered Phoenix’s album It’s Never Been Like That, and I am hooked. Prior to this musical epiphany, the only track of theirs I was familiar with was the frustratingly catchy “Too Young,” from 2000’s United (#6 on Jay Ferguson’s 10 perfect pop songs!). I loved it, but the rest of the album left me cold. Somehow, It’s Never Been Like That just passed me by, and I’m only waking up to it now. I can’t stop listening to “Consolation Prizes,” which is singalongable, catchy, energetic, and slightly electronic-sounding - in other words, trademark Phoenix. Once you hear it once, you can’t stop. Have a listen - but don’t say you weren’t warned!

Coming up: Brent Randall & His Pinecones, the Weather Station, and more. (Side note: My band, Entire Cities, are releasing a CD tomorrow! Reviews of the other bands shall follow.)

A recent conversation I had with a friend went something like this:

Him: I saw the Who last year.
Me: Man, I don’t think they should be touring with that name anymore.
Him: Why not? They’re still playing their old stuff.
Me: I know, but two of the members are dead. I just feel like it’s disrespectful to Keith and John.
Him: How would it be? Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were the best known.
Me: But it doesn’t matter. They’re not the Who if half of them are different.
Him: What would they tour under, then?
Me: It doesn’t matter. They could tour as anything and people would go see them.
Him: I don’t think they would. I think they need the name behind them.
Me: But that’s like Paul and Ringo picking up two guys and touring as the Beatles. I’d be offended.
Him: I wouldn’t be. They’re still the Beatles.

Discuss.

I guess my take on the matter is … there are some bands you don’t mess with. The more iconic they are, the less likely I’d be inclined to call them the same band with a different lineup, basically. And bands gel with certain members. They could still play the same music, obviously, but half the reason a band is so great the way it is (or so terrible, on the other end of the spectrum) is because of the interaction - musical, physical, etc - between its members. Even introducing an extra member to an otherwise intact lineup can drastically change the dynamic.

I can’t deny the fact that I’d still go see “The Who” today, but I definitely would object to them calling themselves that. After Keith Moon died, okay, I can understand touring under the same name. But once Entwistle went, the name should have been hung up like a retired hockey jersey - revered, remembered fondly, but no longer used, out of respect. They’ll still make all their money. And certainly, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr touring as the Beatles would get them lynched. It doesn’t matter how well-known they were, nor how good the surviving members are; a band with only 50% of its old members is not the same band. Dig?

Or perhaps I’m just an idealist, out to confront the big bad world of making money in the music business. What a(n oxy)moron.

Here’s my solution: the best 1960s British revival band ever. I don’t care what they call themselves, as long as it isn’t something horrific like the “Whotles” - but I guess beggars can’t be choosers. Daltrey and Townshend with McCartney and Starr. They’d pull in astronomical amounts of money, and it would be a seriously excellent band. They’d probably all kill each other by the end, but you know, it’s rock and roll. And what a way to go!

If there’s a band you should know about, it is Peterborough’s The Burning Hell. Trust me on this one.

Primarily the brainchild of ukulele master Mathias Kom, the Burning Hell is an outfit that combines folk, rock, cabaret and the now-familiar giant indie-band lineup (my friend described them as “Folkin’ Social Scene”, and a more apt nickname I may never hear). We played with them in Oshawa this past week and I have no idea what I was expecting, but it was certainly not this.

To give you a brief idea, their set that night featured ponderous, lilting numbers (”Everything You Believe Is A Lie”), hilarious uptempo multi-part stories about zombies (”Grave Situation” parts 1 and 2), beautiful folky songs (”Municipal Monarchs”) and yes, a cover of Men Without Hats’ ubiquitous “Pop Goes the World”. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen that one covered by a ten-piece band.

The best part about the Burning Hell is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, which is why they can get away with bouncy covers back-to-back with dirgey folk, sung by Kom in his rich baritone, backed by ukulele. They do whatever they want, however they want, and it’s that element of whimsy that makes them such a delightful band to witness - not to mention their innate ability to make you want to dance to songs about zombies and cheating husbands. And their informal CD release party, held in a photographer friend’s loft near Queen St East in Toronto, was just as much of a party (one that was broken up by the police, in fact, which left a lot of people rather bewildered; but what better way to endorse a band’s awesome factor than the hint that it takes a police force to contain them?).

Riding on their recent release, 2008 is shaping up to be an excellent year for the Burning Hell and friends; gear up to hear more about them, as they don’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

Take a listen to Grave Situation Pt. 1 or check out their myspace.