Euphonious Fridays – New Orleans Is Sinking

Source: ChrisD.ca

It’s Canada Day!  That really leaves no choice in the matter regarding who to feature for this week’s Euphonious Friday (especially since I missed last week – boo me!).  There can be only one band…the quintessentially Kingston, Ontario-based Canadian rockers, The Tragically Hip.  Despite the fact that the band is wildly popular within Canada, many around the world may not have heard of them, or know much about them.

Unfortunately, since I’m between volunteering at the Alianait Festival here in Iqaluit, and attending the second of four shows for the festival tonight, I won’t have much time to give you a refresher course on the band’s long history.  They’ve been around since 1983!  Just know that when it comes to summertime on the patio…you’ll probably hear Kim Mitchell’s “Patio Lanterns” and then you’ll hear the Hip.  They are mainstays at summer festivals and so many of their songs feature our home and native land in the lyrics.

It’s hard to pin down one of my favourite songs by the band, but I am definitely a fan of their earlier work.  Somewhere around high school, I sort of lost interest…after the album Fully Completely which I love.  The song I’m featuring today is off of Up To Here which was released in 1989.  ‘New Orleans Is Sinking’ is arguably one of the band’s most recognizable and “signature” songs.

Enjoy!

Bourbon blues on the street, loose and complete
Under skies all smokey blue-green
I can’t forsake a dixie dead-shake
So we danced the sidewalk clean
My memory is muddy, what’s this river that I’m in?
New Orleans is sinking man and I don’t wanna swim

Colonel Tom, What’s wrong? What’s going on?
You can’t tie yourself up for a deal
He said, “Hey north you’re south shut your big mouth,
You gotta do what you feel is real”
Ain’t got no picture postcards, ain’t got no souvenirs
My baby, she don’t know me when I’m thinking bout those years

Pale as a light bulb hanging on a wire
Sucking up to someone just to stoke the fire
Picking out the highlights of the scenery
Saw a little cloud that looked a little like me

I had my hands in the river
My feet back up on the banks
Looked up to the lord above
And said, “Hey man thanks”
Sometimes I feel so good, I gotta scream
She said “Gordie baby I know exactly what you mean”
She said, she said, I swear to god she said…

My memory is muddy what’s this river that I’m in?
New Orleans is sinking man and I don’t wanna swim

This is the official video for the song.  I highly recommend seeking out the song as it’s performed live on YouTube somewhere.  Gord Downie has been known to go off on a bit of a tangent in the bridge before the “I had my hands in the river” line.  My favourite version (and that of many) is known as the “killerwhaletank”.  Try to find it…

Euphonious Fridays – All The Things I Wasn’t

Source: Last.fm

The 80s were renowned for music’s transition from the disco era.  There were lots of synths…lots of fluorescents…and lots of big hair.  In the early part of the decade, a little known band was formed that bucked the trends of the day, and put out some good Canadian folk rock.  Emerging from Kelowna, British Columbia, two brothers and their friend choose the name of a very well-known book and movie that none of them had read or seen:  The Grapes of Wrath.  They signed with Nettwerk Records, arguably one of Canada’s most successful indie labels, released a series of albums throughout the 80s until 1989 when their most successful Now and Again was recorded.  They toured in support of the album with an opening act that you may have heard of:  a little known singer-songwriter named Sarah McLachlan.

On that album was one of the band’s most popular singles, “All The Things I Wasn’t”.  It is a song that has stuck in my mind since I first heard it, but I recently rediscovered it, and have fallen in love with it all over again.  Its simple acoustic melodies and emotional lyrics suggest the story of an unsuccessful relationship between a parent and a child; a mentor and a protégé.  It’s quite lovely.  The piano interlude always gives me shivers…

Due to litigations over the name of the band, they re-formed with minor lineup changes in the 90s as Ginger, again signing with Nettwerk.  After an EP, two albums and several years together, they disbanded in 1997, partially reuniting as The Grapes of Wrath in 2000 to release another album, before calling it quits for good in 2001.

However, music is often a stronger force than those with a gift for it can admit, and they reunited once again in 2009/10 to do perhaps a final round of touring.  It would seem that only time will tell if the band is truly finished gracing us with their presence.

Enjoy!

Hours of hiding, spent apart
The wall was all we’d share
About the closest you could get
About all I would bear

Don’t tell me all the things I wasn’t
Could have made this big a difference
To all the things you are

Years of listening, taking in
To one day take away
From all the guilt and pity I could
Barely keep at bay

Don’t tell me all the things I wasn’t
Could have made this big a difference
To all the things you are

The time apart, I’ve realized
The name’s the most we’ve shared
Unlike you there’s no way I could
Spend forever there

Don’t tell me all the things I wasn’t
Could have made this big a difference
To all the things you are

And a successful find of the video!  Hooray!

Euphonious Fridays – Spiritual Pollution

Source: Lastfm.com

It’s that time of the week again – another Euphonious Friday to spread some music.  But I’m completely brain dead at the moment, and I’d like to just be able to get the post written and done BEFORE midnight tonight.

So, I’ve decided to make this Euphonious Fridays – The Readers’ Digest Version.  Okay…here goes.

In high school, I liked this band called Pure.

Pure came out of Vancouver in the early 90s.

Their first full length album was called Pureafunalia.  Kitschy, right?

They released some singles called “Pure”, “Wow”, “Blast”, “Denial”, “Blissful Kiss”, “Anna is a Speed Freak” and the song I’m presenting in this post, “Spiritual Pollution”.

The tune is catchy…there’s keyboards that sound kind of like trumpets…and the percussion is reminiscent of the beat that underlies Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll”.

While I can’t confirm, I’m quite certain the song is about religious zealots and their force-feeding of their beliefs on street corners and doorsteps.

Fun!

The band is no longer together.

*pout*

But the former members are doing their own things now.

Yay!

The end.  Almost.

Enjoy!

You come walking up to me with a present for me
A special little book full of ideas to help me see my way clear
I look into your smile, make you feel important
Yeah I listen for awhile, but I don’t want to know
Anything about your mixed up tales that you’re shouting about

Sunday afternoon sidewalk revolution
I don’t need your
Spiritual pollution
You stand on the corner and preach down solutions
I don’t need your
Spiritual pollution

Tell me that I can be saved if I just walk along with you
And clear out my mind of all those ideas that you just can’t find

Now I’m spiritual
You filled my body full of all I need

A fearful soul
A God to know
And if I’m told
I’ll just keep screaming

Sunday afternoon sidewalk revolution
I don’t need your
Spiritual pollution
You stand on the corner and preach down solutions
I don’t need your
Spiritual pollution

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any videos for this.  There’s a big issue apparently between the band and their record label – the label has removed the video from the band’s MySpace page.  Sucks.

So here’s the MP3 for “Spiritual Pollution”.  Screw you Warner Music Group.  So yeah, if you want to hear this, you’ll have to download the song.

And just cuz I don’t want to not provide a video…here’s the video for Pure’s “Blast”.  Another great song!  Course Warner Music Group wants you to go to YouTube to watch it.  Wow.  This post is a fail.  Sorry guys!

Electioneering

Well Canada, I have to say it. You know…that line that your mom always pulled when you did something really dumb.

I’m not angry…I’m just disappointed…

We Canadians turned out in droves yesterday and made our voices heard.  And our voices said “we want four more years of a Stephen Harper-led Conservative government”.

Unofficial election 2011 results (Source: CBC.ca) - Navy blue - Conservative; Orange - NDP; Red - Liberal; Light blue - Bloc Quebecois; Green - Green Party

Really?  Is that really what we said?  Because from where I was standing, people on the streets were angry.  They were upset at the direction our country has been taking these last number of years with the Conservatives at the helm.  They were angry that Canada has been looking less and less Canadian.  That we are losing the identifiable benefits that make us proud to call ourselves Canadian.

Or was that all in my head?  Did I just think that I read all the angry posts on numerous message boards of people so upset with the changes under the Harper government?  The outrage in the north over Nutrition North Canada under the Conservatives was a figment of my imagination?  The negative ad campaign that is clearly the sign of a party under attack?

I guess I was just dreaming.

Still…strides were made.  Quebec proved that if one party gives up their votes to another, sweeping changes can colour the province orange.  British Columbia proved that the Green Party is a viable option in Canada.  The country proved with the popular vote that we are a left-leaning population.  That gives me hope.

But will any of that matter?  Will I even recognize the country that I love in four years?  Is an economic turnaround worth the fears I now have for the environment?  Equal rights for the GLBT community?  Education?  Universal health care?  The future for the next generations?

Thanks Stephen Harper.  You sure make it easy for a girl to “just say no” to having kids…

Were we all just fed up of this being the fourth time we headed to the polls in seven years?  Perhaps…but there are better ways to display your dismay.

Alright.  So maybe I am a little angry…

Euphonious Fridays – Underwhelmed

Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland, Chris Murphy & Andrew Scott (L-R); Source: Breakthruradio.com

When I was back in high school, I was struggling to find myself.  The first couple of years consisted of sending out my feelers to figure out where I fit into in regards to education, friends, society…and most importantly music.  Luckily, at the same time I was doing this, a band was forming on the east coast of Canada that would influence at least the next few years of my musical life – Sloan.

Though now Toronto based, Sloan’s humble beginnings started in 1991 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where two of the members were attending the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.  A year later and a band of four, they created their own record label – Murderecords – to record their debut EP Peppermint, as well as the albums of the very active Halifax music scene.  If you know anything of this scene in the early 90s (I’m looking at you Schar!), you’ll likely have heard of bands like Eric’s Trip, The Super Friendz, Hip Club Groove, Thrush Hermit, The Inbreds and The Hardship Post.  Aside from Sonic Unyon Records out of Hamilton, Ontario, Murderecords produced some of my favourite Canadian indie of the decade that encompassed my high school experience.

Over the band’s twenty year career, Sloan has released twelve albums (including a live album and a best of compilation) and two EPs.  Sloan’s sophomore full length album Twice Removed still ranks up as one of my top albums of all time.  I’m apparently in good company – it’s been highly acclaimed by many music critics and magazines.

The reason I’ve chosen to put the spotlight on Sloan this Friday stems from an event I attended a couple of weeks back.  During the Toonik Tyme Festival in Iqaluit (which I’ll be writing a post on our Nunavut blog soon), Ian and I had the good fortune of volunteering at the big band night which usually flies up a fairly well known band from the south.  This year, a band called The Reason from Hamilton, Ontario was headlining.  They performed a cover of one of my favourite Sloan songs, Underwhelmed.  It was so good that it made me reminisce on those indie rawk days of high school, and I knew I had to post about the song.  I still have yet to see Sloan live…perhaps if I manage to make it on to the Toonik Tyme committee for next year, I can work some magic to get Sloan up here to perform.  Wouldn’t that be awesome!

“Underwhelmed” is a great example of Sloan’s cheeky songwriting – full of their sugar-sweet indie pop rock lyrics – and of their harmonizing.  It can be found on their debut full length Smeared, and in a rawer form on the Peppermint EP.  I can still hear the song and this band’s influence in music by artists like Sam Roberts and Joel Plaskett (formerly of Thrush Hermit, so no surprise there).  It’s songs like this that remind me of how music is supposed to be…hope you enjoy…

She was underwhelmed, if that’s a word
I know it’s not ’cause I looked it up
That’s one of those skills
That I learned in my school

She was overwhelmed
And I’m sure of that one
Cuz I learned it back in grade school
When I was young

She said “You is funny”, I said “You are funny”
She said “Thank you” and I said “Never mind”
She rolled her eyes
Her beautiful eyes

The point is not the grammar
It’s the feeling
That is certainly in my heart
But not in hers

But not in hers
But not in hers
But not in hers
But not in hers

We were talking about people that eat meat
I felt like an ass ’cause I was one
She said “It’s okay”
But I felt like I just ate my young

She is obviously a person with a cause
I told her that I don’t smoke or drink
She told me to loosen up
On the way to the L.C.

She skips her classes and gets good grades
I go to my courses rain or shine
She’s passing her classes
While I attend mine

While I attend mine
While I attend mine
While I attend mine
While I attend

She wrote out a story about her life
I think it included something about me
I’m not sure of that but I’m sure of one thing
Her spelling’s atrocious

She told me to read between the lines
And tell her exactly what I got out of it
I told her affection had two F’s
Especially when you’re dealing with me

I usually notice all the little things
One time I was proud of it, she says it’s annoying
She cursed me up and down
And rolled her R’s, her beautiful R’s

She says I’m caught up in triviality
All I really wanna know is what she thinks of me
I think my love for her makes me miss the point

I miss the point
I miss the point
I miss the point
I miss the point

I miss the point
I miss the point
I miss the point
Hey mister

Trying to find the video for this song was nearly impossible.  In fact, it’s almost turned this post into Soundful Saturdays or something.  I’ve managed to find a live version of this song from what has to be Sloan’s first live television performance.  It’s so close to the beginning of their career that Patrick even forgets some of the lyrics.  Love it!