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Stars Week, Yet Again — The Very Thing

Sunday, November 25th, 2007


In the first three installments of Stars Week I have examined a song off of a different album each time. The trend continues today, as I take a look at a song off of their debut album Nightsongs entitled “The Very Thing”. While there was no official video for this song, there is this excellent fan made video featuring clips from Kramer vs. Kramer.

The bar closes early on the Sabbath day
So me and my kid, we hit the park to play
Then it starts to rain, so we walk home again
He asks why he was born, I don’t know what to say
I don’t feel guilty and I don’t feel sad
This motherfucking life is the best he’s had
I said “I’ve been there, sonny, and it ain’t that bad
I took my hits from the shits back when I was a lad”

So long ago, and even though I tried
I couldn’t make him see
The light that he had cast in front of me
And even though I cried, I couldn’t make him be
The very thing I needed

His mother would make a scene when I come home late
She looks like she’s dying and she’s twenty-eight
I never loved that whore, I never will no more
Except for a month back in ‘84
The jammin’ was playing and my heart stood still
Gazing at her shadow on the windowsill

So long ago, and even though I tried
I couldn’t make her see
I wasn’t quite the man she thought I’d be

And even though I cried, I couldn’t make her be
The very thing I needed

And even though I tried
I couldn’t make her see
I wasn’t quite the man she thought I’d be
And even though I cried, I couldn’t make her be
The very thing I needed

Could she be the very thing I needed?
Could she be the very thing?

Push yourself away from your one best friend
Who’s gonna love you when you reach the end?
Who will?
Who will?
Who will?

– Lyrics courtesy of Lyricsmania.com

There is one reaction that everyone fears getting from someone. It is not anger, not hatred, not even sadness. Oh no, it is far worse that that. It is disappointment.

Unlike the first few songs I have examined, this one has a relatively simple, yet powerful message, disappointments suck.

While, thankfully, I have never had to deal with being a negligent father, I can relate to the disappointment that echoes throughout this song. The main character (sang by Torq) identifies with a heavy heart not only the disappointment that he casts onto others (”Even though I tried/I couldn’t make her see/I wasn’t quite the man she thought I’d be”), but also the disappointment that others give him (”And even though I cried, I couldn’t make her be/The very thing I needed”).

Perhaps the saddest part of the song though is the line “Could she be the very thing I needed?”, which is said after repeating many times that she couldn’t be the very thing that he needed and that he “Never loved that whore”. This is exceptionally sad, because after giving and receiving so much disappointment, he begins to both accept and expect it.

As sad as heartbreak is, I think that someone staying in a relationship where they aren’t happy is far worse. To be with someone who you don’t love for want of a better alternative goes beyond tragedy. It is just plain disappointing.

Until next time,

G

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Stars Week Still — Personal

Saturday, November 24th, 2007


The week long examination of one of Canada’s best, and most underrated bands continues! The first day, I looked at their most famous song, the second I looked at a great old one, and today, I look at a great little ditty off of their most recent album, In Our Bedroom After the War. I’m happy to present you with another unofficial video, followed by the lyrics. Warning, this song is not for the faint at heart.

[Wanted:]
Single f, under 33, must enjoy the sun, must enjoy the sea
[Sought by single m:] Mrs.Destiny, send photo to address, is it you and me?

[Reply to single m:]
My name is Caroline cell phone number here, call if you have the time
28 and bored, grieving over loss, sorry to be heavy but heavy is the cost, heavy is the cost

[Reply to Caroline:]
Thanks so much for response, these things can be scary
Not always what you want
How about a drink? The St.Jude club at noon?
I’ll phone you first I guess
I hope I see you soon!

I never got your name, I assume you’re 33
Your voice it sounded kind
I hope that you like me
When you see my face, I hope that you don’t laugh
I’m not a film-star beauty
I sent a photograph
I hope that you don’t laugh…

[Note to single m:]
Why did you not show up?
I waited for an hour and finally gave up
I thought once that I saw you, I thought that you saw me
I guess we’ll never meet now
It wasn’t meant to be
I was sure that you saw me, but it wasn’t meant to be

[Wanted:]
single f, under 33, must enjoy the sun, must enjoy the sea
Sought by single m:
nothing too heavy, send photo to address
is it you?
or me?

– Lyrics courtesy of AZLyrics.com

In my previous two entries, I discussed the dichotomies contained in each of the two songs, “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” is part somber, part empowering, while “Heart” is part forgiving, and part settling. Well today I break that pattern. This song is just sad.

Personal adds either in newspapers or on-line have always intrigued me. I must say, that I have never used that service, but I know plenty of people who have, many of which will swear by it. Whenever someone mentions that they met someone on the internet through any sort of dating service there are always a few who snicker behind their back and talk about how “pathetic” it is and how they “couldn’t find anyone better”. I personally don’t care, love is a strange thing and finds people in strange places, be they real or cyber.

While the song doesn’t specifically state that the two are meeting on-line, it seems obvious given the ease in which Caroline can send “Single m” a picture, and given the nature of our society, if it is not on-line, it doesn’t make a huge difference to the storyline. The two characters agree to meet in person after seeing one another’s adds. While the obvious sad stories and concerns that people have about this sort of thing revolve around the other person being creepy and/or dangerous.

However, in true Stars fashion, this song looks at it from a different dimension, and as usual there are multiple ways to look at it.

The obvious one is from Caroline’s point of view. She is nervous and scared, since she is “grieving over loss”, and so she sends a picture to “Single m”. However, she is clearly very insecure that he may not find her attractive, and so she shows up to meet him but he never comes. She is convinced that she saw him at one point, although there is no mention that she ever got a picture of him, or else perhaps she would have said more than “Your voice it sounded kind”.

Whether Caroline saw him or not, her story is a sad one. She puts herself out there and gets rejected, never an easy story. Now Caroline, clearly has some other issues with her self-confidence and has more than likely had some relationship troubles before (”grieving over loss” yet again), and so being rejected, will no doubt make these issues even worse. It doesn’t matter why “Single m” did not show up, in some part of her mind it will be because she is either unattractive or just not that interesting.

Now on the side we have “Single m” and any potential for his tragedy. After my initial listen to this song I was convinced that he was someone who tried to pick girls up on the internet all time, and took advantage of poor Caroline. However, upon repeated listening and reflection I think that there is a chance for a deeper character than that.

While the song follows Caroline’s anxieties, it is entirely possible that he felt the same way. Single m specifically says “these things can be scary”. So maybe, just maybe, he was too scared to meet up with Caroline, and so he backed out of it all. This would explain the repetition of his personal ad at the end. He was scared, ducked out and decided to repost and try again.

I realize that the second thought is far less likely, but there is still that certain ambiguity in the song. In the first two I looked at it was emotional ambiguity, now this time it is a lack of clarity in the story itself.

While this is often frustrating, in the context of this song (and the others) it adds a whole other dimension to the plot, leaving things for you to pick up each time you listen to it. Now that is of course a heavy contrast from the majority of music out there, which is so simple and to the point that you really only need to listen to it once to understand it. Illustrating the point once more that Stars are among the best bands out there right now, their songs have depth, which seems so simple, yet, as the music industry shows us every day is so hard to get.

Until next time,

G

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Stars Week Continued — Heart

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007


I started Stars week with a look at perhaps their most famous song. Today I look at a much lesser known, but equally meaningful song. It is the title track from their second album, Heart. Just like last day, here is the (unofficial) video, followed by the lyrics.

Time can take it’s toll on the best of us
Look at you you’re growing old so young
Traffic lights blink at you in the evening
Tilt your head and turn it to the sun
Sometimes the T.V. is like a lover
Singing softly as you fall asleep
You wake up in the morning and it’s still there
Adding up the things you’ll never be

Alright, I can say what you want me to,
Alright, I can do all the things you do,
Alright, I’ll make it all up for you,
I’m still in love with you,
I’m still in love with you

Time can take it’s toll on the best of us
Look at you you’re growing old so young
Traffic lights blink at you in the evening
You tilt your head and turn it to the sun
You disembark the latest flight from paradise
You almost turn your ankle on the snow
You fall back into where you started
Make up words to songs you used to know
So…

Alright, I can say what you want me to,
Alright, I can do all the things you do,
Alright, I’ll make it all up for you,
I’m still in love with you,
I’m still in love with you,

The hard luck god
You never had a chance you know
Incurable romantics never do
He held the flame I wasn’t born to carry
I’ll leave the dieing young stuff up to you
You get back on the latest flight to paradise
I found out, from a note taped to the door
I think I saw your airplane in the sky tonight
Through my window, lying on the kitchen floor.

Alright, I can say what you want me to,
(I want more)
Alright, I can do all the things you do,
(Give me more)
Alright, I’ll make it all up for you,
I’m still in love with you,
I’m still in love with you,
(I want more)
Alright, I’ll say you want me to,
(Give Me More)
Alright, I’ll do all the things you do,
(I Want More From You)
Alright, I’ll make it all up for you,
I’m still in love with you,
I’m still in love with you

– Lyrics courtesy of AZLyrics.com


Sometimes there is nothing harder to say than sorry. Seeking forgiveness requires you to admit that you were wrong and that you regret your actions. This is especially convoluted in the context of a relationship, where there are many more emotions at play.

As usual, Amy Milan and Torquil Campbell are able to capture all of the emotions flawlessly. The verbal interaction between these two express a deep, and eloquent longing. Torq starts out as the sad one, stuck with only the television to fill the void of his departed love. Then Amy Milan’s angelic voice comes in with a deep sense of regret and a desire to fix all of their problems, admitting that she would “say what you want me to”.

What gets me the most about this song is the feeling that both of the characters in this song are stuck in a rut. As Torq says that Amy “falls back into where you started/Make up the words to songs you used to know”. Also, in the end, there is a slight hint that Amy is settling in a relationship that she may not want to be in and giving in to Torq’s guilt and clear love.

However, the true beauty of this song is in its ambiguity. Similar to “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”, it is one of those songs that you could probably find two very different meanings to, depending on your mood. Are you sad and want to win that special someone back? Or do you feel guilted into staying in a relationship that you may not want to be in? Either way this song is for you.

Yet again, this song by Stars runs the full emotional gambit, in a brave, yet eloquent way. This is exceptionally important when it comes to apologizing, because it is such a hard thing to do to, so you may as well do it right the first time. In a true musical rarity, this song does it right the first time.

Until next time,

G

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Stars Week Kick-off — Your Ex Lover is Dead

Wednesday, November 21st, 2007

Greetings and salutations all. While today is Wednesday, I am officially dubbing it the start of the week here at Getting Glenergized. In one week, I will have the pleasure of going to see one of the best bands this country has to offer, Stars. So as my own personal countdown I will be looking at some of their songs and talking about what they mean to me. So whether you know the band or not, buckle in because the next days should be an epic musical journey…


As you can probably tell from the graphic, the first song I am going to look at is probably their most famous one, “Your Ex-Lover is Dead”. So before I start, here have a watch of the video and a read of the lyrics…

God that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said ‘yes I think we’ve met before’
In that instant it started to pour,
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across Pont Champlain
And all of the time you thought I was sad
I was trying to remember your name…

This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
Tried to reach deep but you couldn’t get in
Now you’re outside me
You see all the beauty
Repent all your sin

It’s nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn’t choose
I’ll write you a postcard
I’ll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love…

Live through this, and you won’t look back…
Live through this, and you won’t look back…
Live through this, and you won’t look back…

There’s one thing I want to say, so I’ll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I’m not sorry I met you
I’m not sorry it’s over
I’m not sorry there’s nothing to save

I’m not sorry there’s nothing to save…

– Lyrics courtesy of AZlyrics.com

The second I heard this song I was hooked. After hearing this song, I put it on repeat, with each listen I broke down the lyrics more and more deliberately. At the risk of sounding cliche and trite, I feel that this song was sang directly to me.

This song just so genuinely captures all of the feelings of a break-up so very eloquently. So many break-up songs fall into one of two categories, the empowering ones, or the wallowing ones, this song is able to find a genuine, and very rare, mix of the two.

The repeated line of “Live through this, and you won’t turn back…” expressing the suffering that the characters in the song are going through, but it contains the promise of a better time. While the earlier lines of “It’s nothing but time and a face that you lose/I chose to feel it and you couldn’t choose” really convey the essence of a relationship breakdown. One person falls so deeply in love, while the other person himms and haas, staying at a distance. This is such a realistic contrast to the usual “You were horrible” type lines that permeate so many songs about breaking up.

While break-ups inevitably suck, there is still a conflicting emotion, as you clearly felt something for the other person at one point or another, despite the current situation. This song does a fantastic job of mixing the empowering with the melancholy, and switching between the two with the lyrics, the tone and the pace, in a seamless manner.

This is one of those amazing songs to listen to late at night when you are thinking about someone from days past. When the song reaches it’s zenith and Amy Milan’s angelic voice chymes in with “I’m not sorry I met you/I’m not sorry it’s over/I’m not sorry there’s nothing to save”, then the song is able to pass through the last step in the grieving process, acceptance as closure is finally attained.

I guess I feel that this song spoke to me so clearly, because I found it at a very crucial time in my life, when I was ready to move on. Sad and angry songs are great, but they don’t ever deal with the root of the issue. I had heard this song, and the band before this crucial stage in my life but I wasn’t all that into them. But it was when I heard this song at that very crucial point in my life that I became hooked. While I know that I searched out this song, I can’t help but feel that it found me when I needed it the most. Oddly, this will be a very common theme this entire week.

At the point that I became enamored with this song, I was ready to finally let go of anything that I was holding onto. I was ready to just move on with my life and not let anything hold me back. This song is an integral part of a soundtrack for those brave enough to confront the gambit of emotions that go along with a break-up. If you’re not ready for this song, don’t worry, it will come to you when you are…

Until next time,

G

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The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

Much of the buzz on the webernets today is centred on British super band, Radiohead. Today they have officially launched their new album In Rainbows. Sure we see bands release albums every week, but this one is very different.

Just in case you have been too busy following unimportant stories like the two provincial elections allow me to bring you up to speed. Radiohead, currently working without a record label, announced only a week and a half ago that they were going to be making their album available for download on their site, www.inrainbows.com. Now here is the real revolutionary part…they are letting people decide how much to pay for it. Radiohead is also offering a deluxe box set for sale (at a set price) for the real die-hard fans looking to get more out of their listening experience.

This of course, is a huge blow to the record industry which has been reeling ever since the dawn of Napster back in 1999. The record labels have been fighting very hard against the spread of digital music, even having issues with the iTunes Music Store, one of the few financial success of the digital music age.

Since Radiohead made their announcement, there seem to be a few other big names jumping on this bandwagon. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, now a free agent, has been making some hawkish noises against the record industry, so it would be no shock if he follows Radiohead’s lead on this one.

As if the biggest alternative and industrial band’s defections were not enough, there are rumours that both Oasis and Jamiroquoi could be following suit. Leaving record labels without four major acts who decide to take their music directly to the people without the dreaded “Middle Man” taking a share of the profit along the way.

It certainly is refreshing that these acts understand the vital paradigm shift that has occurred over the past eight years. In the radio/video star age the single would always serve as sort of a commercial for the album. If people liked a single enough they would hopefully buy the album, and all was good. But now, if people like a single they will download it, and if they really like it they will just download the album, leaving people’s pockets empty. What Radiohead and co. seem to get is that while the single is a great advertisement for the album, the album is now a great advertisement for the artists brand.

Even if Radiohead did not put their album up for “sale” today it still would have gotten out and people would have downloaded it for free. Sure it would have been illegal, but thanks to the anonymity of the internet, that is not much of an issue. While the album could have been downloaded, there is no way that a special deluxe boxed set could be downloaded, and you know what, people are buying it. You know what else can’t be downloaded? T-shirts, concert tickets, DVD extras, and much, much more. This my friends, is the future of the music industry. No matter how good the clip on YouTube is, it does not compare to the reverberation you feel in your chest as a band starts playing your favourite song live.

Back in sixties and seventies, when Rock and Roll was in its infancy, people were convinced that it would free people’s minds and change the world. Fast forward to the nineties and zero-zeros and that same sense of optimism surrounds the internet. While both Rock and Web have yet to bring about major change in the social order, they can at least be content to have changed one another, permanently and irrevocably. And I dare say, that’s a pretty big accomplishment.

Until next time,

G

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Music to Travel to

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

It’s been a solid 7 months or so since I last did a soundtrack, but trust me, this one has been on my mind since I was in China! So I apologize for not doing one of these sooner, but I hope to make up for it in quality here. So without further ado…

1. Joel Plaskett — “Nowhere with You”. Astute readers may notice right off the bat that I included this in my last soundtrack, but I think that this song may be even more perfect here than anywhere else. This song is energetic and totally encapsulates a travellers mindset of going “nowhere with you”, plus the “na na na” part is perfect to listen to while walking down some foreign street

2. The Strokes — “Juicebox”. While many people may not have liked First Impressions of Earth, I think that this song is a great rockfest. The line “Why don’t you come over here? We’ve got a city to love” is a great indication of your early excitement and energy that every traveller starts out with.

3. Led Zeppelin — “Communication Breakdown”. Maybe this is just me relying on my own personal experiences, but I certainly remember being in places where nobody spoke any English and I certainly didn’t speak any of the local language. It leads to some pretty hilarious moments where communication sure breaks down.

4. David Bowie & Trent Reznor — “I’m Affraid of Americans”. Nothing against people from the good ol’ U.S. of A, but this is a wicked song. I put this song in here not only because it is amazing, but because it refers to the stereotypical “Ugly American” tourist. You know the type, the person who wants everything to be just like things are back home…I hate people like that. And for the record, some of the worst tourists I have ever met were Australian and Canadian….

5. Kaiser Cheifs — “Oh My God”. This song is perfect for that moment you realize just how far away from your friends and family you are. Listen to the line “Oh my God, I can’t believe it, I’ve never been this far away from home…” and you’ll know that you are not the only one to feel that way. By the way, check out Lily Allen’s cover of this song if you get a chance, maybe I’m biased, but it’s great!!

6. LCD Soundsystem –”North American Scum”. This is for the time when you realize that you, yourself have become a bit of an “Ugly American” tourist, trust me, it’ll happen at least once. By the way, I posted this video here once before and if you missed it, be sure to check it out.

7. The Dandy Warhols — “Everyday Should be a Holiday”. Great song, great band. This is one of those songs for the moment when you realize that you will, one day, have to return home to your dreaded “real life”.

8. The Shins — “Sea Legs”. Here’s were the playlist starts to slow down a bit. It might be a bit too sad for you, but I think the line “And we got sea legs and we’re off tonight”, is a good one for nomads everywhere.

9. The John Butler Trio –”Nowhere Man”. It’s a song about being nowhere in particular, it ties into the opening song on this list and is a great way to sum up those long bus/train trips when you feel like you aren’t anywhere.

10. Broken Social Scene –”Looks Just Like the Sun”. I could have easily put all of You Forgot it in People on this list, the album just blends itself to staring out a window of a train, but I think that this song might be the best one for this list. Mainly because of those long overnight hauls when you first see the sun and you’re not sure if it is really there because you are so freakin’ exhausted.

11. The Arcade Fire — “No Cars Go”. You all know how much I love Neon Bible, so of course I was looking to include a song on this list! But this one is perfect, I swear! It’s about finding places where “No Cars Go”, which is something you will certainly want once you get sick of all of those crowds and souvenir stands.

12. Sigur Ros — “Untitled” (aka “Njósnavélin” aka “The Spy Machine” aka “The Nothing Song”). Really any song off of ( ) is a great choice, I just took my personal favourite here. For those not familiar with this album, it is sang entirely in Vonlenska, a language which the band made up. This album needs to be represented on any travel playlist because it so wonderfully demonstrates the ability to communicate without common language. You listen to the words and you have no idea what they mean, but you can clearly understand the point that they are trying to make. There are so many moments that this happened to me in China that have left a pretty drastic mark on my psyche, and this album will always make me think about them.

13. Michael Franti & Spearhead — “I Know I’m Not Alone”. The chorus says “Even though I’m far from home, I know I’m not alone”, sums up everything from the bond between travellers to any connections you have with someone back home.

14. Feist –”It’s Cool To Love Your Family”…and Feist makes yet another of my playlists, thus making it even more likely that her and I will be wed some day. Anyway, this is a great song to justify feeling homesick but not wanting to loose any face by admitting that you miss your mommy, chances are every other traveller has at one point or another.

15. Simon and Garfunkel — “Homeward Bound”. It’s finally that time, time to head on back home. It’s always a bitter sweet time, but Simon and Garfunkel will help you ease that transition with this classic.

16. Kanye West featuring Chris Martin — “Homecomming”. If you haven’t heard this song go and buy Graduation right now!!! Not only will you get a great album but you will put 50 Cent that much closer to retirement. Anyway this unlikely duo come together to put out a really great song that mixes West’s rapping and Martin’s incredible vocal talents. They talk a lot about coming home and in the chorus the Coldplay front man asks “Do you think about me now and then?”, which will tap into any traveller’s concern that maybe they’ve been forgotten while they’ve been gone.

17. Johnny Cash –”I’ve Been Everywhere”. I know there are about a zillion versions of this song, but I’ve always been partial to Johnny’s. It’s a great song to reminisce about your adventures to, which is clearly one of the most important parts of travelling.

Alrightie I think that’s about all, let me know if I missed any big ones. Also, does anyone have any suggestions out there for future soundtracks? If so, let me know, I’d love to hear them!

Until next time,

G

Archieved Playlists

Music to Break-up to
Music to Wallow to
Music to Swoon to

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Some Good Advice All Around…

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007

I recently saw this video by Dan le Sav vs. Scroobius Pip, called “Letter from God” which has some pretty wicked advice which I thought everyone could use…I hope you enjoy.

I particularly enjoyed the part about “seeing this problems but giving them little worth”, maybe we should pay attention to such problems after all…ohh DJ’s when will you stop being right? By the way, if you haven’t heard the song “Thou Shalt Always Kill” by these guys…remedy the situation STAT.

Until next time,

G

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Why I Love Neon Bible

Friday, March 16th, 2007

So last night I was watching Lost and then I switched it over to The Daily Show and then The Colbert Report, and then I decided to have a hot bath while listening to The Arcade Fire, and I realized something very important. There are a lot of things out there that I freakin’ Love. As a result, today I am going to start what I hope to be the first of a many part feature here at Getting Glenergized, entitled “Why I Love…” where I am going to try and rationalize my irrational feelings towards any given topic. It could be a TV Show, a place I have been to, a Band/Artist, one of my friends, or anything really.

As you can probably guess from the title above, this one is about Neon Bible, the new album by The Arcade Fire, my favouritest band at the moment. A while ago I downloaded the album and was faced with a moral crisis, to enjoy the work, or support the band. However, I have now finally purchased the album and I can now do both.

I was planning on doing a full review/interpretation/love fest for the album, but I have to say you would probably find a better one on McNutt’s blog or on Us Kids Know Forum, both of which are great places to go for information on this unreal band. So instead, I decided that I would just try and explain what makes this album so great to me in 7 reasons.

1. The Story it Tells – Like all great albums this is more than just a mere collection of songs, and this one tells a story and a half. The great things is that this album is just so full of information, stories, and poetry that it may take years for anyone to really figure out what was going on inside the heads of the artists while they were putting this thing together. But here is one of the many stories I have came up with using all of the albums song titles in order.

A man gets a terrible vision of the future by gazing into a “Black Mirror”. He panics and is convinced that doom is coming at any moment. In order to prepare he makes sure to “Leave the Car Running”, just in case he needs to get away quickly. He tries to spread the word by writing it in the “Neon Bible” for all to read. Fed up that nobody is listening, he tries to do something about it, make an “Intervention” if you will. However, it is far too late and disaster strikes. Everyone panics as they see/feel “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”. Chaos ensues, and the world is filled with an “Ocean of Noise”. In the chaos, our hero gets trapped in “The Well and the Lighthouse” (that one will make more sense if you have heard the song). After he finally gets out, life is appearing to return to normal for most people, but our hero becomes quite disillusioned with the world and sings the “Antichrist Television Blues”. Things start to get worse once again and he laments them coming to his “Windowsill”. Finally, he has an idea of how to get away from everything he hates, by going to a place where “No Cars Go”. But once he realizes that it is only possible in his mind, he and cries out ‘“My Body is a Cage”’ with hope that it will help set his spirit free.

Not half bad eh? And I am leaving out some really important details and awesome lines from the songs and going just by the titles. Clearly there is a lot more to explore with this one.

2. The Ending to “(Antichrist Television Blues)” – This song is unreal, but the ending is what makes it even more impressive. As the song progresses, more and more anger is filled in the lyrics and tone of Win Butler’s voice. Meanwhile the music is picking up and at the very end it reaches its crescendo with the following lyrics:

“Do you know where I was when I was your age?
Any idea where I was when I was your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage.
And I’m not going to let you just throw it all away!
I’m through being cute,
I’m through being nice,
O tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?!”

And then it just ends. By the time the “st” leaves his mouth the music stops. This is simply an amazing way to end this song that just builds and builds and builds. This is one of those songs that you just can not look at as an independent entity. The lack of a falling action makes it hard to fit into any typical formula, that is why it needs the remaining songs on the album to bring it down a notch.

3. The Cover – Come on, how cool is this?

4. The Religious References – Well it is called Neon Bible, so it really isn’t all that surprising I suppose. The title track having some very obvious references to the good book, but it is defiantly not alone here. In “(Antichrist Television Blues)”, they talk about being a “Good Christian Man”, and it is written as both a mixture of a man talking to his daughter and praying. The chorus of “Intervention” talks about “Working for the church while your life falls apart” and “My Body is a Cage” contains the plea to “Set my spirit free”, which could very well talk about going to the place in the sky.

But it is more than just the lyrics. First off, almost every song has some sort of water based imagery and connections with the Biblical flooding can definitely be made in “Windowsill”. Also, the album sounds religious. It is filled with organ sounds and background choir, especially “Intervention”.

Far too often when bands name an album after a song it is because they couldn’t think up anything better, however it is really obvious here that Neon Bible describes the entire album.

5. The Transition from Black Wave to Bad Vibrations – In the fifth song, “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”, something funny happens. It starts out with Regine singing very melodically and innocently and all of a sudden Win interrupts with more darkness. It is just a great musical moment that you really need to listen to a number of times to really get what they are doing here.

6. It Picks up Right Where Funeral Left Off – Funeral is very light-hearted and innocent, Neon Bible is the exact opposite, making it hard at first to make a connection between these two unreal albums. I decided one day to listen to them right in a row, no break, no anything, I just played one right after the other and I was amazed at what I found. Funeral ends with “In the Backseat” which just sounds like a dream. Neon Bible then begins with the line “I walked down to the ocean/After waking from a nightmare”. How cool is that? At the end of the first album they are falling asleep all innocent and then waking up after a nightmare to find out that things are different. Not sure if they intended for this Van Winklesque connection between the two albums, but I think it is awesome.

7. It’s The Arcade Fire!!!! – We are playing witness to something really special in music right now, a great band coming of age. Sure it won’t ever get the press that it deserves, but these guys and gal are changing music as we know it. When future music geeks look back at the first decade of this century they will talk about this band and just how influential they were. They are just so fresh, so unique and so unreal. If you do not like them then I really have to question your musical taste.

Well there are seven reasons as to why I love this album. I could probably go on for many, many more, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself here. This is just the first edition of this feature and I need to try and give myself an opportunity to raise the bar. I haven’t really thought up what my next “Why I Love…” will be about. Right now I have been thinking about Stephen Colbert, Camp, Star Wars, Teaching, Blogging, Spring, or possibly some place I have traveled to.

If any of you out there have any suggestions please feel free to hit me with a comment, I haven’t been getting too many of those lately. It makes me feel like a bit of a loosebag when nobody pays attention to me.

Until next time,

G

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Music to Swoon to

Monday, February 12th, 2007

I’m sorry to surprise some of you out there but Valentine’s Day is in one more sleep.

Yes gentlemen, take a moment to catch your breath and panic.

But never fear, I have something that can help you out a little wee bit here. I decided that I would do some “Music to Swoon to” to help anyone out looking for some more songs for that Mixed CD (or pre-loaded mp3 player) that you are getting for that special someone.

Before I go into my songs, I want to say first of all that these are only suggestions, you need to of course use some of “your” songs in there. Also, this is aimed more at people in the throws of a new relationship, as such I avoided songs that evoked the dreaded L-Word.

Lastly making a CD/playlist for someone else is a really delicate art form and you need to follow a few rules.

A) Order Matters. Lord does it ever matter!! I know that it is so tempting with computers to just let it sort alphabetically, but don’t you dare. The songs need to flow into one another well. I highly recommend that once you pick out a list you listen to it from start to finish. If you don’t have the time then at least listen to the first and last 20 seconds or so of each song to tell how they transition to one another. They really need to build upon one another, and when I make a romantic CD I really try to imagine whoever I am making it for listening to it as they drift to sleep. So it starts out with the more fast paced ones and slowly mellows itself out.

B) Be Unique. Here’s the thing, unless you are really lucky/sheltered everyone you have been with has been with other people before you. You need to make sure that when you make this CD that you DO NOT include any songs that may remind them of someone who came before you. Regardless of your musical taste, you need to stay away from artists like Jack Johnson and Dave Matthews. Why? Because they are cliche and so many people have some memories with someone else, and you don’t want that!!!!

C) Include Some of the Familiar. Yeah I know this contradicts what I said above, but there is some logic to it. You need songs that they other person will know sprinkled in with some new ones to introduce them to. Everyone likes to listen to songs that they know and love. It’s just a very tough call to try and strike a balance.

I guess that’s enough of a long winded introduction. Here is the list of songs to use…

1. Oasis — “Wonderwall“. Yeah I know, I say be unique and then here I am putting out one of the most played songs of the past 20 years. But here me out, this pays attention to Rules A + C. It takes a very familiar song and puts it into a new context, and you need to start the CD out with a song that they will know. You don’t want to turn them off the CD from the start now do you? See why the order is important??? And the best part is that this song came out in 1995. So if you are around my age, which I know most of you are, chances are any one’s memories of someone else would be of a Grade 8 dance and they have probably gotten over it by now.

2. The Pixies — “Here Comes Your Man”. If you have not seen or read High Fidelity then go and do it right now…I’ll wait…Well there is a wonderful scene were the main character, Rob, talks about the rules to making a good mixed tape. He says that you need to start big with the first song (check) and then take it up a notch for the second song. Well here we are taking it up a notch. This song is definitely taking it up a notch. The Pixies are one of the most underrated bands of the 90’s and this is an excellent example as to why. If the song doesn’t fit your own pronoun then a good alternate could be “Mushaboom” by Feist.

3. Sloan – “I Can Feel It”. In the above mentioned scene in High Fidelity, Rob says that you need to start to take it down a notch in the third song to not overdo it. Well here we are taking it down a little bit. I really like this song, it’s chorus of “You’ve got a thing for me, I can feel it, I can feel it. I’ve got a thing for you too, you can have it, you can have it”, is so high school cute.

4. Joel Plaskett — “Nowhere With You”. Another song that is almost adolescent with its lyrics. A great thing for a new relationship/love interest/”It’s Complicated”, especially this early in the CD, remember we are building to things here.

5. U2 –”Stay (Faraway, So Close)”. This is where things get taken up a bit more after the last two light natured songs. The line of “If I could stay…and the night would be enough” ties into the next song a wee bit.

6. Howie Day — “Morning After”. Yeah I know, I’m taking a bit of a chance here with respect to Rule B due to the popularity of “Collide” a few years ago. But I tried to cram it in between some other songs that could ease the burden if that is an issue. The whole morning after theme of this song ties into the previous song’s notion of staying the night. See order is important!!!

7. Elliot Smith — “Between The Bars”. Kind of a strange song that goes with the “to hell with anyone before me” theme that has been creeping into this album. I like the guitar riff in this song, and I think that Elliot Smith has an eerie sounding voice, so here it goes.

8. TV On the Radio — “Ambulance”. I talked about this song once before and my opinion of this song definitely has not changed. I will once again re-post the chorus here because I think that the lyrics are that amazing.

“oh i will be your ambulance if you will be my accident
i will be your screech and crash if you will be my crutch and cast
and i will be your one more time if you will be my one last chance
so sweet dream fall with me
fall fast fall free fall with me”

If you haven’t heard this song by now, go and do it…

9. Eric Clapton — “Wonderful Tonight”. A classic romance song. If this doesn’t help you out then I don’t know what to say.

10. Semisonic — “Secret Smile”. Sure “Closing Time” was their big hit, but this is a much better song. conveys a strong “You are the only one for me right now” message that you should be going for right here.

11. Jason Mraz — “I’m Yours”. I’ll quote my previous blog entry about this song, “This just seems like such a perfect song to dance romantically in the kitchen with that special someone to”, therefore it’s a must on this mix.

12. Jose Gonzalez — “Crosses”. Jose Gonzalez is proof that sometimes less is more, he keeps the guitar simple and it works. I love the opening line of “Don’t you know that I’ll be around to guide you through your weakest moments to leave them behind you? ” it’s very caring and supportive which should up your cred.

13. Jeff Healey Band — “Angel Eyes”. Another one of those gimme songs. Next.

14. Sufjan Stevens — “The Dress Look Nice on You”. I’ve mentioned my love for Sufjan on here more times than I dare search. This song wavers between poetry and prose and I love it. Should your significant other not be the dress wearing type perhaps take “To Be Alone With You” also by Mr. Stevens.

15. Rolling Stones — “Wild Horses”. Yeah another gimme song, I really love the line “You know I can’t let you slide through my hands “, says a lot without saying too much.

16. Hawksley Workman — “Safe and Sound”. What would a playlist of mine be without Mr. Workman? This is among my favourite songs of his, very caring and nurturing and who doesn’t love that? I love the line “We fit together like the ignition and the key”, so typically Hawksley.

17. Foo Fighters — “Everlong (Acoustic)”. Another dangerous choice due to Rule B, but give it a try. I think that this song may have the most beautiful lyrics ever. But it is possibly my favourite song ever (along with “Rebellion (Lies)” by The Arcade Fire and “Jolene” by Cake) so perhaps I have a wee bit of bias.

18. Feist — “La Sirena“. What playlist of mine wouldn’t have a Feist song? You all know my love for her. This song is really mellow and fits in with the falling asleep plan I said way back at the beginning.

19. Eva Cassidy — “Time After Time”. I know, Cindi Lauper’s original is amazing, and Match Box 20’s live cover is surprisingly good, but this is the best of the bunch. This is me combining Rules A & B, something unique but also familiar. Eva Cassidy is great for that, she has a wide range of excellent covers out there (mental note: her cover of “Ain’t no Sunshine” should have been on my wallow list…)

20. Live — “Dance With You (Acoustic)”. Very romantic lyrics without going over the top. A non-single from a familiar band done to facilitate falling asleep or at least achieving a level of comfort. That’s right this follows all three of my rules, booyeah!!! If there is only one song that you take from here, make it the one by TV on the Radio but if there are two, make it this one.

21. Hawksley Workman — “Baby This Night”. Yeah I know I already used Hawksley but it’s my playlist so I can do what I want!!! This song is so great for any degree of swooning playlist. The chorus of “Baby this night can be ours, so just close your eyes” is a great way to end this playlist.

Wow this belongs among my most epic of blog posts. I guess I need to end it. I suppose that makes up for my lack of posting of late. I will very likely chime in with my thoughts on Valentine’s Day (or Singles Awareness Day as I sometimes like to called it) as a whole tomorrow, my thoughts on the subject may just surprise you…

Until next time,

G

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Happy Belated Beatlebration!!!

Saturday, February 10th, 2007

I meant to get this one posted yesterday, but a night of bowling and dinner out with friends got in the way of my blogging.

On February 9, 1964, music in North America was changed forever. This happened…

(Sorry that it cut out there, I spent a fair amount of time looking for videos of this and many of them had been taken down due to copyright rules.)

That’s right, 43 years ago yesterday, the Beatles did their first lives show this side of the pond and (North American) Beatlemania began.

As I watch this video I can’t help but feel that I was born a solid 4 decades too late. Whenever I see old videos related to Beatlemania I am absolutely amazed at what I see. The sheer energy, and excitement that they brought wherever they went is simply unmatched by any of today’s artists.

My father was fortunate enough to see them play live at Maple Leaf Gardens, and he still speaks highly of it all these years later. I can’t help but feel robbed. Not only because I will never get the chance to tell my children about an amazing concert that I went to with the same aura that his story has. Sure I saw The Stones, AC/DC, The Guess Who and Rush at Sarsstock a few years ago, but those really don’t have the same mystique as The Beatles. Mainly, because none of those bands were in their prime at the time. All four of those bands have been on a decline for a while and it was more of a nostalgia trip for older generations than anything else.

Who does our generation have to compare? U2? Eminem? Justin Timberlake?….exactly. But I suppose that’s what makes them so special, they were only able to be seen and truly experienced by such a limited amount of people.

I was looking for more videos to post on here and I had a lot of trouble deciding what to post, so I recommend that you all just go here, and enjoy the miracles of 21st Century living.

But I decided on this one, a clip from their concert in Paris in 1965. They are playing “I’m a Loser” and “I Wanna Be You Man”. I love their attempt at speaking French, it makes me laugh.

I love watching the guys in the crowd dance, man people were weird in the 60’s.

I think that’s about enough for me, I’m going to put Abbey Road on and drift off a little bit more. But whatever you are doing today, try and take a moment to pay your respect to the greatest band ever. If you disagree with that last sentence, then you are wrong, simply put. I don’t even want to get into that one.

Until next time,

G

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