Sailor Cut Soliloquies

Arcade Fire feat. David Bowie - Wake Up

Recently it seems like music is a reverse popularity contest. The more people who like a band, the less you should like it (because that isn’t cool). The complaint I just made also isn’t very cool, because cool people have been complaining about it for so long it’s old news. This one time I went to a concert, and everyone there was mad at everyone else for knowing the band existed. In light of this, something continues to be awesome no matter how many people like them. Rock stars! It’s a refreshing change.

Rock stars are just awesome. You know it, they know it, and they know you know it. Somehow they remain untouched and badass while publicly breaking all the rules, shooting all the guns, and doing whatever they want. The rest of us live vicariously through them. Fortuntately there is a large crop to choose from, so you can live through your own personal brand of rocker.

While many stars fade into obscurity, choke on their own vomit, or sign up for reality TV shows, there is one rock legend who has really withstood the test of time. I’m talking about David Bowie here; King of the martian spiders, named after a hunting knife. As he gets older, he keeps his cool and his dignity, and keeps making great music, and some classy cameos. His songs manage to have a gritty edge and high energy, with an undertone masterful musician which is hard to come by.

Recently I heard a David Bowie song on radio after ignoring him for several years. It reminded me how great at music he was, so I did some googling. I came across this song with Arcade Fire which has to be one of the best (recorded) live performances I have ever seen or heard.

BE

Pepper Rabbit - Older Brother

Most of the music I listen to comes from a boy by the name of Mitchell. Some readers may know him as Mitchie, or Young Mitch. Beyond being an absolute inspiration, he is also my musical drug dealer. Sometimes, all of the time, I have no idea where he finds this stuff. We asked him to write something for the blog but he didn’t seem interested, “I’ll supply the music, you do the writing.”

When Mitchie sends me a track, I will give it a listen without hesitation. He knows what I’m looking for in a song, that’s even more than I can say for myself. Sometimes I have a hard time trusting other peoples musical judgment. Honestly, I won’t even give a song a chance if I can’t agree with the musical preference of the sender. They’re sending it because they feel as if I may like it, but I won’t often give it a chance. There’s a ton of gray area here, depending on my mood and such, but I would hope that most can agree.

All of this being said, I find myself on the other end of this quite a bit as well. When you really want someone to invest just three odd minutes of their meaningless day in a sound, but it’s just not happening. For example, you’re sitting in a car with a bunch of pals and you crank the radio right up, to 41 even, so everyone can hear this song you’ve been listening to on repeat for the past four days. Then, about 20 seconds in, the co-pilot turns down the volume and strikes up a conversation about this video they saw on the internet where a guy shoves a whole mason jar up his ass. Great. This song doesn’t mean anything to them, and it means more than anything to you, right at that moment. Three hours later, when the album makes a full loop, the same person turns the song up and makes some comment about how they enjoy it.

Mitchie sent me the song in this post quite a while ago. I just heard it again the other day in a McDonalds commercial, thank god.

NI

Graveyard Train - Tall Shadows

It’s a wonderful place… The internet that is. It is really not worth getting into how it has revolutionized our entire culture, because we all know it and you more than likely ended up reading this using your incredible navigational skills around a popular social networking website, the goodbook or something like that. Unless you stumbled upon it after a discussion at your local bookstore, but I doubt it. With the help of this incredible tool it is effortless to garner popularity for your band. Less than 10 years ago it was still considered to be the devils right hand man that was single handedly destroying the music industry, it turns out that it did not destroy anything, just changed it for ever. With the click of a mouse you can discover a new band, research their history, see if they are coming to town anytime soon, then share them with a new audience. I digress.

It has occurred to me that I am always looking for the “sound”. I have somewhere in the back of my mind a song that I need to hear, but I have not heard it yet. But it is something that will fulfill all of my needs in music. This song must be unique, this song must have a dark undertone. This song must be preformed by a full band accompanied by an arsenal of various instruments. (Example of the opposite : The Rural Alberta Advantage) This song will contain gang vocals. The list could go on forever stipulating the criteria of my perfect song but the most important thing of all; the song must contain twang.

Then there are songs that when you hear for the first time, you don’t know how you possibly lived without hearing. Those live changing ditties that leave you speechless, only able to mutter a few broken sentences about how magical what you just heard was. To name a few of these epic songs that have affected me this way: Iron & Wine - Sodom, South Georgia, The Shins - New Slang, Elliott Smith - Angeles, and Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel.  These are the tracks that become instantly timeless, instantly the songs that everyone learns how to play, and the ones that never stray far from the top of the play count list on your preferred media player. To be honest I don’t think many songs that fall into this category are the obscure b sides, or will be preformed by the too indie for their own good type of band. I actually think it might be a perfect science that us lesser folk are oblivious to, and when the time is right, it is exposed to the world.. like the force.. exactly like the force.

I discovered this song by accident yesterday, I wasn’t looking for something new. I listened to it 27 times in a row. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

NN

The Be Good Tanyas - When Doves Cry (Prince Cover)

I’m going to post up a few covers that I really enjoy. Three to be exact. I don’t have a particularly strong opinion on covers, I just thought it would be a nice subject for this evenings blog post. It would also be wonderful if these could all fall into the same post, but sometimes the internet just doesn’t want to be your friend

The first, attached to this post, When Doves Cry by the The Be Good Tanyas. This band, although come and gone, is relatively new to me. I’ve listened to this particular song a million times (probably just shy of that) since moving into my apartment a month ago.

The Second, When I Grow Up by First Aid Kit. Although sandwiched between two, this is probably my favorite of the bunch. Such an enjoyable three and a half minutes of Swedish folk goodness.

The Third, Pursuit Of Happiness by Lissie. I like Kid Cudi, not that bullshit “lets grind sweaty club girls” ‘Day ‘n’ Nite’ garbage, but real Kid Cudi.  Don’t get me wrong, I love grinding sweaty, poorly dressed, dumb club girls, I just don’t like that song, and how it makes Kid Cudi look like a fucking dj. I do also really like Lissie, I will probably blog more about her in the future.

NI

First Aid Kit - When I Grow Up (Fever Ray Cover)

NI

Lissie - Pursuit Of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover)

NI

The New Time - Johnny Cash is Dead

I really have a thing for traditional music. Not the ever broadening definition of classic rock, or the timeless masterpieces penned by the Mozart’s, Beethoven’s and Bach’s of the past. Although I do have a deep appreciation for what these sounds have brought the world, that is a topic for a later date. I am talking about the intentionally imprecise world of early (all) folk music.

I was not raised on folk music, I could not even be classified as a person whom was raised on music in general. My introduction to the world of music was most likely from my dad, via the radio. With the likes of AC (lightning bolt) DC polluting the perfectly good airways. And later was corrupted by the likes of The Spice Girls, Aqua, Hanson, Serial Joe and anything else a pre-teen would be exposed to in the 1990’s. Early in my teens I discovered the seemingly rebellious ways of the skateboard, which no doubt introduced me to the world of punk rock. Surprisingly this may have been what is classified as the most life changing events that I have went through. Sure it’s true that no 13 year old can comprehend the message in Anti-Flags lyrics, nor does the insistent alcohol driven world of the Drop Kick Murphy’s have any buisness on a easily influenced boys discman. Regardless, this was the point in my life that I realized there was an endless amount of music to discover.

It is not a transition that came quickly, or easily. In fact it may have been a intentional experiment to experience anything that crossed my path. But I fell in love with bluegrass, gospel, delta blues… The Carter Family, Mississippi John Hurt, Woody Guthrie, and the awe inspiring lyricism of Bob Dylan. I hear so much of the legends in the music of today. Writing styles, forward-rolls and the Carter-Scratch and the general emulation of tried, tested, and true formulas used to create instant classics. This being said I do not think that one should limit themselves to the rigid guidelines of a genre, only mix and match what has come, gone, come again and been mutated into something marvelous, for example… the world of Blackgrass.

NN

Joe Pug - Nation of Heat

I love driving. I love the conversation, the excitement of an ever approaching destination, camaraderie, music, coffee, cigarettes. As terrible as this may sound to some, quite a few of my fondest memories have been made whilst trapped in one of those metal man made hell shuttles. Not that these examples mean anything to most readers, I would like to make mention of the few that come to mind:

• Listening to the Hold Steady live album, A Positive Rage, caught between track 16 and 17 all sorts of hungover, sunrise headed southbound on the 400 from Barrie. Had that bitch cranked to 41.

• In search of Stewarts Key Lime soda pops, on the backroads between Arnprior and Renfrew, singing Take It Easy by the Eagles at the top of our lungs.

• The time when the lyrics from Portions for Foxes, a Rilo Kiley classic, became all too real somewhere around Whitby on the 401.

• When Wheat Kings by the Tragically Hip was deemed “our” song, in the early hours of the morning parked on a foggy soccer pitch in Appleton, Ontario.

• Any time the opening track from Blue Rodeo’s Five Days in July comes on with a car full of pals, somewhere headed eastbound along Highway 7.

All of this being said, I don’t think I love driving nearly as much as I love being a facilitator of the fun that can be had with the aid of an automobile. Whether it be a quick jaunt to a friends house, a tour to our hometown or a roadtrip half way across this fine country. I like bringing people together, and as I’ve already established, I do really enjoy the journey itself.

When finding a new song, I like to pop it into a hypothetical driving situation. I think everyone can agree that different songs lend themselves to different situations. Just last night I made a comment to a friend about how the song we were listening to would be “a great listen after the sun went down on highway seven.” He countered, “you could listen to it in the daytime…. as long as it was raining.” Touché. 

NI

The Good Lovelies - Oh, What a Thing

You know when you are shown a new song, from a new band that you have never heard of before and it is absolutely life changing, or not life changing at all. It could happen late at night after the action has ended and the only thing left to do is share ideas with new friends, or it could be the product of an early morning drive with an old pal who is so eager to force feed your ears. Even the radio wins once and a while and gets it right.

In the not too distant past, I had the standard ”The first time you heard this song/that band” conversation with someone dear. It got me thinking about the process that occurs when deciding the tune that will you will present a new act with. Do you choose the first song that was introduced to you, do you pick the new single from the latest album, the classic that everyone else knows and loves, the fool proof instant hit, or your personal favorite.

I am not an authority on the human psyche thus not qualified to derive a formula for making this decision. Although it is a fun idea to be conscious of the next time the opportunity is available.

NN

Bruce Springsteen - Ain’t Good Enough For You

“I don’t think I give Bruce Springsteen enough credit for how cool he actually is” - Nik Nyman.

Do you ever give gifts that you know you’ll enjoy more than the person on the receiving end? I cant pinpoint an exact example of when I have done this, but I guarantee it has happened. It’s a pretty solid way to still be able to share the item without feeling guilty about buying it for yourself. This past Christmas I received a Bruce Springsteen photo book, Born To Run: The Unseen Photos, from my younger brother. I cant confirm that this happened to me, but he is a huge Springsteen fan.

NI