Wednesday, May 31, 2017

When They Ruled Canada: The Pursuit of Happiness.

While doing some research for this article, I came across a Youtube comment that struck home for me. They said that The Pursuit of Happiness (TPOH) were a band that could only have become successful in Canada. The USA was deep in hair metal at the time, and TPOH were a straight ahead rock band with a sardonic and intelligent take on the music. In the UK, they were awash with vapid pop and the lingerings of synth-pop. In 1988, TPOH were much to heavy for a UK audience. But they were perfect for Canada, standing beside bands like Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo and the Cowboy Junkies.

TPOH were my soundtrack through the early years of college. I was fresh into college and my first, abortive, year of university. I had a tape collection and Love Junk, their 1988 album, was one of my go to albums, along with VIVIsect VI by Skinny Puppy and the Midnight Oil back catalogue, among other albums. It was their earnestness, their sense of humour and their rock sound that drew me in, and the sound was almost uniquely Canadian. While I'd say the sound of the music had a lot in common with my love for Midnight Oil at the time, it was TPOH's sense of fun that drew me into their music. They're still one of my favourite rock bands of all time.

TPOH are fronted by Edmonton-born singer and guitarist Moe Berg, but the band started in Toronto. They formed as a three piece in 1985, then released their first 12” in 1986. The A-Side, “I'm an Adult Now”, became a fairly big hit for them, with the independent video being played a lot on MuchMusic at the time. What TPOH did at the time was unusual, since the Canadian music scene was still really coming into it's own. While most bands waited to get attention from a major label, TPOH released their 12” independently with no label behind them. Soon after came another single, 1988's “Killed by Love”. Both singles displayed Moe Berg's weary take on daily life, the uncertainty of love and struggles of adulthood, abandoning the naivete of youthful ideals of the world and love, and embracing the confusion of adulthood.

Love Junk came out in 1988, on Chrysalis Records, and was produced by alt-rock legend Todd Rundgren, who's melodic take on rock was perfect for the band. Chrysalis was a great label for them to be on too, with artists like Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, The Art of Noise, Cyndi Lauper and a lot of other hip and popular bands recording for it. “I'm an Adult Now” and “Killed by Love” were re-recorded for the album. The re-recordings were good, but lacked the ramshackle, punk tinge the 12” versions had. “I'm an Adult Now” was also the only song they recorded that got much airplay outside of Canada. The album also saw guitarist Kris Abbott and vocalist Leslie Stanwyck joining the band. “She's So Young” and “Hard to Laugh” were released as singles as well. “She's So Young” has the same adult-weary vibe that would come to define Moe Berg's songs, and “Hard to Laugh” taps into Berg's sexual perversion and insecurity about relationships which he would plumb over his career.

1990 saw their follow up, One Sided Story, which spawned the singles “Two Girls in One” and “New Language”, both of which got play on rock radio at the time. “Food” gets the sexual aspect of the album going right away, along with “Shave Your Legs” (another song about Berg's uncertainty about relationships) and “Something Physical”, which is about physical attraction trumping love, which also comes up often in the band's songs. “Runs in the Family” is about the innocence of youth and how it gets crushed by experience and adulthood. Leslie Stanwyck and bassist Johnny Sinclair left the band after this album, and went on to form Universal Honey, which had a few big hits in the early 90s in Canada.

TPOH released The Downward Road in 1993 on the Mercury record label. This album had “Cigarette Dangles” (another raunchy sex song), and the more innocent “Pressing Lips” as the singles. This album didn't do as well commercially, but it's one of my favourite albums from the band. It's more raw in style than One Sided Story, but also has a maturity that fits well with the band at this point in their career. Once again, sex features prominently (“Honeytime”, “Bored of You”, “Ashamed of Myself”, “Nobody But Me”, “In Her Dreams”) along with the loss of youthful innocence, (the wonderful “Heavy Metal Tears”). The best track here, in my opinion, is “Villa in Portugal”, a snarky tale of lost love framed by a postcard sent from abroad.

By 1995's Where's the Bone, TPOH's star had begun to fade. “Gretzky Rocks” and “Kalendar” were the biggest songs, but were largely underplayed on rock radio. 1996's The Wonderful World of the Pursuit of Happiness, was the band's last album, and featured “She's the Devil” as the main single. The band have never officially broken up, and continue to play shows here and there, and record singles.

In 2000, they released a best of called Sex and Food, which featured some b-sides, like “Edmonton Block Heater”, which they recorded for Hard Core Logo. Another hits collection came in 2005, called When We Ruled, and included the original demo version of “I'm an Adult Now” and a version of Prince's “When Doves Cry”. In 2006, the band was inducted into Toronto's Canadian Indies Hall of Fame.

Moe Berg has recorded as a solo artist and worked extensively as a producer for many Canadian bands. His first solo album came out in 1997, called Summer's Over. He also performs as a member of the Trans-Canada Highwaymen, featuring Chris Murphy of Sloan, Steven Page of The Barenaked Ladies and Craig Northey of the Odds.

This year, Artofact Records is releasing several Brave New Waves sessions (that beloved CBC 2 late night radio program that featured new and emerging music... how I miss it!) and TPOH are of the bands to be featured. This is a live-to-air recording with an interview by Brent Bambury included!

Saturday, May 27, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for April 18, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Smokey and the Feeelings - Build a Hole* - Smokey and the Feeelings (Mangled)
Caapi - Ornette* - Caapi (Cuchabata)
Ugly Beauties - Open My Eyes* - Strange Attractors (Independent)
Micheal Snow and Jesse Stewart - Abstraction* - Live at the National Gallery (Independent)
Theo Bleckmann - Fields - Eley (ECM)
Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Bloomsburg - Loafer's Hollow (Hot Cup)
Allan Holdsworth - Funnels - All Night Wrong (Favored Nations)
Apollo Suns - An Iberian Peninsula* - Each Day a Different Sun (Independent)
Talking Heads - Girlfiend is Better (live) - Stop Making Sense, Deluxe Edition (Sire)

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Best of 2016 #1: Minor Victories - Minor Victories (Fat Possum)

The race for #1 was a close one, between glitchy and difficult electronica and all-star post punk, and my love lately for modern post punk won out.

Minor Victories are a bit of an all star band, featuring Rachel Goswell, of recently-reunited shoe-gaze legends Slowdive, and quirky folk rockers Mojave 3, Stuart Braithwaite of menancing Scottish drone-rock band Mogwai, and Justin Lockey of Brit-alt-rockers The Editors. Given that I already love Slowdive and Mogwai, it seemed natural I'd love this band.

As a band, they are equal parts of the bands they came from. Goswell brings the slow-paced disaffection and dreamy vocals of Slowdive. Braithwaite brings the drums of Mogwai, along with the slowly rising wall-of-noise assault that Mogwai is known for. Lockey brings more of a melodic, indy pop feel to the band. The result is a cascading melange of sound, at times dark and brooding, and at times soaring and orchestral.

The range of the album is remarkable. You'll find yourself bouncing from emotion to emotion as the songs change through the album, and often as the songs progress.

Sadly, this band likely won't be long for this world. This was their debut and with Slowdive reuniting and already having released an album this year, Goswell will likely be focusing on her first band. Nevertheless, this is an amazing album, and a must for lovers of drone, post punk and shoegaze.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for April 21, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Numb - Painless* - Death on the Installment Plan (Metropolis)
Lets Eat Grandma - Chocolate Sludge Cake - I, Gemini (Transgressive)
Louise Burns - Moonlight Shadow* - Young Mopes (Light Organ)
Dear Criminals - Lone Ride* - Seven Songs for Nelly (Independent)
Geoffroy - Sleeping on My Own* - Coastline (Bonsound)
Velvet Vice - Urban Instinct* - Velvet Vice (Independent)
Lutra Lutra - Miser Remedy* - Lutra Lutra (Independent)
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Sleep Drifter - Flying Microtonal Banana (ATO)
Backbiters - Sourdough* - Backbiters (Independent)
Silverfish - Petal - Crazy EP (Creation)
The Alarm - 68 Guns - Declaration (IRS)

Monday, May 22, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for April 14, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Silkken Lauman - House of Common Problems* - Not Forever Enough (Independent)
Kid Koala feat. Emiliana Torrini - Fallaway* - Music to Draw To: Satellite (Arts and Crafts)
Pinkcourtesyphone - A Dark Room Full of Plastic Plants - Please Pick Up (I/O Sound)
Honeybeard - Celestial Bodies* - Dreamless Sleep (Independent)
Pick a Piper - Further and Further* - Distance (Tin Angel)
Elaquent - Gyoza* - Worst Case Scenario (Urbnet)
Fantastic Plastic Machine - Honolulu, Calcutta - Luxury (Emperor Norton)
Cygnets - Amnesia* - Isolator (Negative Gain)
Common Deer - Settle Down* - 1 EP (Independent)
Himiko - Soul and Spirit Extraction* - Skin Removal (D-Trash)
Jen Gloeckner - Ginger Ale - Vine (Spinning Head)
Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way - Forever Now (Columbia)

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Looking California and Feeling Minnesota: RIP Chris Cornell

I'm a Soundgarden fan, and I have been since the beginning. Back when my radio career started at CKUL way back in 1989, I remember when Louder Than Love came into our station. That album was passed around through many hands of the serious music fans there. This was long before the internet, when you shared music by actually sharing it. We'd say, "You have to hear this album!", and we listened to this album, which didn't sound like anything we had ever heard before.

Soundgarden, along with Green River, were the first band I'd heard from the up and coming grunge scene in Seattle. The heavy guitar sound mixed with the punk leanings of the band appealed to my ears at the time, given my interest in punk at the time, and the use of feedback in the guitar sound had never really been done before. Nirvana, of course, would take this sound even further in a couple of years, but for the time, Soundgarden were unique. Louder than Love got the crap played out of it at CKUL in 1989, at least by those who were digging into the underground. It was because of Louder than Love that I dug into the grunge scene and became a huge fan, both of the mainstream acts, and lesser known bands like The Treepeople, Tad, The Fluid, Naked Raygun and more.

Soundgarden were the first grunge act to sign to a major label, in 1989, to A&M Records, but were one of the last grunge bands to really make waves in mainstream music. In 1987, they released their first single, "Hunted Down" for the fledgling Sub Pop label, and Sub Pop used it as its hold music on its phone lines, allowing them to get discovered by A&M. With that came the seed to make Sub Pop into an actual record label, which, of course, spawned the entire grunge explosion.

Their first full album, Ultramega OK, actually came out in 1988 on SST Records, a legendary punk label home to bands like Black Flag. Chris Cornell said that SST didn't really understand the grunge sound, and produced the band like a punk band. They had a heavy punk sound, like the Stooges, but filtered through a Sabbath-esque guitar virtuosity, and the unique addition of feedback to the guitar sound. The album is an anomaly in their catalogue, a truly punk sounding album that sticks out oddly in their catalogue. Strangely, for me, as a fan, I didn't hear Ultramega OK in it's entirety until the late 90s.

Of course, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, The Screaming Trees and other hangers on like the Stone Temple Pilots came next. Soundgarden put out Badmotorfinger in 1991, and with the rise of other grunge bands, they began to get some play on radio and on MTV. "Rusty Cage", "Outshined" and "Jesus Christ Pose" were the stand out singles, though MTV banned "Jesus Christ Pose" for it's controversial religious imagery. This lead to a stint at Lollapalooza in 1992, and a re-release of Badmotorfinger with the EP Satan Oscillate My Metallic Sonatas, which remains a holy grail of sorts for my collection, since it's hard to find and has a Devo cover on it that I really want.

It wasn't until 1994's Superunknown that the band really became well known. "Black Hole Sun" was a huge hit and the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard album charts. The album was compared to Nirvana's In Utero, which was released the same year, in terms of darkness, lyricality and the albums' struggles with themes of depression and death. Ironic given that Kurt Cobain killed himself soon afterwards, and Chris Cornell took his own life just last night.

Down on the Upside came out in 1996 and saw the band moving away from heavier guitars and into more textured, melodic hard rock. They did a stint at Lollapalooza in 1996 after being invited by Metallica, then broke up in 1997 due to internal tensions and "being eaten up by the business", again, much like Nirvana was.

Chris Cornell released a solo album in 1999 called Euphoria Morning, then formed the supergroup Audioslave in 2001, with three members of Rage Against the Machine. They released three albums until Cornell left the band in 2007, leading to the band breaking up. Cornell released his second solo album, Carry On, in 2007, and the strangely out of character album, Scream, in 2009, which was produced by Timbaland, of all people.

Soundgarden reunited in 2010. A compilation came out called Telephantasm, with a new song called "Black Rain", which also debuted on Guitar Hero (member Guitar Hero?). In 2012, the album King Animal came out. By this time, Soundgarden had a real mainstream rock quality to their music, and this album didn't appeal to me at all. It's the only Soundgarden album not in my collection.

2014 saw a three CD rarities collection called Echo of Miles came out, and the band began working on their new album. Cornell also released another solo album, Higher Truth, in 2015.

Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 17th, after a show in Detroit. He was found with a band around his neck in his hotel room. He was 52.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Best of 2016 #2: Factory Floor - 25 25 (DFA Records)

It came down to the wire for my #1 and #2 albums of the year. I remember picking them both up in Red Cat Records in late 2016, then listening to both repeatedly. I loved both albums, but Factory Floor ended up losing out. But it's still my second favourite album of 2016.

London's Factory Floor formed in 2005. 25 25 is only their second full length album, and the band has sported numerous remixes and 12 inch singles since they formed. Their style is a mishmash of electronic styles, most of which just aren't featured in modern electronica. First, it draws pretty heavily on hedonistic rhythms of 70s disco, and on their polar opposite, the artistic and dadaist styles of 70s krautrock. Furthermore, the late 80s house and early 90s Detroit dance styles also influence this band quite heavily. Both driving and repetitive, artistic and empty, Factory Floor defy easy categorization.

Some have called the band "post-industrial" and I can get my head around that style. It's nihilistic and hedonistic, it's fun and destructive the same way The Prodigy were. If they were a pure industrial band, they'd be close to Chris and Cosey, a goth-tinged rave-up style of dark electronica.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for April 7, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Did You Die - Vulnerable* - Did You Die/Hollow Giant split EP (Independent)
Echuta - Heirloom* - Morning Figure When Absolutely Calm (Independent)
Bright Brown - January Child - Soft Landings (Independent)
Century Egg - Teleportation* - Quarter Life Crisis (Mint)
All Hands on Jane - Blackout* - Sorry I Set You on Fire (Independent)
Japandroids - Midnight to Morning* - Near to the Wild Heart of Life (Arts and Crafts)
Diner Drugs - Flow Chongo* - Diner Drugs EP (Superbob)
Biznaga - Los Cachorros - Sentido del Espectaculo (Slovenly)
Violent Femmes - Good Feeling - Violent Femmes (Slash)
Echo and the Bunnymen - Ripeness - Crocodiles (Korova)
Gum Country - Pills* - Gum Country (Lolipop)
The Pixies - Stormy Weather - Bossanova (4AD)

Sunday, May 14, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for March 31, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Ohama and Dolly Sillito - Beginning of Fall* - Grrlz Monosynth Tower (Independent)
Homeshake - Every Single Thing* - Fresh Air (Royal Mountain)
Fleece - What You've Done* - Voyager (Independent)
Hilotrons - Lovesuit* - Happymatic (Kelp)
Gen Gorman - The Odds* - For a Friend (Independent)
Dream Whip - Hopeless Romantics* - Dream Whip (Independent)
Ladyshark - Riot - Monsters (Amitville)
Gun Control - City of No* - Volume One (Independent)
Girl Band - In Plastic - Holding Hands with Jamie (Rough Trade)
Mellt - Ocean* - Mellt EP (Independent)
Enon - Matters Grey - Believo! (See Thru)
Public Animal - Storm Song* = Palace Arms (Yeah Right)
KMFDM - Thrash Up! - UAIOE (Wax Trax)

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Best of 2016 #3: White Lung - Paradise (Domino)

Watching Vancouver's White Lung mature into the band they have become today has been satisfying. Coming up from a scrappy, sloppy punk band from small town BC to the international acclaim they now enjoy is a great story, and it's come with some great music to boot.

Starting out in 2010 on the small, but influential, label Deranged Records, based out of Gibsons, BC, an isolated community on the BC Sunshine Coast, White Lung started as a pure punk band. In 2014, they jumped to the UK based Domino label. With the label's backing, White Lung took on a more mature sound, keeping the driving anger of a punk band, and melding it with melodic sensibilities. Today, they sound like a post-punk band along the lines of Savages or early Sleater-Kinney.

Paradise is every bit as heavy as 2010's It's the Evil, but vocalist Mish Way-Barber finding a more melodic and direct way of singing. It's not as rough around the edges as a punk band, but instead has the driving insistency of post-punk, a need to be heard, to have the listener to sit down and listen to every note of this album, no matter how difficult it might be to hear.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Best of 2016 #4: Duchess Says - Sciences Nouvelles (Bonsound/Slovenly)

I'm gathering material to get my blogging back on track, and I have a couple of ideas in the can. In the meantime, I'm shooting for a regular Wednesday updates, dear readers. We're getting there, we're getting there...

Montreal's Duchess Says combine the confronational early days of punk, blasts of noise and angular new wave. They've been making music in the always fertile Montreal music scene since 2003. Their first two albums were released on the always diverse and strange record label, Alien8 Records, home to other musical weirdos like Picastro, Nadja, Mecha Fixes Clocks and more. This is their first for the more indy styled label Bonsound, and their first for California's Slovenly Records worldwide.

Slovenly makes a perfect home for this band, where they're right at home with other electro-punkers like Puff and fellow Montrealer's Red Mass.

Simply put, this band blurs musical lines, and are difficult to categorize, but they are firmly planted in the weirder ends of the 80s electro movement.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

DNTTA Playlist for March 24, 2017

Artist - Song - Album (Label)  * indicates Canadian Content 

Listen to Do Not Touch This Amp every Friday 8-9 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca 

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Aquarius - Mystery* - Chalice (Independent)
Dye Pack - Make a Mess* - Make a Mess (Party Sauce)
Dye Pack - Krispy Kat* - Make a Mess (Party Sauce)
Dye Pack - (My Kind of) Pipes* - Make a Mess (Party Sauce)
Shrimp Ring - Nothing Good (Ever Happens to Me)* - Humanity's Last Hope (Party Sauce)
Jaguar Knight - Confusion* - Jaguar Party Edits Vol. 2 (Party Sauce)
Parallels - Ocean, Moon and Tide* - Metropolis (Marigold)
The Free Design - Harve Daley Hix (Stereolab and High Llamas mix) - The Now Sign Redesigned (Light in the Attic)
Colours - Monster - Ivory (Victory)
Icicle - Don't Twist My Mind* - Resonance (Herd)
Melisande - Le Ruban Bleu* - Les Millesimes (Borealis)
Borg Queen - This is Real* - Sex Drugs and Shiny Brass Poles (Independent)
The Bats Pajamas - Meteor* - Uh Oh! (Independent)
Ministry - So What - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste (Warner)