From the world famous gopher museum

The above image is from the Torrington, Alberta gopher museum. I stopped there to do research for a project that is not yet complete, so I am reserving my commentary for the moment.

Apparently, there's a lot going on in Torrington.

I owe a big thank you to Trevor Anderson from the band The Wet Secrets for telling me about the museum. Trevor often has films showing at festivals in Canada and abroad, so be sure to look him up and check out some of his work, especially if he is passing through your town.

Folk vs. Skid

Last night, when re-arranging the layout of the blog, I noticed some unfortunate subliminal messaging. To the left of the posts, in the photo of the old theatre posters, the work 'Folk' now stands out.

In several languages, 'folk' literally means 'people,' but when the term 'people' is used in English it often sounds like an old communist word, making people nervous in the 'bad memories of the old-country' sense, or excited in the 'I bought this Che t-shirt in college sense.' Using the term 'folk music' to denote 'the people's music' may have been useful during the better dead than red era, but nowadays it's just a catch-all for music without pedals, music without mania, and/or singer-songwriter bard work.

Our band has set certain parameters which might lead people to apply that tired descriptor, . Our band rules are: use no pedals, play only what you can carry, and if a song doesn't tell a story, leave it for the jam bands, avant-(insert genre), better musicians, etc. to handle. But we're not really a folk band. We're more of a skid band, actually. The rules we've set for ourselves are rooted in a less is more, Buddy Holly-inspired approach. The drums on 'Not Fade Away' were played on a cardboard box, after all. And I wouldn't call that folk music!

Bob Wiseman

On Thursday night, July 30th, at the Gladstone, there will be a show to celebrate the re-release of Bob Wiseman's first album, In Her Dream. The album first came out 20 years ago, now the Blocks Recording Club is giving it back to the world with songs that had previously been censored. As part of the festivities, a long list of musicians will be performing songs from In Her Dream, including Final Fantasy and Mary Margaret O'Hara. We will be covering 'Gamma Ray Man,' which is right up our alley, theme-wise.

Bob is a generous and gifted songwriter, a perceptive and hilarious storyteller, and artistically he is a key contributor to a strong collective spirit in the Toronto music community. We are excited to see the show, take part, and celebrate Bob's work.

Hope to see you there,
xoxo
BB

We really are devo now

A moment ago I had a great chat with Alex who works at Ella's Uncle, that great cafe on Dundas West. We were talking about our respective Kathleen Hanna encounters, and how lucky we were to come of age at a time when there were so many strong role models in music (e.g. L7, Salt N' Pepa, continuing torch-bearer Kim Gordon). Does anyone remember seeing Michelle Shocked and her hairy legs in Rolling Stone magazine in 1989? That makes an impression on a kid. These days Rolling Stone describes Lady Gaga as having an unconventional kind of beauty and an "ethnic" nose. Say what? I would hardly call Lady Gaga's physique unconventional. And what is meant by an "ethnic" nose, exactly?

Presently we are witnessing the devolution of values that were at the forefront not so long ago, values that were propelled in part by Riot Grrl, queercore, Guerrilla Girls, and other activist art movements. What's so funny about peace, love, respect and equality? Yes, great strides have been made in some areas- marriage equality for instance- but until I see Beth Ditto replacing the tweeny bop singers in young girls magazines, I'm not going to feel that the Western devolution to a pre-90's sensibility has lost momentum, let alone stopped.

For instance, consider the prevalence of the saying "That's so gay." This phrase gets tossed around all the time by people who don't consider themselves homophobic, who don't actually want to insult gay people, right alongside "those people" who take pride in their homophobia.
In light of this issue, I humbly propose a language action. Instead of saying "That's so gay" try using the phrase "that is delightfully homosexual," and only for things that are indeed delightful. Using homosexuality as a pejorative is ugly, regardless of intent.

What could be described as delightfully homosexual, then? Here are some examples:

"I watched Queen's 'I Want To Break Free' video last night. It's so delightfully homosexual!!"
"Oh my God, you like Klaus Nomi? He's so delightfully homosexual."
"I went to Hot Nuts at the Beaver last night. It was delightfully homosexual."

On that note, happy belated Pride Week, and thanks for stopping by.

Respect,
B.B.

Honest error vs. icy perfections

Inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh's rendering of J.D. Sedding's epithet "There is hope in honest error: none in the icy perfections of the mere stylist" I've decided to restructure the look of the blog, despite my lack of design skills. My "if I were a real designer" fantasy is to synthesize elements of Arts and Crafts style with a dash of Peter Saville. Because I am the pen and paper type, and share only a name and no know-how with Mackintosh's life partner/artistic collaborator, that synthesis is not going to happen here. In my own low-tech way, I am pleased to share with you, the visitor, the above photo of old theatre posters hanging in the Folkets Park theatre at Huskvarna, Sweden.

Living in Canada, an administrative nation with a fading attachment to social democracy, I often find myself struggling with questions about the relationship between politics and art. The above posters represent state-sponsored entertainment, some of it the kind of light, cathartic entertainment that gives an audience a sense that things in the world are fine the way they are. But the same system also produced Ingmar Bergman, whose work, I would argue, can be more unsettling than Samuel Beckett's. This puts a pea under the mattress of settled thinking. The source of the work, the system that supports it financially, does not necessarily determine the form of the work, or its effect. With films like "Scenes from a Marriage" and 'Winterlight" Bergman demonstrates that realism can leave the audience with a sense of deep unease.

Cultural critic Theodor Adorno sometimes strikes me as a bit of a jerk (not of the Steve Martin variety), but in the essay "On Commitment" he has several moments of tenderness and clarity when contemplating political art. He writes: "It is not the office of art to spotlight alternatives, but to resist by its form alone the course of the world, which permanently puts a pistol to men's heads."* But to resist the course of the world, the form of a work doesn't have to be 'difficult,' obscure, or inaccessible. It doesn't have to feel bad to be good.

xoxo
B.B.

*Adorno in Arato and Gebhardt, Editors, Essential Frankfurt School Reader, New York: Urizen, 1978; p. 304

Over the Moon and back to Earth

To describe the happiness we felt on Thursday would be like drawing constellations on the night sky through the flickering dark of a thunderstorm, so a simple "thank you" will have to suffice. Thank you to everyone who attended, participated in, worked at, and helped out with last week's show.

Paul Mathew and Betty Burke (Holly Andruchuk, Shaun Brodie, Maggie MacDonald) did some songs as a warm up, then Stevie Jackson and Owen Pallett each played a solo set, followed by a set of Stevie's songs backed by the whole gang, including Sheila Sampath on keys and Stef Schneider on percussion. Eric from Distorsis did the sound, Sarianna Mileski and Ben Stimpson played "bad cop, bad cop" at the door.

At the end of the night, Owen and Stevie played an unrehearsed rendition of Rocket Man, securing a day pass from the underworld for Eurydice, and inspiring the audience to sing along spontaneously- feats of equal prowess in this polite Northern nation. Here is a youtube link to the performance.

I hope you enjoyed the night as much as we did, and if you weren't there, I hope you enjoy the link.

Thanks for everything,
xoxo
B.B.

Tales of the Warm and Cozy with Stevie Jackson (Belle and Sebastian), Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) and friends

On Thursday, there will be an extra-special little gig at the Imperial Pub. After the 'Tales of the Uncanny' screening with Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy), Do Make Say Think and Robert Lippok in Dundas Square, cross the street to 54 Dundas Street East, Toronto, for a night of singsong with Stevie Jackson of Belle Sebastian, a special visit from Owen Pallett, and friends Paul Mathew (Hidden Cameras, Tuxedo, The Low Notes), Sheila Sampath (The Airfields, CN Power), and Betty Burke (members of The Hidden Cameras, and Holly Andruchuk.)

Stevie Jackson will be in town briefly for the Neil Young tribute at Massey Hall, and we're delighted that he will take the time to swing by The Imperial to share his songs with us before returning to misty Glasgow.

The Imperial Pub is one of my favourite Toronto venues. Opened in 1944, the rustic, cozy feeling between its brick walls brings the warmth of old Toronto, with a welcoming, "steady as she goes" approach that contrasts the high heels and rising prices of the West End.

The Buffalo Builders played a string of Thursdays at the Imperial last year. When I entered the backroom to see them play, I was instantly transported to a roadside venue far from town. Behind the upright piano there is a porthole to the Ottawa Valley, and all airs are dropped. There aren't any baskets of blueberries for sale outside, but there is a late night menu, and a wide range of beverages on hand.

Caveat emptor: this will be a late night event. We will light the candles and open the curtains to the backroom at 10:30 pm, but Stevie will only be ushered onstage when the last Uncanny Tale has been told.

We hope to see you at the Imperial.

xoxo
B.B.