A Record a Week: Loverboy - s/t

SIDE 1.
THE KID IS HOT TONITE
TURN ME LOOSE
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
LADY OF THE 80'S

SIDE 2.
LITTLE GIRL
PRISSY PRISSY
TEENAGE OVERDOSE
DOA
IT DON'T MATTER

Two things popped into my mind when I first listened to this: 1. Is this a greatest hits album? and 2. The spelling 'tonite' dates back as far as 1980?

Well, 1. no and 2. apparently.  I also did not know they were Canadian and that they were able to predict what a 'Lady of the 80's' was right off the bat in 1980. I suppose that's possible though, since they seemed to have most of what the musical style of the 1980's was all trapped into this record. A little bit of new wave and a little bit of rock, the rest of the record (after the first two songs) sounds like songs that Elvis Costello made work for him or like anything else that power rock bands did around that time. These days, you can find them playing casinos and fairs and festivals that hold on to the past (with bands like Whitesnake, Poison, etc.)

Only somewhat related, but one time I was working sound at a festival with Alan Frew and it was really sad. His drum skin said both 'AF' and 'Glass Tiger' as he played songs from the distant past mixed in with newere, less successful works. I imagine a Loverboy to feel a lot like that as you see them up there in middle-aged clothing playing the same songs they have for 30 years (or worse, if they dressed the same as the back of this album).

All that aside, The Kid is Hot Tonite & Turn Me Loose are pretty great right? I mean for what they are? They remind me of Footloose and Top Gun, even though my research says that neither appeared in either of those films (though apparently a later song Heaven in Your Eyes did appear in Top Gun, so bonus points for that?) A pretty good career start for a band that managed to squeeze out a few more hits and still live off them a few decades later.

The One Time Life Was Actually Kind of Like 'Glee'

This was almost 10 years ago or so, but still sticks in my memory, especially now that Glee has risen to such popularity.

My friend and I were at a festival on Toronto island several years back, one of those ones that Sloan put on. To put in perspective how long ago it was, Death From Above (1979, now) was the opener and Arcade Fire played second. The thing about Toronto Island, if you've never been, is that it's an island of course and as such, you have to take a ferry out there. On a normal day this isn't much of a problem, as the traffic is steady, but not jammed. On this day (and any other event day), the ferry dock is a bottleneck at both ends throughout the day. Only one ferry can load at a time, so each shore was busy for a portion of the day.

We got over relatively early, which meant not a lot of waiting. When the night was closing up and Sloan went on, we thought we'd be the savvy concert-goers and take off after 4-5 songs. It became immediately clear that we weren't the only ones who had thought of that. The wide path leading to the port was jammed ten-wide and several deep, chugging along very slowly. We got about 40 people deep when the gate closed and the ferry took off, accompanied by a collective groan from all of us. Just then, two guys got up on the railing and said, 'Hey, it's no problem - we'll make waiting fun!' Before anyone had a chance to figure out what was going on, they broke into a full-volume version of Bohemian Rhapsody. Normally, this would be silly and cringe-worthy, but they were actually really good. They picked the perfect song to get everyone involved and that they did. Very quickly it became roughly 200 of us singing along, harmonizing and pumping our hands up. Then, just like Glee, it ended with very little fanfare. There was a bit of clapping and they announced that they were part of a performing group that would be playing the following week at some place, then everyone returned to normal. The ferry arrived and we all returned to our lives as if it were a normal thing to spontaneously burst into song.

A Record a Week: Living Strings Play the Music of Hawaii

SIDE 1.
SWEET LEILANI
TO YOU SWEETHEART, ALOHA
SONG OF THE ISLANDS
PAGAN LOVE SONG
ON THE BEACH AT WAIKIKI

SIDE 2.
DRIFTING AND DREAMING
LOVELY HULA HANDS
THE HAWAIIAN WEDDING SONG
BLUE HAWAII
ALOHA OE (Farewell to Thee)

This record didn't kick off reminding me of the typical 'Hawaiian' music. Well, not the ukelele strumming, lei wearing, hip swaying type anyhow. In fact, the first thing I thought of is that is sort of sounded like a string arrangement for an episode of Family Guy. However, that slow, swaying style came out on the second half.

I am not sure, but I was sort of expecting to be transported to the swaying palm trees, the large waves or the volcano or something right off the bat. Maybe I should have sprayed some hibiscuspineapplecoconutoceanbreeze spray to make the feeling more authentic or something. Is that even authentic? The island does actually smell like all of those things in different parts, even though when I was there it often smelled like the sulfur that was spewing out of the mouth of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

There were definitely luaus and musical appearances pretty much everywhere, but the place is fairly Americanized, so I don't know if it's any more authentic than say chicken balls are as Chinese food. Perhaps the sound I am looking for is just a piece of a larger puzzle and this record fills a more diverse section of it, or perhaps we'll never know because like everything else in North America, we've beaten the culture to a pulp until it fits nicely into our lives.

Sunday Brunch: Fruit Pie w/ Macadamia Whipped Cream

INGREDIENTS:
CRUST
1 1/2 cups Graham Crumbs
1/3 cup Cane Sugar
6 tbsp Earth Balance (or other vegan margarine), melted

FILLING
3 medium Peaches (or 2 large)
4-5 Strawberries (or enough to cover pie)
1 cup Blueberries
1/2 cup Raspberries
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Corn Starch

WHIPPED CREAM
3/4 cup Raw Macadamia Nuts
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Agave Nectar (or maple syrup works)

In a bowl, cover macadamia nuts with the 1/2 cup of water, set aside for 1/2 hour.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine graham crumbs, sugar and margarine, mix until well combined. Press into a pie dish/plate and bake at 375F for 7 minutes, then cool (for a raw pie, use 5 tbsp coconut oil and chill for min. 1 hour instead).

After it's cooked/chilled, peel and slice the peaches and layer across the crust bottom, then do the same with the strawberries. In a small saucepan, combine the berries, brown sugar, corn starch and lemon juice, and cook over medium-low, breaking up the berries and letting thicken. Pour sauce over top of the pie and chill.


In a food processor, combine soaked nuts, water and 2 tbsp agave nectar for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Remove and chill for at least an hour. At that point you can serve the cream in dollops on each slice of pie, or spread it across the top to create another layer and serve that way.

A Record a Week: Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain

SIDE 1.
2 MORRO MORRO LAND
CAPTAIN CAVEMAN
BIRDY
RIFFWRAITH
MEGA GHOST

SIDE 2.
MAGIC MOUNTAIN
DEAD COWBOY
BIZARRO ZARRO LAND

SIDE 3.
MOHAWK WINDMILL
BIZARROBIKE
INFINITY FARM
NO REST FOR THE OBSESSED

SIDE 4.
*ETCHING BY BRIAN CHIPPENDALE*

OH, THE TROUBLES! I swore I would never let a record in my collection be reviewed without listening to it, even if I've heard it a thousand times before. Well, this one came up and I had a bit of a dilemma. I also have a rule (in place previous to this blog) to not play records that I own that have high value. Well, lo and behold, this one came up and I had already placed it VERY firmly in that category. It's the blue copy instead of the black one and that's a record hoarder collector's dream. It's not that I think I will leave it on the player or accidentally scratch the needle across it or drop and shatter it, or any other thing to damage it, it's just that 'never played' seems to be the thing for 'rare' records. I only have 3 really rare ones and only 2 of them are 12". I don't know what I'm holding back for, since I'll likely never sell them. Perhaps I've created this dream world where some day, some Lightning Bolt fan will pony up the big cash for this quasi-rare record and I will finally be able to retire rich up north.

Anyhow, I decided to listen to this album digitally (as it does come with a digital download, so it seemed fair), even though I have heard it so many times.

The album starts off as their earlier albums always did - with a spark that ignites a long, pounding record. The file image for every LB song/ record is probably something like this:

This album is no exception. Their typical noisy rock is in full force after a short riff by Brian Gibson, after the marathon drumming of Brian Chippendale joins in. The first few songs play out in the usual pushing energy, before Riffwraith hints at the interactions that go on between the Brians. The anxiety-inducing Magic Mountain is a constant buildup that doesn't plateau until right near the end, always leaving my nerves frayed. A few more driving songs occur before the album tapers off into filler territory. This seems to be their pattern - front load the best songs and put what feels like 'jam sessions' at the end.

The one thing I can say with assurance about Lightning Bolt is that it's their live performance that really makes them. The albums best serve as a reminder of the show, a way to say 'remember how crazy this song was live?' I've had numerous friends hear the records and say 'I don't get it', which makes sense to me. The longer I go since seeing them, the less of an emotional pull the records have on me. 

In their live show, every amp is all the way up and the drumming looks like a blur as he has a constant drum-roll going intermingled with straight fast-rock beats. Due to fans pushing over/running into their equipment, they've broken from their old style of live show. They would set up their equipment in unconventional locations, shunning the venues PA system in favour of their own pieced together amps (in front of the stage, the middle of a gymnasium away from the stage & the alley behind the venue are a few places I've experienced their show.) However, they now use the stage and house PA, allowing the crowd to push and shove without possibly damaging their gear. I understand why they do that, but to me it takes away a bit of what made you feel like a part of the whole thing. Crowds would be watching the previous band and right when they finished BANG, this mysterious band that was setting up their gear in the corner would start playing seconds after.

Anyone who remembers my band, Two Bears, can probably determine that we took a good deal of inspiration from this band. However, as things tend to happen, we ended up sounding quite a bit different once we wrote songs and toned down the 'play as loud as possible' angle. As usually happens, this album made me want to play again and/or see these guys play again.

A Record a Week: Liars - We no Longer Knew Who We Were

SIDE 1:
WE GOT COLD, COUGHED AND FORGOT THINGS
YOU KNOW I HATE STUPID PHONES
EVERY TWO HOURS WITH A DUCKS FAN

SIDE 2.
-BLANK-










Before their style experimentation took flight over the last few albums, Liars had a steady (although experimental in its own right) sound. Back in the days of front-man Angus Andrew's relationship with Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), this record was amongst the beginning of the cult-famous career of Liars. In those days, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars both had a similar underground popularity, but as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs progressively got more radio-friendly, Liars were influenced by witch documentaries and experimented with different sounds, only occasionally dipping their feet back into music that swims closer to radio-play.

This record, though, was before all of that. With one LP under their belt, the indie/dance-punk band created a short burst of energy that walks the line right up to hardcore music, but showing the calm collected restrained of indie music. The end result is a indie record that sounds like it was written by angry punks, but can still make you dance. It was not long after this that I first saw them perform and they don't hold back anything in their live performances. You never know exactly what to expect, with the possibility of Andrew in a dress or other interesting attire, the percussion being rigged up through any number of electronics/triggers, or an entirely stripped down performance. It was a nice quick listen and a throwback to a time when I was constantly playing and going to concerts of this nature.

Sunday Brunch: Crunchy Tropical French Toast

INGREDIENTS:
3 Bananas, two VERY ripe, one fresh
1.5 cups Coconut Dream (or coconut almond milk)
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup Macadamia Nuts
1/3 cup Cornflake Crumbs
1/4 cup Shredded Coconut
4 Slices of bread (the liquid dip should last for 6-8 pieces, but the crusting will only last 4-5)
Margarine for topping/frying

In a mixing bowl, combine 2 very ripe bananas, coconut dream, vanilla and cinnamon and mix until smooth. In a hand grinder/magic bullet, make a meal out of the macadamia nuts then combine in a shallow dish with cornflake crumbs. Dip the bread into the liquid and saturate it, then dip each side of bread into the crumb mixture and fry up in a little margarine over medium heat. Fry for about 4-5 minutes each side, put on plate, top with sliced bananas, coconut and maple syrup.