Best of 2014

So here is my best of 2014, all subjective and based on what I actually heard this year. Overall, I feel this was a pretty good year for music overall. Here goes!

15. Big Wreck - "Ghosts"

Ian Thornley and co. return with their 2nd reunion album after 2012's "Albatross". I personally feel the song Control off "Albatross" opened up a new door for the band. The extended guitar outro on that song proved that a) Ian Thornley is an amazing guitarist and b) the band was back to putting solid musicianship first. I always thought the band Thornley (Thornley's post-Big Wreck band) was too radio friendly and less about taking risks so Control was a real welcome return to the old Big Wreck days. "Ghosts" continues this musical freedom - with most songs clocking in at the 5+ minute mark - and it rewards listeners with solid guitar jams without sacrificing melody.

Key Tracks: Ghosts, Diamonds, My Life

14. Bruce Springsteen - "High Hopes"

I love Bruce Springsteen. Huge fan. Mega-excited that he still releases vital music. His "surprise" 2014 effort "High Hopes" was a nice New Year's gift 11 months ago and it still gets some spins from me today. Although it is more of an 'odds and sods' record, with some covers, re-works and new songs, it still holds together quite cohesively. Plus, Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine plays on 8 of the 12 tracks, adding some explosive fills and in the case of The Ghost Of Tom Joad, an electrifying solo.

Key Tracks: High Hopes, Just Like Fire Would, Hunter Of Invisible Game, Dream Baby Dream

13. U2 - "Songs Of Innocence"

Yes, there was huge backlash that this album was gifted to pretty much everyone in the world. It was kind of arrogant. So delete it if you don't like it! I'm about the music and to me, this is U2's most consistent and cohesive effort since 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind". While the first 5 songs shoot for the rafters and I prefer the back-half of the album, no one really does stadium rock like U2.

Key Tracks: Cedarwood Road, The Troubles, Sleep Like A Baby Tonight

12. Foo Fighters - "Sonic Highways"

I still haven't seen Dave Grohl's series of the same name as I don't get TMN, but I've heard it's in many ways better than the album. I have heard the album and it sounds like Foo Fighters to me, which is a great thing. It's a concise 8 song blast of rock and Foos, slowing down only for the last 2 tracks. There hasn't really been a more consistent band over the last 20 years than the Foos and they continue to deliver here.

Key Tracks: Something From Nothing, Congregation, Outside

11. Arkells - "High Noon"

I have all 3 Arkells albums and I've never met one of their songs that I truly dislike. They are the only band I know that have ever name checked Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville in the same song (Cynical Bastards) and that is clearly amazing. The songs Come To Light, Leather Jacket and 11:11 combine '80's stylings, soul and rock, plus they are great live act. Also a plus, they wrote and sing the Hamilton TiCats' (CFL people!) anthem TiCats Are Hummin'.

Key Tracks: Cynical Bastards, Come To Light, Leather Jacket

10. TV On The Radio - "Seeds"

I made fun of my colleague Catherine for liking this album as the first time I heard it, I was put off by its "simplicity". When I was painting one day I re-visited it and wow was I wrong. Yes, it is more of a straightforward effort than previous albums but it is layered and contains probably the best melodies the band have put to tape. So maybe I should give an album more than one listen before I open my big mouth.

Key Tracks: Seeds, Happy Idiot, Test Pilot

9. St. Vincent - "St. Vincent (S/T)"

When I first heard St. Vincent on Indie 88, I was intrigued. She definitely was getting a lot of buzz but I wasn't at all familiar with her previous albums. So I went into Sunrise Records at Yonge and Bloor (RIP Sunrise in Toronto), saw the CD staring at me and decided, what the hell? I was pleasantly surprised and this record has been spun quite a few times. I can't even describe it except as an eclectic mix of music that is held together by a strong sense of melody. There you go, the writer in me has spoken!

Key Tracks: Birth In Reverse, Prince Johnny, Huey Newton

8. Milky Chance - "Sadnecessary"

Another band that I discovered through Indie 88, my gateway to Milky Chance was through the song Stolen Dance. I felt this was a pretty good tune. A few months later I was in HMV in Pickering (the only record store in the town I live in, ridiculous) and saw the album for $9.99 so I decided again what the hell? I'm glad I made this purchase as this is a warm record filled with off-kilter beats but ultimately very accessible songs that get under your skin.

Key Tracks: Flashed Junk Mind, Stunner, Sweet Sun

7. Jack White - "Lazaretto"

Who else releases tricked out vinyl? I don't know anyone other artist who respects the vinyl medium these days more than Jack White. It would be one thing if he released the tricked out vinyl and the music didn't deliver, but it's Jack White, so of course it does. From rockers like the title track to more mellow fare such as Alone In My Home and Temporary Ground, the album is very diverse. Plus, the vinyl generates a hologram when you play it!

Key Tracks: Lazaretto, High Ball Stepper, Alone In My Home

6. Damon Albarn - "Everyday Robots"

I've been a Blur fan since "Parklife" in '94, so naturally I also like Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad & The Queen. I was pretty excited when I heard Damon Albarn was coming out with his first proper solo album in 2014. It's a mellow affair but filled with many melodic surprises and introspective lyrics. Hoping for a Blur reunion record but failing that, another Damon Albarn solo album would work just fine for me!

Key Tracks: You And Me, The Selfish Giant, Heavy Seas Of Love

5. Royal Blood - "Royal Blood"

My friend Josh sent me a youtube link of a Royal Blood concert in England and then I happened to be in Sunrise (again, RIP Sunrise) and saw the album in the new release section. Again, I thought what the hell and picked it up. This is a barn-burner of a debut, 30 minutes of drum, bass and vocals wrapped up in tight melodies. Hopefully these guys have a long future ahead of them.

Key Tracks: Out Of The Black, Blood Hands, Come On Over

4. Counting Crows - "Somewhere Under Wonderland"

Almost as shocking as seeing this album on the new release rack is the fact that it is so good. Not that the Counting Crows haven't been good before ("August And Everything After", Recovering The Satellites", "This Desert Life"), it's just been a really long time since they have been. The album starts with the 8+ minute Palisades Park, which has shades of the 1999 epic Mrs. Potter's Lullaby. The remaining 8 tracks are loose, filled with lyrical and instrumental excursions that make you think it's the 90's all over again but are modern at the same time. A great return to form.

Key Tracks: Earthquake Driver, Dislocation, Possibility Days

3. Spoon - "They Want My Soul"

"Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" may be in my top 10 albums of all time. Definitely top 15. So 2010's "Transference" was good but didn't live up to the previous album for me. "They Want My Soul" is filled with tight, minimalist rock that still somehow manages to be loose and melodic. I really enjoy Brit Daniel's rasp and his lyrics. This is definitely my 2nd favourite Spoon record.

Key Tracks: Inside Out, Let Me Be Mine, New York Kiss, Do You 

2. Weezer - "Everything Will Be Alright In The End"

I wrote a blog about this album, so won't spend a lot of time on this one. I would say, if it wasn't for this year's #1, Weezer would have their 2nd #1 album of the year for me ("The Blue Album" in 1994 was my #1!).

Key Tracks: Da Vinci, The British Are Coming, Foolish Father, The Futurescope Trilogy

1. Against Me! - "Transgender Dysphoria Blues"

This is a 29 minute blast of emotion from Laura Jane Grace and co. as she deals with coming out as a transgendered woman. Make no mistake, the blood is all over the page but each song is sturdy, filled with contained rage and sharp melodies. I've had this album since last January and still play it at least once a week. I also had the privilege of seeing the band open for Gaslight Anthem in September and they brought the same emotion to the stage as on the record. A great rebirth of both person and band and an easy choice for best album of the year for me.

Key Tracks: Black Me Out, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Two Coffins, Paralytic States

Honorable Mention: The War On Drugs - "Lost In The Dream", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Hypnotic Eye", Ryan Adams - "Ryan Adams", Interpol - "El Pintor", Vance Joy - "Dream Your Life Away"

Most Disappointing:

The Black Keys - "Turn Blue". Please step away from the Danger Mouse and locate the guitar and drums again. Thank you.

The Gaslight Anthem - "Get Hurt". Sure, I understand that divorcing your wife of 10 years is difficult and one needs an outlet to deal with it. And some of these songs are good, but after listening to 15 songs about divorce, it becomes somewhat depressing.

Best Re-Issues

1. Oasis - "Definitely Maybe" & "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?"

This should not be shocking to anyone who has kept up with this blog. Some people on Oasis fan sites have complained about the content on these re-issues, that they don't offer enough rarities, etc. To me, they celebrate the albums proper, all the great b-sides and have enough unreleased and live material to satisfy my needs as a collector. All of the music is top-notch; documents of a band at the top of their game.

2. David Bowie - "Nothing Has Changed" (3 CD Version)

Another Bowie comp, but this one I dig because it gives some props to his '90's and more recent output. I didn't have a blog in 2013 but if I did, David Bowie's "The Next Day" would have easily been in the top 5 albums of the year. And some of those tracks make it to this comp. It goes in reverse chronological order, so you get a new song Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime), all the hits and misses, and then it closes with Liza Jane from the '60's. While I still can't listen to Dancing In The Street with Mick Jagger and some of his '80's output is dated, you can't argue with what is included in this comp. Extensive and exciting.

3. Wilco - "What's Your 20? Essential Tracks 1994-2014"

This was kind of a shocking discovery while I was browsing amazon about a month ago. Wilco was releasing a greatest hits comp though they didn't really have any hits. So a retrospective. I have to admit, I enjoy a good greatest hits or retrospective (Crowded House's "Recurring Dream - The Very Best Of" is one of the best out there). Don't get me wrong, listening to full albums is awesome and rewarding but sometimes I want to listen to all of the songs in one place. Like the Bowie comp, it's interesting to hear where bands started and how they evolve. Wilco's double disc comp covers off "AM", "Being There", "Summerteeth" and the excellent "Mermaid Avenue" albums on Disc 1. Disc 2 starts with 7 cuts from "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" and then moves into the experimental "A Ghost Is Born", "Sky Blue Sky", "Wilco (The Album)" and closes out with "The Whole Love". You trace a band moving from scrappy, almost garage rock to art rock auteurs. But the consistent force is melody. This compilation is essential.


I'm hoping to post again before the holidays but if not, hope everyone has a safe and relaxing break!

Don't Call It A Comeback

Long time, no post. The first 4 posts admittedly were already written in my head before they were put down, so these next few have required more thought. So here we go.

I'm going to try to explain my love of 90's alt rock bands, but not the Nirvana's, Pearl Jam's, Soundgarden's, Alice In Chains, STP's etc (though I do like these bands). Instead I'm going to focus on the "little guys", the underdogs, bands people may have forgotten or dismissed as one hit wonders. I can tell you from experience, these bands have more than 1 good song and still get some heavy spins from me. I don't feel it's nostalgia, rather it's music I enjoy listening to that happens to be 15-20 years old!

Gin Blossoms

Most probably know Hey Jealousy and Til I Hear It From You. Maybe also Follow You Down. And they only had 2 albums before disappearing for a very long time. I have always enjoyed the Gin Blossoms. Their straight ahead, catchy jangle pop spoke to me as did their love lorn lyrics. I discovered them in high school and I want to say I purchased "New Miserable Experience" on a family trip to Florida in 1993. When I put the CD in my discman, I remember not being blown away with Lost Horizons, the first track. It's still not my favourite. But then Hey Jealousy rattled off a string of 11 great songs (especially Hold Me Down), save maybe for the country pastiche Cheatin'. Still 10 out of 12 good tunes on a debut album is a pretty good hit rate. I bought some of their CD singles, which included songs that apparently appeared on an earlier EP "Up & Crumbling" (which I still don't have - what is wrong with the completist in me?). Friends and I also ventured to Kingswood Music Theatre at Canada's Wonderland to see them open, yes open (along with the excellent Cracker) for Spin Doctors. I felt a bit bad for the Spin Doctors as most people took off after they played Two Princes 3 or 4 songs into their set. But I guess I didn't feel that bad, because we were included in those people hitting the exit gates. Gin Blossoms were good live. Nothing phenomenal like light shows or anything of the like but solid, meat and potatoes rock. Front man Robin Wilson interacted well with the crowd. I felt the Gin Blossoms were a band on the rise and I was excited to take that ride with them.

In the summer of 1995, they started playing a new Gin Blossoms tune on the radio from an upcoming film titled "Empire Records". The soundtrack actually came out before the movie. Til I Hear It From You was that tune and it was quite engaging. Bittersweet but solid jangle pop. I felt if the movie was as good as the song, it would be amazing. The soundtrack was solid also, but then the movie only got a limited release and one of the markets it got dumped in certainly wasn't Burlington. My friends did pick it up on video and it is a good movie, one that should have been given a wide release. Rex Manning Day, "Damn the man, save the Empire", Ethan Embry, Johnny Whitworth, Rory Cochrane, Anthony LaPaglia, Liv Tyler, Renee Zellweger, need I say more?

Anyway, Gin Blossoms had a new album coming out but this didn't surface until early 1996, preceded by the lead single Follow You Down. This was a good song also. The rise was continuing. In February 1996, I took the bus to Stone Road Mall to get the new Gin Blossoms, called "Congratulations, I'm Sorry". I got back to the dorm room and popped the CD in. I enjoyed the first 5 songs and felt we were well on our way to another winner. But then the wheels fell off a bit and the remaining 7 weren't fantastic. I found out later that one of the key songwriters on the first record got fired after the first album came out and ended up succumbing to his addictions. So they were like a new band starting over again for the 2nd record. And the songs weren't as sharp. The band seemed to realize this also as they broke-up in 1997, not to be heard from again until 2006 on "Major Lodge Victory". I picked this album up on new release day (I really had to look hard for it, but found it at a Music World in Pickering. Music World RIP) and when I spun it, found it to be enjoyable. Better than "Congratulations". The Gin Blossoms were back on the touring circuit and put out another album called "No Chocolate Cake" in 2010. This album was only okay, but still contained some melodic gems such as first single Miss Disarray.

My greatest late era Gin Blossoms memory is when I was in Montreal doing research a few years back and my colleagues and I closed down a bar (literally we were locked in) and the bar tender allowed us to commandeer his iPod and of course he had some Gin Blossoms! It was Hey Jealousy so we rocked that shit forsure and the 5 people in the bar really enjoyed it.

Semisonic

Known for the last call anthem Closing Time and nothing else, my appreciation for Semisonic has grown over the past couple of years. I did and still do like Closing Time and at one point I did own the album it came from ("Feeling Strangely Fine"), but I couldn't really remember any other song from them off the top of my head except Secret Smile, which was a minor hit in '98. Somehow I read somewhere that Semisonic's drummer had written a funny memoir about being a drummer in a semi-famous alt-rock band. It took me a year and a bit but I finally purchased this book off amazon and it was pretty funny. It's called "So You Wanna Be A Rock and Roll Star" by Jacob Slichter. Honest and funny. But this got me thinking, Gin Blossoms have a greatest hits based off two albums (it came out before the 2000's re-birth), so surely Semisonic has one. Jacob's tales made it sound like they made some smart rock music and were maybe known for the wrong song, like Blur are known in North America for Song 2. Don't even get me started on this.

Sure enough on amazon, they were selling Semisonic's Best Of 20th Century Masters for $12 so I ordered that and their greatest hits are pretty good, specifically Singing In My Sleep and Chemistry. Again, solid, straight forward pop-rock. And their lead singer Dan Wilson is co-writing some of pop's greatest hits these days (Dixie Chicks, Adele). So he clearly was onto something. Plus, his duet with Bic Runga on the first American Pie soundtrack, Good Morning Baby, is amazing.

Blues Traveler

The hook brings you back and that is all you need to know.

Ash

This is a three-piece (was a 3-piece, than a 4-piece and now a 3-piece again if they are even still together - I just checked and Wikipedia says that they are!) from Northern Ireland who I discovered via the "Angus" movie soundtrack in the mid-90's. Their songs Jack Names The Planets and Kung Fu were featured and right away, I felt this was a good band. Again, short, catchy pop-punk blasts. In 1996, they released "1977", which is the year they were born (a year after me and they already had 2 albums to their credit!) and it contained the gem Goldfinger. I picked this album up but then lost track of the band until I was browsing in an HMV around 2003 or 2004 and found their first singles collection "Intergalactic Sonic 7"'s". This is a great compilation, where every song is good and there are 19 in total. So I went back and got "Free All Angels", which I guess was a comeback record for the band - about 5 of the singles on the compilation are from this album so that makes sense.

In 2009, they released a new single once every 2 weeks, eventually putting out the compilation albums A-Z Volumes 1 and 2 (I only have Vol. 1 and it is solid).

I still listen to "Intergalactic Sonic 7"'s" quite frequently.

Canadian Content - The Watchmen and Lowest Of The Low

I love both of these bands, although neither has put out any new music since at least 2004. The Watchmen's All Uncovered is one of my favourite songs of all-time, ditto Lowest Of The Low's Bleed A Little While Tonight. I still listen to LOTTL's "Shakespeare...My Butt" a lot (even have it on vinyl). It's a pretty flawless debut album. And one of these years I will make it to the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto for one of The Watchmen's annual shows.

Third Eye Blind

I was swept into Third Eye Blind's world, like everyone else with Semi-Charmed Life in 1997. I think I didn't even initially own their album, my friend Matt picked it up and we just listened to that in the car that summer, constantly. But outside of SCL, they also had "official" hits with Jumper and How's It Going To Be and unofficial hits with Graduate and Losing A Whole Year from their self-titled debut. I like all of these songs as well as I Want You and Thanks A Lot, but the last 3 songs, Motorcyle Drive By, The Background and God Of Wine may be the best 3 end songs (or Side D) on any album. Yes, this is crazy but it really might be true. The crazier thing is that save for The Background, I didn't really listen to the other two songs until I picked up their "greatest hits" comp "A Collection" in 2006. But now I do all the time.

I was quite excited when "Blue" emerged in 1999 and though I think the lead single Anything is right up there with all else the band has done, it certainly is not the most obvious choice for a lead single. But I was into it. "Blue" certainly does contain some radio friendly gems such as 10 Days Late and Never Let You Go, but also some bold experimentation. The song Slow Motion didn't have verses included until "A Collection" due to the album's release proximity with the Columbine shootings and the verses touching on this, among many other, topics. It's a pretty dark tune.

We then had to wait until 2003 for "Out Of The Vein". I remember I was in Vancouver doing focus groups at the time and hit the Virgin Megastore during some downtime and found this album in the racks. I picked it up and immediately popped it into my discman. At first, I wasn't sold on this record, but I did keep listening to it for the duration of that trip and before long, I found it had some great songs. Forget Myself, Crystal Baller, Palm Reader and the hidden song Good Man are all stand-outs. Like most '90's alt-bands that had that one big hit, commercial reception to "Blue" and "Out Of The Vein" followed the trend of diminishing returns, but this didn't phase me.

There was then a 6 year break between "Out Of The Vein" and "Ursa Major". During this time, the band toured fairly relentlessly, mostly in US College towns, where they developed quite a cult following. But promises of new music in 2007 and 2008 disappeared (save for the digital-only 3 track "Red Star" EP) and only came true in August of 2009. "Ursa Major" is my least favourite 3EB album but it still has merit. Bonfire is a great tune that holds up well in relation to their classics.

The fact of the matter is Stephan Jenkins is a pretty damn good songwriter and if it takes him 4 to 6 years to write new tunes, than so be it. It takes me on average of 4 years to write a new short story, so I hear you Stephan! Of course, they keep firing guitarists, bassists, etc. so this doesn't help. But their songs speak to me and even 17 years after S/T dropped they still do. There is some depth to the lyrics for sure. They say they are mixing their new album so that will be another 6 years between albums if it actually comes out in 2015...here's hoping so.

When Sky High Anticipation Results in Gut Wrenching Disappointment

Case Study #1:  Guns N' Roses "The Spaghetti Incident?"

My friends and I were in Grade 7 or 8 when Guns N' Roses dropped "Appetite For Destruction" and while I wish I could say that I was on the cutting edge of music at that time, it would be a lie. Pop music was in my wheel house those days, with the likes of Paula Abdul, Debbie Gibson and Madonna's "Like A Prayer" getting some serious spins. Yes, I can admit this.

Bohemian Rhapsody brought me back into the realm of rock music in the summer of 1992, when I heard the song in Wayne's World and wondered what it was, followed by I need to get this. Cue the first CD I ever bought, "Classic Queen" by Queen. I wore that CD out and I'm being serious, I actually had to replace it.

I'm not actually sure how I got into Guns N' Roses, I want to say it was likely through my friend Hutch but I do know that "Use Your Illusion I and II" were the first albums I bought by the band in the summer of 1993. I think for $22.99 each because they weren't new releases. I then worked backwards and bought "Appetite" and "GN'R Lies". I was pretty obsessed with the 9 minute epic Estranged, but also felt (and still feel) the Gunners brought it on tunes like Dead Horse, Locomotive, Civil War, Get In The Ring, Rocket Queen, Mr. Brownstone, etc. These are still great albums that I like to spin when feeling aggressive AKA driving to work.

My friends and I - Hutch, Dave, Matt - used to make music videos of songs in my parents' basement. I honestly wish that I still had these tapes because they were gold. Rocking out consisted of using a tennis racket or pool cue as the guitar and jumping off of the couches or chairs while we took turns filming. There was no rehearsing or re-starting. There were some straight performance videos where we stood in place playing the song and also ones that mimicked the actual artist's video, such as the one we did for U2's Numb. But I digress. We definitely did some GN'R. Likely You Could Be Mine or Paradise City or Rocket Queen. Or all 3. Our career high was jamming out to Smashing Pumpkins' 11 minute opus Silverfuck. These were good times.

Another GN'R album that is still in my collection is 1993's "The Spaghetti Incident?". As we all got way into GN'R after purchasing the "Illusion" albums, we were pretty psyched that they were putting out a new album in the fall of 1993. Hit Parader magazine was all over this and this is how we got our info. So we knew the date it was coming out (Wikipedia tells me it was November 23rd, 1993) and we heard the first single Ain't It Fun on the radio. This was a great tune although we had no idea it was a cover song at the time, nor did we understand that the album was actually all covers. I'm not sure if Hit Parader mentioned this.

On November 23rd, Hutch and I skipped English and walked in the cold half an hour to the Sunrise Records at Burlington Mall and each dropped I want to say $19.99 on this album. We then walked another half an hour to his house and met up with Dave and Matt. We then fired up NHL '93 on the Sega Genesis system and put on the album. The first song on the record was Since I Don't Have You, which is GN'R doing a '50's song. It was quite jarring and also quite terrible. It also was the second single.

I believe we all looked at each other and wondered what had happened to the band who dared Andy Secher at the aforementioned Hit Parader to get in the ring. 11 more songs followed, including Ain't It Fun, still the best thing about this album. Duff McKagan sung lead on 3 tracks, which we were okay with, as I believe my friend Dave and I are the only people in Canada to own Duff''s solo debut "Believe In Me", purchased a few months before "The Spaghetti Incident?" and still in my collection. As an aside, Duff''s autobiography "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" is one of the best rock autobiographies I've ever read, do yourself a favour and check it out.

Some of the tracks on "The Spaghetti Incident?" admittedly after listening to it last week for the first time in 21 years, are good - Hair Of The Dog, You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory, Attitude - but these were not GN'R songs and they didn't (and still don't even now that I understand they are covers and have heard the original artists) hold a candle to Appetite, Lies or the Use Your Illusion records. This was the first record I bought where I felt really let down after purchasing it. There have been many more since, but this record will always hold down 1st place, which makes it special.

After "The Spaghetti Incident?" it was pretty much over for us and GN'R. We moved onto other bands, such as Weezer, STP, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins (and for me Gin Blossoms and Counting Crows so I could discover my "sensitive side"). But GN'R for me was a flame that burned bright from July 1993 to November 1993, unfortunately, they just couldn't keep the fired fanned. I know I courtesy bought their cover of Sympathy For The Devil from "Interview With A Vampire", I think I bought the first Slash's Snakepit album and Gilby Clarke's solo album tying to see if any of them could re-capture the magic. I also bought "Chinese Democracy" when it came out and it was actually pretty good, but it did confirm that the magic was gone when I stopped listening to it after a month.

Maybe the band will get back together, pull a Weezer and release something awesome, which would also be quite special. Until then, I will just hold onto the memories from those 5 months in 1993 when this band ruled our world.

"Do You Want To Die Tonight Sydney?" How Scream Became My Gateway to Horror

On December 20th, 1996, I reluctantly joined my friends Trish, Matt and John at Showcase Cinemas in Burlington to take in the movie Scream. It was opening night. It also was Trish's birthday and she really wanted to see it. I was scared shitless as my only other real experience with slasher type horror films at this point was Halloween II at my friend CJ's 10th or 11th birthday party. Needless to say that flick put me off horror for a long time. I can handle gore but the suspense is killer for me. Michael Myers creeping about and jumping out did not make my pre-teen self feel that great.

Because I was such a supportive friend, I tried to push my childhood fears of people jumping out to the back of my mind and handed over my money to the box office attendant. It should be noted that Scream was in the smallest theater at that point (Cinema 6) and it was only half full. I had read a positive review of the flick in Rolling Stone magazine but this did not neutralize my fears, instead, it served to ignite them. "Scary and funny," I believe it read. Funny, great. Scary, not so much. I purchased a bag of licorice as for some reason, I did not wear my Dolphins or Maple Leafs hat that night. I'm really not sure why I wouldn't have worn one given that I wear a hat about 70% of the time and I must have been away from University for Christmas break. So there was no excuse really.

Anyway, we entered Cinema 6 and I was wondering how I could get out of this situation. Did I have to babysit my teenage brother or sister? Did my parents need me to pick-up something from the store? Christmas shopping, was it done? No dice, I was stuck there. So I tried to think happy thoughts. Drew Barrymore was in the movie. Julia Salinger was in the movie. Monica from Friends was in the movie. All good points, I enjoyed their work.

After some previews, the movie started with a black screen, the phone ringing and the Dimension Films logo appeared. Cue Drew Barrymore making Jiffy Pop on the stove. Already I'm sweating. I don't want to spoil things for people who haven't seen this movie (and if you haven't do yourself a favour and watch it), but let's just say my licorice bag spent a lot of time in my eye line over the next 15 minutes. This sequence was scary ... and funny. Just like Rolling Stone said it would be. There were references to old horror movies, ones I had never seen, such as Friday the 13th and the original Halloween. The intro was bold and showed that in this new horror universe, no one was safe from death.

After the opening sequence, my licorice bag could relax a bit, as the movie settled into some solid storytelling, with a nice backstory for Neve Campbell's Sydney Prescott. I am by no means a cinema-phile but I noted that this movie was pretty well-written and the characters were fleshed out, which is always positive in any movie, regardless of genre. There were some good scares, such as the Fonz in peril and Sydney being attacked at her house.

I also noted that Ghostface had the most menacing voice, which completely fit with the proceedings. He also had some pretty amazing one-liners.

The death wasn't that fast and furious until the last third of the movie (or the "final act main cast bloodbath" as referenced in Scream 4). By this point, I was fully hooked on this movie. I almost wanted to be scared. Dare to scare me. Bring it! The last third had some scares but was more gory than frightening. The motive of the killer was solid and just brought everything together, tying up Sydney's backstory.

So after this positive viewing experience, I decided maybe I should give horror a try. My then 11 or 12 year old brother was also up for this. We watched the original Halloween, and it was awesome. I watched the sequel again and it was decent. I'm sure we watched other horror films. But then Scream took off and the copy cats started coming out of the woodwork. Masterpieces such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (any movie that featured Buffy and Jennifer Love Hewitt at that time knew what it was doing) and we embraced all of these films. I finally caught up with Friday the 13th and it's many sequels, The Exorcist and it's sequels, Psycho, etc.

However, while the first 15 minutes of Scream were frightening, the scariest movie I have ever seen is The Grudge remake, also with Buffy. That was 90 minutes of pure anticipation/jumping out terror. With a scary demon kid. People in the theater were laughing at me because I was so scared. Second scariest is the first 30 minutes of Jeepers Creepers. I almost left the theater. I think it's the anticipation of knowing something terrible will happen that gets me. Once it happens, I am good but the moments before the mind starts going and going and knowing and knowing. But I think I like this feeling...to a degree. Though I still haven't watched The Conjuring or Paranormal Activity.

Back to Scream, which is actually on TV now as I'm typing this. As you may understand from the Oasis post, once I really like something, I become relentlessly obsessed. We had 2 VCRs in our house so once Scream was available on VHS (yes VHS), my brother and I taped it so we could view it multiple times, which we did. We were there on opening night for Scream 2. I ended up seeing Scream 2 three times in the theater. And for the opening of Scream 3, I sent Outlook meeting invites out. And my brother in law scored me premiere tickets to Scream 4, complete with a Neve Campbell Q&A. Of course, none of the other Scream movies measures up to the first (2 comes close, 3 is the worst and 4 is entertaining and rather gory), but like Oasis affected my musical growth, Scream was my gateway to embracing horror movies. And it was also my gateway to moving back into creative writing as my first few pieces were horror yarns.

That said, I haven't seen a good horror movie in a while (or even a non-kids movie in a while)...though Annabelle looks promising and frightening.

So I have to offer a belated thanks to Trish...and wish everyone a Happy Halloween. What's your favourite scary movie?

This is not a unique thought but Weezer's new album is a surprise and welcome return to form

In my last post, which is kinda long as I re-read it, but that is what talking about Oasis does to me, I mentioned that I had a story about Weezer's "Blue Album". I also mentioned the "like 3 songs, buy the album" rule that I believe my best friend Matt instituted to try to keep us all honest. The "Blue Album" was likely the first purchase I made that eschewed this rule. I have been a CD/music addict since September 1992 when Bon Jovi's "Keep The Faith" came out, but I used to be able to keep it somewhat in-check, by using the "3 song rule". The "Blue Album" threw that rule out the window and is likely the reason I have so many CDs. Back in the '90's, I was always trying to find the next Weezer; that band you took a chance on without hearing any of their songs and when you did, you found out that they were all great. But this proved to be exceedingly difficult.

Anyway...

I remember hanging out in my parent's backyard in the summer of 1994 and my friend Geoff mentioned that he saw a band called Weezer who had a cool song called The Sweater Song on Conan O'Brien the night previous. I nodded and stored the band name in the old noggin. Remember this was before the Internet so one couldn't YouTube this stuff to see if it was any good.

I used to lifeguard back in my high school years to make money and teach people how to swim. On break, I would often venture to the Burlington Mall and Sunrise Records. A few nights after Geoff told me about Weezer, I was in Sunrise and saw the "Blue Album" in the new release section. I believe it was $19.99 as this was what they used to charge for CDs. Seriously crazy, but we happily paid these prices. I picked it up off the rack, it had the Sweater Song on it (only it was called (Undone) The Sweater Song) so I decided, what the hell, Geoff liked good music so let's get it. I am 100% glad that this decision was made. Not only was The Sweater Song amazing, the whole thing rocked and contained many melodic surprises. All my friends became hooked on the album and it was the soundtrack to the rest of our summer, along with "Purple" by STP.

Naturally, Weezer, like Oasis, had CD singles, so I picked these up and again the b-sides were great (esp. Mykel & Carli). My friends and I saw Weezer at the Opera House in Toronto in December 1994 and we even met them after the show. Fantastic. "Pinkerton" came out a few years later and although it lacked the polish of the "Blue Album", I was in 2nd year university and the angst in the lyrics due to Rivers' inability to find love spoke to me. Then Weezer disappeared. They re-emerged I think 5 years later with the "Green Album". This was an enjoyable record. "Maladroit" was also enjoyable though more raw. "Make Believe" and subsequent albums completely lost me. I even stopped courtesy buying Weezer albums after the "Red Album". I don't think I've even listened to all of "Raditude". So when I read that they were coming out with a new record this October after a 4 year break, I was fully skeptical. 

But then grooveshark had the new album "Everything Will Be Alright In The End" streaming a week before it came out so I gave it a listen at work one day. It didn't immediately grab me but there was enough there to warrant another listen. I cued it up the next day and heard the same type of melodic surprises and witty lyrics that got me hooked the first time I heard this band. So I listened to it again, and again and again. I read an unauthorized biography on Rivers in the mid-2000's and feel he's a weird dude but music is subjective forsure so I'm sure he felt (or maybe didn't feel) that he was making great tunes from 2005 to 2010. Anyway something got to him because, say it ain't so, he and the band have recaptured their 1994-1996 mojo here in a big time way. Songs like The British Are Coming, Go Away (classic boy/girl vocals from Rivers and Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast) and Foolish Father are welcome additions to the Weezer canon. But the real gem for me is Da Vinci. Great lyrics about finding that perfect love that border on cheesy but never fully get there because of the sincerity in Rivers' voice. And the melody is just classic Weezer.

I bought "EWBAITE" at a Walmart in Orillia, Ontario driving home from my parent's cottage as I needed to listen to it repeatedly on the 90 minute drive back to my house. My 3 year old son really enjoyed it. I also played it for my friend Jamie (not really a Weezer fan) as we were car pooling to work and he thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Just last night, my 7 year old daughter wanted to hear the songs I've Had It Up To Here and Cleopatra on repeat. So it's a winner across many demographic groups.

My post title says it all, I'm not the first person on the Internet to have these thoughts about this record, which I'm happy about. There are definitely a lot of jaded people on the Internet, especially when it comes to music. While I find the way I consume and listen to music these days is moving at a much quicker pace than certainly 20, but even 5 years ago, it's nice to have a band you used to enjoy sneak up on you when you weren't expecting it all (see also Counting Crows' excellent new album "Somewhere Under Wonderland"). So now it seems that I'm still looking for the next Weezer, even if that now means being surprised by a band I once admired returning to form.

Where Were You October 3rd 1995? A Written History of How Oasis Became My Favourite Band

Where were you October 3rd 1995?  I was at The Stone Road Mall in Guelph, Ontario, Canada with some friends.  I'm almost certain we were going out for dinner at Legend's Bar & Grill because we could use our meal cards at this establishment.  But of course, we needed to stop into HMV first because it was a Tuesday and Tuesday was and still is, new release day.  I likely suggested or insisted that we do this.

On the new release wall I saw Oasis' 2nd effort "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" and I immediately grabbed it.  I didn't even know it was out (email was only just catching on, we weren't there with the Internet yet) so was pleasantly surprised. I also am pretty certain I picked up Lisa Loeb's "Tails" that night, which I still have in my collection. Don't ask me how I can remember this stuff. But the Oasis album is the subject of this post and without a doubt changed the way I listened to music.  Although Do You Sleep? by Lisa Loeb is still a killer tune.

I'll backtrack a little bit.  I stumbled upon Oasis' excellent debut "Definitely Maybe" almost by accident.  Again, it was at an HMV (but this one was in Oakville), on a listening station in October or November of 1994.  My friends and I had 2nd period spare in Grade 13 so we would frequently make the 10 minute drive from Burlington to Oakville to hit HMV (at that time I guess our hometown Burlington wasn't populated or cool enough to warrant having it's own HMV).  Anyway, as soon as I hit play on the listening station disc man and heard the opening chords of Rock N' Roll Star I was hooked and I was pretty sure when I got to Supersonic that Oasis were my new favourite band.

After digesting "Definitely Maybe" and feeling that all the songs were great, I needed to see if Oasis had any other songs. Over the course of 1994, I discovered that Oasis had put out CD singles for Live Forever, Shakermaker, Cigarettes and Alcohol and Supersonic.  I picked all of these up as they had b-sides, which I soon discovered were as good as the album tracks.  My friend Simon and I then found a real gem in Hamilton when we were CD shopping at Dr. Disc at the end of 1994.  As an aside, if people asked me in high school what my hobbies were, the answer was CD shopping.  And creative writing.  But mostly CD shopping.  And I guess things haven't changed, though the blog is a way to keep the writing candle burning.  Anyway, we found the CD single of an Oasis song I'd never heard of called Whatever.  This wasn't on "Definitely Maybe" and contained 2 b- sides (It's Good) To Be Free and Half The World Away that also weren't on the album (Slide Away, the penultimate album track from DM rounded it out).  So obviously this was an easy pick-up. Whatever and the b-sides solidified my feelings that Oasis were awesome.  Many Oasis tunes made my best of 1994 mix tape compilations (I want to say there were 3 tapes that year), though Always by Bon Jovi was number 1 for legacy reasons and because it is an amazing power ballad.

In May 1995, we were going on class trip to Toronto (maybe to the Art Gallery of Ontario or somewhere cultural like that).  I knew that Oasis was coming out with a new single called Some Might Say (though I'm not sure now how I knew this), so I had Dr. Disc order it for me.  It came in the day before the class trip so I immediately taped the song and the three b-sides so I could walkman it up on the bus.  I was loving Some Might Say, despite the rather inane lyrics, the song soared and the guitar outro was bueno. Revisiting the reissues of "Definitely Maybe" and "WTSMG" and hearing the early live cuts included makes you realize what a powerful singer Liam Gallagher was. I feel the Some Might Say single, backed with Acquiesce and Headshrinker equal Liam's voice at its most powerful. In addition, the b-sides on this single (also including the Noel sung Talk Tonight) are probably the best trio included on any of their singles. So where did Some Might Say fit? I wasn't sure as again it wasn't on DM.  And then in August 1995 Roll With It came out and it still wasn't part of an album. But the song was good (not as good as Some Might Say) and the b-side Rockin' Chair is still one of my favourite b-sides by any band ever.

In September 1995 I was off to start my post-high school life, chasing a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Guelph. I was moving away from home for the first time, living with 3 roommates (whom I didn't know) in a building that was designed by the person who built a prison in Kingston. But I was excited. A girl in my alcove noticed me wearing an Oasis t-shirt early in the year which got us talking about the band. One day, she ran downstairs saying she had just heard and taped the new Oasis song Morning Glory off the radio. Yes, taping songs off the radio was a regular thing prior to Napster, iTunes, etc. I dubbed it off her tape and wow, I was blown away. This was somehow better than both Some Might Say and Roll With It. Buzz saw guitars, vague lyrics about razorblades and mirrors (Cocaine references were lost on me then, as they still are now). This upped the ante for the new album, but none of us had any idea of when it was coming out.

So the first month of school was good and we were hitting our groove by October, as I said, we figured out what alcohol serving restaurants accepted our meal cards. When I flipped over "What's The Story" at HMV, I saw that it contained Roll With It and Some Might Say, which quelled the small worry that was kicking around inside my head.  Also it had Morning Glory on it, so automatically it fit the like 3 songs, buy an album rule we had for buying albums (though this never really applied to me.  I have a story about Weezer's "Blue Album" I'll save for another post).

When I got back to the dorm I put on "WTSMG" and immediately after hearing Hello the thought was "best album ever".  Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger reinforced this, though it was kind of surprising to hear Noel on lead for the latter as traditionally songs with his lead vocal were pegged for b-sides. It was a good surprise. The whole album flowed for me immediately. No bad songs (even the Swamp Song instrumentals fit). And soon, I began playing the album at least 3 times a day for the rest of 1995 up until we left Guelph in May 1996. Two of my roommates said that they had to buy the album once they left school for the summer because they were that used to hearing it all the time, even though they weren't fans of Oasis. I picked up the singles for Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger when they dropped in late 1995/early 1996. As an aside, The Masterplan probably is the best b-side in the history of b-sides. I even bought the Chemical Brothers' Setting Sun single because Noel sung the song (still a good song). I bought every magazine Oasis was featured in also. I was full-on obsessed.

Because of "WTSMG", I like Radiohead, Pulp, Chemical Brothers and ironically, Blur. Even though these 4 bands don't really sound anything like Oasis. And Oasis is the most straightforward sounding of those bands above, but they got me into British music, which then got me into electronica, which then got me into indie rock. Before I was a complete hair metal / meat and potatoes rock kind of guy, not that there is anything wrong with that mind you and I still enjoy these genres. But "WTSMG" opened my mind to other genres.

Listening to that album over and over again as I was in a new place with new people made me "feel" music maybe for the first time and each song has a great memory attached to it. I never played or wanted to play an album as much as this one and this holds true today. The recent reissue of the album (of course purchased on new release Tuesday) brought it back into focus for me, although I never really go too long without spinning it. Hearing Noel's demos for some of the album's barn burners show what a gifted song writer he is in terms of melody, structure and soaring choruses (present tense, the first High Flying Birds album is a gem), but listening them along side the finished product also shows what Liam brought to the party even if he wasn't penning the actual songs.

In my mind Oasis was an impenetrable force that couldn't be destroyed. If people talked shit about them I staunchly defended their work. I still won't shut-up about them (just ask my wife). Their 1994-1996 output I would put up against the definitive 2 year period of any other band. Noel has admitted that he should have held onto some of the b-sides for future albums and he was probably right, though I do like at least half of each post-Morning Glory Oasis albums (including all of "Don't Believe The Truth" and "Dig Out Your Soul", both late career masterpieces).

I think without sounding too heavy handed, this album was (is) like religion for me. Bon Jovi, my previous fave band (there will be posts on this), took me through my years of innocence and my first taste of high school. Oasis and "WSTMG" specifically was with me almost from the beginning of my journey to becoming the person I am today. Right place, right time but the music backed it up for me.

Yep, I think I'm going to re-institute the 3 time a day playing of this album starting now. You know what some might say...

Yes, another blog about music!

Welcome.  I like music.  That is probably an understatement.  My parents had music on all the time in the 70's / early 80's, my "formative years".  The Bee Gees, Springsteen.  I started my personal journey off with a little Wham! "Make It Big", a little Michael Jackson "Thriller", Madonna "Like A Virgin", Whitney Houston "Whitney".  I was all over AT 40 with Casey Kasem.  Keep Your Feet on the Ground, But Keep Reaching For the Stars.

Bon Jovi changed my life in 1986.  The trio of hits from "Slippery When Wet" - Bad Name, Prayer and Wanted spoke to me like nothing else up until that point.

And here I am in 2014 - married for 10+ years, 2 kids, 1600 CDs and a couple of hundred vinyls. Bon Jovi is still part of my fabric as are all the other artists that have entered my eardrums.  I decided finally let's take the plunge on this thing they call the interweb and put some thoughts down about music and other stuff. Hope you enjoy or find something interesting in this space.

For now, I'll leave you with what I like to call "meat and potatoes rock" (not a knock, but a compliment), courtesy of Canada's own Sam Roberts Band.