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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Mar 19, 2006 3:26:45 GMT -5
I have indeed. In fact, I think it was Morrissey that once put it as ENEMY on his lyric sheet. Yep, in upper case. I don't think anyone on Castaways reads it anyway, do they?
To forestall Riley's exploding head, Lift Yr Skinny Fists... and Funeral were both albums of their respective year for me. I also love plenty of other Canadian bands: Stars, Metric, A Silver Mt Zion, Wolf Parade, Hot Hot Heat, The Stills, BSS...
What is it with youngsters gaining hipster points these days by adopting an easy listening artist?
Of course, it can't be just any old name from the easy listening section. You'll still get lambasted if you start drooling over Barbara Streisand's performance in Yentl and saying "You know, her duet with Donna Summer nearly matches her collaborative work with Neil Diamond, but falls well short of her work with Barry Gibb. But overall, I still prefer Kenny Rogers."
But if you can find a young lass with an acoustic guitar, a voice like a slightly dirty Eva Cassidy, and a pair of huge tits... then you can apparently enhance your indie cred by declaring yourself a fan of her syrupy, slightly countrified, inoffensive little pop tunes. I'm not naming names, but if your great aunt would like her, she's probably one of the many who fit the bill.
Can't stomach this approach? Then find an old artist given a makeover by a respected producer.
I wait with huge excitement for the Rick Rubin-produced Hall & Oates comeback album.
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Post by riley on Mar 19, 2006 6:48:45 GMT -5
Okay so who's going to pick up all these itty bitty pieces of Riley brain and put my skull back together?
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Post by riley on Mar 19, 2006 7:14:50 GMT -5
The assessment of the current state of affairs in Canadian Indie isn't entirely offside. Specifically the cross section of artists who spin off or collaborate. A little cannibalistic for sure, but I still would say there's very little repetition or redundancy in the various projects. It's almost a very deliberate business model that's actually spinning off into other markets now, and isn't entirely new to be honest. Think about the traditional starving indie artist getting no exposure, but with no interest in selling out to a major, then think of the strength in a collective like the Arts & Crafts label, related bands, labels, and friends. It's easy to suggest BSS carried the lead, but truly they gained as much from their splinters and vice versa. The nature of the collective is to compound on itself. I think the Elephant Six 6 collective (Apples In Stereo, Beulah, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, etc) tried the same thing but without catching as much momentum as some of the Canadian outfits. We're seeing it locally as well, with Dependent Records maximizing output and connecting with other smaller labels through common players (Wintersleep, Holy Fuck, Contrived, Holy Shroud, North Of America, etc.). The beauty with the BSS model is it has transcended scenes, provinces and labels, and to that effect expounded on the creative element rather than saturating it (so fuck off Jesus  It's like having a keen interest for interior design, but knowing you can't mix too many styles in your home without losing focus, original intent, and ending up with a lot of ideas that just don't work. Someone like like Brendan from BSS can get what he wants from BSS and then get a more GYBE! reward from Valley Of The Giants. Spearin can bring some of his DMST vibe to BSS, knowing the two are still very different. Evan can play a million instruments for BSS then be a pop bass player with Stars, and all the while, everyone is putting more food on the table than they would on their own, without compromising their vision to write hits or move millions of units. It's brilliant. Doc Drum has said it before and it's already starting to rear its head some. We're having a good run here at home right now. This time people from elsewhere are paying attention. It won't last forever. It can't. Fussy little pricks like me will start to shit on bands like BSS saying they've somehow lost their edge. We'll ride it for a while longer. Enjoy the hype while it's here, then hold fond memories of all these wonderful Canadian bands we can call our own, when everyone else has long since discarded their work and moved along. No biggie. |
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Mar 19, 2006 10:41:13 GMT -5
That was great Riley. I love it when you get earnest about something other than gay icons.
I think it adds something original and different to the Canuck scene. And vive le difference! as our French chums say.
The English scene doesn't have what you described as this cannibalistic (incestuous) approach, and yet the sound of the UK indie scene is far more homogenised. I mean, much as I enjoy the Arctic Monkeys album, there are no left turns anywhere, eh? It's like the natural end point of a catchy but increasingly predictable raft of UK indie-rock since about 1994, and you can see all the road maps and signs along the way - all these bands not swapping members but swapping riffs and routes and reference points almost to a fault.
It's High Green mate, via Hillsborough please
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Post by riley on Mar 19, 2006 12:12:22 GMT -5
Jesus, with you knowing how much I also adore the very UK scene you describe, my take has always been that even with a certain level of homgeniousness (is that a word?), the bands still have a mastery over melody and simple structure that far exceeds most other scenes in other countries, and the differences are subtle enough that they're easily dismissed as samey against peers if you don't just dive in with proper perspective.
Plus most Brit bands get off to an unfair start with a music press that props and slices with equal skill. CanCon to this point hasn't been barbed as often as it's been embraced. Like I said, that's almost inevitable to change.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Mar 20, 2006 7:25:53 GMT -5
With records like Bejar's, The Diableros and Panic When You Find It, seems like our run is holding. I like the depth of the scene(s) in this country right now.
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Mar 20, 2006 15:09:53 GMT -5
Have any Newfies contributed?
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Post by riley on Mar 20, 2006 15:11:19 GMT -5
Too busy fighting with the McCartneys.
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Mar 21, 2006 2:14:52 GMT -5
You're going to have to educate me there. Only reason I ask is, when I was out in Toronto my cousin married some girl who seemed fine to me, but everyone else went "Oh ho ho, wait 'til you meet her family. They're real Newfies." And I gathered whatever these people are (and I don't have a clue), they were reputedly weird. But I've never heard of a McCartney.
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Post by Dr. Drum on Mar 21, 2006 7:16:41 GMT -5
Ha, half of Toronto is ex-pat Newfs… Life of the party, I bet! Have any Newfies contributed? On that – does anyone happen to know where Dave "Newf" Newfeld is from? Cause aside from the nickname and 'feller from up around the bay' surname, he sure comes off like a Newf in an inteview. |
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Post by luke on Mar 21, 2006 8:27:13 GMT -5
You're going to have to educate me there. Only reason I ask is, when I was out in Toronto my cousin married some girl who seemed fine to me, but everyone else went "Oh ho ho, wait 'til you meet her family. They're real Newfies." And I gathered whatever these people are (and I don't have a clue), they were reputedly weird. But I've never heard of a McCartney. Your own Sir Paul apparently got his ass handed to him in an argument about baby seals. Well, according to my #1 Canuck news source, anyway... rsjunior.proboards18.com/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=1139229914&page=4 |
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Post by JesusLooksLikeMe on Mar 21, 2006 13:39:31 GMT -5
Being English and knighted doesn't stop you being a cock.
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Post by skvorisdeadsorta on Mar 22, 2006 10:36:25 GMT -5
Man, keep going with the bashing, please!!!!!
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