I've known about Shane Howard for a little while, thanks to a great Blog called That Striped Sunlight Sound, a website dedicated to Australian music. Always enlightening, well worth visiting! He's quite famous in Australia, but not so much here in America, unfortunately.
He was originally a member of Goanna, the first pop group to deal with the issue of Aboriginal rights in Australia. Their song Solid Rock is one of the great Australian protest songs, and was a huge hit at the time. The song was the first time a commercial group used the didgeridu on a song. As a solo artist Shane has recorded a number of albums, some of which are available through his own webstore. It has been 30 years since this landmark album was released, and he has just completed an Australian tour in celebration of this event.
But I want to speak a little bit about Clan, Shane's wonderful but long out print album released in 1996. I was fortunate enough to snag a copy on eBay. It's a special album, seemingly a bit of a concept album, beautifully executed, powerfully thematic, incredibly heartfelt and personal.
I wanted to say something about Clan about the time of Saint Patricks, to illustrate another aspect of the Irish diaspora than the Ellis Island experience. And here we are in mid-April. I recall reading about the history of Australia for the first time from Robert Hughes' book The Fatal Shore. But what really spun my head around was when I read True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, which impressed on me mightily the treatment of the Irish in the early years of white settlement of Australia. Both books are highly recommended reading in my estimation. Carey's book is some of the finest literature, and was the winner of the Booker Man Prize, his second.
So when I saw great praise for Clan on Striped Sunlight Sound, I kept an eye peeled for a copy.
When I finally acquired the disc from halfway around the world, I was completely delighted.
Part of the album is about his heritage as the descendant of Irish immigrants who arrived in this new land (to them) in the wake of the Irish Famine of the mid-1800's.
As he states eloquently in the album liner notes,
"This is the story of my people, my ancestral clans. The story of dispossession of land by an overwhelming force; the story of famine, resistance and uprisings, of exile and survival-the struggle of the oppressed; the burning desire not for revenge but for equity and justice."
Telling this story involved the history of Ireland, the immigrant experience of the Irish people in Australia, and the state of Ireland today.
What makes this recording an album for the ages is the connection he makes with the Aboriginal experience in the wake of contact with Europe. He was struck by the continuities between the two sagas. In some ways a case of history repeating itself. As he states,
"Here we are, as Australians, descended of migrants of many cultures, now living on Aboriginal country under a British colonial political system. How do any of us non-aboriginal people make sense of ourselves and who we are and what we are doing here?
So Clan is the story of two Clans, and how their stories intertwine in Australia.
This is heavy stuff. As Americans, you can't help but think of our unfortunate legacies here. These are things that are not easily or perhaps even possibly resolvable. Growing up, Howard lived near Aboriginal settlements, but did not really know much about the people. Ultimately, he learned a new narrative about Australia, not just about oppression, but also about people who have a history stretching well beyond our own meager one. Whenever I see exhibitions of Aboriginal art I find myself deeply moved. I don't pretend to have any expertise or understanding, but they reach at some level that I intrinsically know but can't explain. I even bought an artwork a few years ago from a dealer in New York. It was money that should have gone toward a new car, but I can be impulsive once in a blue moon. I am very glad I did it, in retrospect.
So Clan, begins after an introductory No Man's Land, has Silvermines, a fantastic historic tale about a young woman leaving her homeland for an unknown place, told in the first person, about lives turned upside-down, but the ancestral bonds remain.
Set upon the open seas to the corners of the world
Lambs to the slaughter into this hell we've hurled
My only dream was to survive I was just a girl
Hide your face and hide your fear in these dark and tangled curls.
Tarerer follows, a song about the Tarerer Gundidj Clan of the Dhauwurd Wurrong nation, a people Howard grew up nearby.
Rounded up like cattle
Herded unto mission land
Defending your own country
From this cruel and greedy hand...
Howard was inspired by his visit to Belfast in 1993 to write the plaintive ballad Free as Stone. As he states in the preface to the song, he walked through the city on a cold Sunday morning and "the city was absolutely deserted, except for armoured parol cars and footsoldiers in battle fatigues."
Rebel Song is about uprising in the gold fields of Ballarat in the 1850's. Howard's great-grandfather was arrested there in 1854, so the story is a personal one. The songs on the album are basically folk songs with a Celtic touch to them, with fiddle, mandolin, whistles and bodhran. Melding all these themes together in an album does not strike me as an easy task, but I really think he pulled it off.
Often sad, there is a also a lot of themes of empowerment on Clan. One of my favorite songs is Give A Little, a song that makes you want to keep going, even in the face of impossible odds. Don't Say Okay is another inspirational number, with great imagery, reminiscent of one of Alejandro Escovedo's ballads.
The ghosts are back again at the window
They're back again tonight
Looking in on us so we have to get it right....
Clan is a beautiful album, a work that Shane Howard should be extremely proud of. An album definitely in need of a reissue. For me this is an album that practically popped out of nowhere, so I knew at some point I would need to try to spread the word in my own small way. Sorry the videos are not that representative of the record.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Visqueen Celebrates America's Favorite Game!
As a New Yorker, I am not pleased with the way the Yankees are playing right now, but Opening Day of Baseball is the real first day of Spring for most Americans.
So to help celebrate, here's Rachel Flotard and Co., i.e. Visqueen, doing what they did so much better than most groups. The Seattle Mariners should feel lucky.
Though Visqueen is no more, hopefully we will be hearing more from the talented Ms. Flotard soon!
So to help celebrate, here's Rachel Flotard and Co., i.e. Visqueen, doing what they did so much better than most groups. The Seattle Mariners should feel lucky.
Though Visqueen is no more, hopefully we will be hearing more from the talented Ms. Flotard soon!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
PUNK ROCK Easter Egg Hunt!!! McRackins Rule, Ok?
What more appropriate way to celebrate this Easter than with the McRackins!!
I'll give you all a little hint....
There are Eggs hidden in the following videos---see if you can find them!!!
Ramones with a breakfast fetish I guess. Lipitor is their Kryptonite....
You have to admire their perseverance! They've been doing this for years & I hope they never change, even when they reach the point where they start doing duet albums in their senior years. I pray they never have a "McRackins Uncracked" album. When Kiss unmasked thousands of people died of shock. I just realized then that maybe Rock and Roll was never really real, unlike Professional Wrestling. Though frankly, with a dog playing drums, you'd think they would have more hits on YouTube...Anyway I love this Vancouver band and I hope you do too!!
I'll give you all a little hint....
There are Eggs hidden in the following videos---see if you can find them!!!
Ramones with a breakfast fetish I guess. Lipitor is their Kryptonite....
You have to admire their perseverance! They've been doing this for years & I hope they never change, even when they reach the point where they start doing duet albums in their senior years. I pray they never have a "McRackins Uncracked" album. When Kiss unmasked thousands of people died of shock. I just realized then that maybe Rock and Roll was never really real, unlike Professional Wrestling. Though frankly, with a dog playing drums, you'd think they would have more hits on YouTube...Anyway I love this Vancouver band and I hope you do too!!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Nothing But Destruction in the Air---Greenland Whalefishers
As we approach St Pat's day, I feel obligated to mention a great CeltPunk band I've been listening to a lot the past 2 weeks.
Greenland Whalefishers--Songs from the Bunker. Awesome record by a bunch of Norwegians from Bergen. There's a lot to like here, trust me. They are like a heavier rougher Pogues, and Arvid the vocalist sounds like a cross between Joe Strummer and Popeye. They sing with guts and passion. It's difficult to believe that these guys are not from the old sod!
One of things that I especially like about these guys is that they chart their own territory. While the album works in the same tradition that the Pogues do, they do not pay a lot of obeisance to the past. When you hear the subject matter, it is clearly set in the present day, and not in Galway or Dublin or Boston, but in their hometown. And as an added bonus the songs have that dark Scandinavian sensibility present in the old Sagas and carried forward to the 21st Century.
But Songs from the Bunker never fails to deliver, and despite the heavy lyrics, the album is a lot of rich, thrashy fun. After hearing this album, its clear they are a group that would be fantastic live.
I don't really have that much more to say about these guys, except that they make a perfect soundtrack for St Patty's Day shenanigans. Songs From the Bunker is the only disc I have by these guys and I recommend it wholeheartedly. It also seems to be the most easy to obtain, though a lot of their music can be readily downloaded. Trust me, if you like Celtic music like DropKick Murphys, The Tossers, and of course, The Pogues, this will not disappoint.
Slainte!
Greenland Whalefishers--Songs from the Bunker. Awesome record by a bunch of Norwegians from Bergen. There's a lot to like here, trust me. They are like a heavier rougher Pogues, and Arvid the vocalist sounds like a cross between Joe Strummer and Popeye. They sing with guts and passion. It's difficult to believe that these guys are not from the old sod!
One of things that I especially like about these guys is that they chart their own territory. While the album works in the same tradition that the Pogues do, they do not pay a lot of obeisance to the past. When you hear the subject matter, it is clearly set in the present day, and not in Galway or Dublin or Boston, but in their hometown. And as an added bonus the songs have that dark Scandinavian sensibility present in the old Sagas and carried forward to the 21st Century.
But Songs from the Bunker never fails to deliver, and despite the heavy lyrics, the album is a lot of rich, thrashy fun. After hearing this album, its clear they are a group that would be fantastic live.
I don't really have that much more to say about these guys, except that they make a perfect soundtrack for St Patty's Day shenanigans. Songs From the Bunker is the only disc I have by these guys and I recommend it wholeheartedly. It also seems to be the most easy to obtain, though a lot of their music can be readily downloaded. Trust me, if you like Celtic music like DropKick Murphys, The Tossers, and of course, The Pogues, this will not disappoint.
Slainte!
St Patrick's Day Eve--The Frank & Walter's--Still Saving the World a Song at a Time!
Though Cinco De Mayo is making serious inroads, I still believe St Pat's is America's #1 drunken holiday. Like we need excuses. Of course we could always start a new Scandinavian holiday like Bjorn Kristian Ulvaeus day--no doubt consumer survey polls would probably come out positive. But I digress as usual. This weekend is about Ireland. Beer, not Cerveza or Aquavit.
So with that in mind I was going to do a short silly post, but I decided to give a fine band more credit and make this post slightly longer...
Frank and Walters---a terrific Irish Band from Cork!!! They've been around for more than 20 years but are still making great music. Here's a great tune from the early days. Indian Ocean.....
Here's something from their most recent album from 2012--Greenwich Mean Time....Trust in the Future.
And here is something a little silly that I mentioned earlier...
Very very good band. Slainte!!
So with that in mind I was going to do a short silly post, but I decided to give a fine band more credit and make this post slightly longer...
Frank and Walters---a terrific Irish Band from Cork!!! They've been around for more than 20 years but are still making great music. Here's a great tune from the early days. Indian Ocean.....
Here's something from their most recent album from 2012--Greenwich Mean Time....Trust in the Future.
And here is something a little silly that I mentioned earlier...
Very very good band. Slainte!!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Will America Survive Seacrestation? A Fearful Nation Wonders
I guess I was unaware of how bad the political stalemate between Democrats and Republicans in Congress had gotten. No one could have anticipated this. If they had only had a crystal ball, some compromise would have been found. But this....this...this... the horror.......the mere word gives me chills.
Seacrestation
Maybe I'm just bitter because I've been using the phrase Seacrest out!, years before he stole it from me. Perhaps I've always harbored a secret desire to be Dick Clark's "mini-me". Though it does seem to be an awfully silly government policy.
Throughout this current recession we've survived numerous self-created, self-destructive crises, but when we cross this brink we just may not be able to recover. This time reality television has just gotten too real for comfort...
Time to See the Light--Rational Youth--Electronic Pop from Montreal
I was never a big fan of electronic music when I started listening to music as a teenager.
Even though I was taking piano lessons, my idea of great music involved loud music, guitars, power chords.
Like every self-respecting rocker, I would faithfully watch show like Midnight Special and Don Kirschner's Rock Concert to see musical idols perform, and perhaps get a preview of the great new music to come. There weren't so many outlets back in those days for music.
One night I still remember seeing Gary Numan for the first time one night on Don Kirschner's show.
I was completely flabbergasted. What sort of nonsense were they trying to foist on us. At the time I thought it was totally laughable stuff. Weird. Wimpy. For a long time I just couldn't listen to much in this genre. It felt like novelty music. I thought it was cheesy and for the most part unserious.
But in reality electronic music has its good and bad, and of course can be superb, transcendent. Synthesizers and Computers are just another tool to be used to make music to express ideas, and for every 20 stinkers in any genre, there are always a few good, even great albums to be enjoyed.
I didn't overcome my musical prejudice for a long time. The whole "man becoming machine" thing is still pretty uncompelling to me. Even if in this day and age there it appears that there was more than a germ of truth to the concept. I suppose I have a greater appreciation for music with a human face.
And that's why I was completely taken aback when I heard New Order for the first time. I heard it playing on my stereo, coming from my own college radio station. It definitely altered my perceptions about electronic music in a way that other groups like Devo could not.
I'm pretty sure it was "Age of Consent" playing that day--it was about the time the release of Power Corruption and Lies, which I became an owner of shortly thereafter. In those days I didn't know that it was a new incarnation of Joy Division after Ian Curtis' sad demise. It was an immediate, visceral reaction to great music, and it helped open me to listening to music rather than compartmentalise my musical preferences narrowly.
Which comes to the point of my post. I was reading Have Not Been the Same, a terrific and weighty tome on Canadian rock of the 1980's and 90's, and learning about a lot of groups that never reached my American airspace. I enjoyed the book a great deal. There is even a compilation CD that came out in conjunction (i.e. not with the book) that gives you a taste of the diversity and quality of the bands of the era.
When I was young, I knew Canadians could play Hockey and brew strong beer like LaBatt's and Molson, but believed they could never compete with the Americans and the Brits in rock and roll. I guess in the Cold War era, everything felt like a stupid competition. BTO of course was some crazy exception of course.
Based upon my Canadian research, the first album I bought happened to be by an electronic group of the 80's from Montreal called Rational Youth. I don't think they are any big secret to fans of new wave and electronic music, but they are fairly new to me. Some of the song titles of Cold War Night Life seemed vaguely familiar. I have to say that this album is pretty terrific. When you compare the quantum leaps of technology in the music world, you have to admire what these guys did back in the early 80's. The music was all created on keyboards. And unlike a lot of the music of era, the music does not seem so dated. In fact, I find it to be as good or better than most of the better-known synth-pop contemporaries were doing.
I find a lot of creativity in the music on Cold War Night Life. Sometimes groups latch on to a sound and their songs seem a bit samey, but there is a great deal of diversity in the arrangements. Instead of being a record with a few strong cuts and mediocre material, the songs here are universally good. The music is a combination of bounciness, and sombre macabre spookiness. There is an noticeably aggressive muscular quality to the music that is hard to ignore. I cannot help but believe that these guy were pretty influential to other groups. I'm a little reminded of comeback era Wire, and they also seem to be a precursor to industrial music. The band was Tracy Howe, Bill Vorn, and Kevin Komoda, all playing synths, with Howe as lead vocalist.
Though Dancing on The Berlin Wall is probably the best known song, there are other songs that I like better. Though these days, seeing young people in the Middle East doing the Harlem Shake in a symbolic defiance of their governments, I see a bit of a connection. Dancing on the Berlin Wall is almost a Gothic "Rocking the Casbah" in a way. As for my tastes, Beware the Fly is probably my favorite on this album, dark clever atmospheric pop with haunted house organ sounding synths segueing into the ostinato laden chorus. Saturdays in Silesia is another Cold War synth classic with almost a Flashdance rhythm to it. Other recommended cuts are the the opening song Close to Nature, City of Night, and the instrumental tune Power Zone. The reissue also includes the tremendous electro-ballad I Want To See the Light. Definitely one of the band's high points. Coboloid Race, also included, is also very good, with a more industrial metallic sound.
When I first tried to pick up a copy of this, I was surprised to find that it would cost me a good amount of cash. I actually wound up buying it on Amazon UK. Right now it seems it can be purchased at a reasonable prize. If that changes, be aware that Yul records, the label that originally issued Cold War Night Life has come out of mothballs and is active once again. You can order the album directly from the label's website. To celebrate the label's 30th anniversary, they have released 4 Rational Youth eps, containing remixes, some newly discovered and never before released.
It has been nearly 25 since the Berlin Wall fell and I don't think people today understand just what things were like back then. For all we knew about life under Communism, there was a lot we did not know, and the same was true about life in the world of Capitalism. I don't think you will learn much about such things by listening to Rational Youth, but quite honestly by listening to the album you can get a little idea of what people were thinking at the time, beliefs and opinions, which were colored by a world seemingly running on a course toward mutually assured destruction. Of course if you had been to Russia at the time and seen how parents bundled their children for winter weather, you wouldn't have many doubts as to whether they loved their children or not. And certainly Rational Youth took the lyrical content of their songs extremely seriously. All I'm saying is there is a certain context to these songs which I still may find interesting today, but I understand how they would not seem so meaningful to people who were born after Communism collapsed in Europe.
All in all Rational Youth put out a very intelligent, forward sounding synth-pop album which should be better known. In addition there are other releases under the moniker, but none with the original lineup. There is an anthology of their music entitled All Our Saturdays which is readily available and includes music from Heredity, the 2nd album. Years later Howe put out another Rational Youth album To the Goddess Electricity on a Swedish label, which is a bit pricey to get. A Singles box set came out in 2000, but was released in limited quantities. But I recommend you go right to the first album if you want to hear the group. If you are a fan of synth-pop, electronic music, or merely an 80's nostalgist, this disc sound pretty essential to my ear.
Even though I was taking piano lessons, my idea of great music involved loud music, guitars, power chords.
Like every self-respecting rocker, I would faithfully watch show like Midnight Special and Don Kirschner's Rock Concert to see musical idols perform, and perhaps get a preview of the great new music to come. There weren't so many outlets back in those days for music.
One night I still remember seeing Gary Numan for the first time one night on Don Kirschner's show.
I was completely flabbergasted. What sort of nonsense were they trying to foist on us. At the time I thought it was totally laughable stuff. Weird. Wimpy. For a long time I just couldn't listen to much in this genre. It felt like novelty music. I thought it was cheesy and for the most part unserious.
But in reality electronic music has its good and bad, and of course can be superb, transcendent. Synthesizers and Computers are just another tool to be used to make music to express ideas, and for every 20 stinkers in any genre, there are always a few good, even great albums to be enjoyed.
I didn't overcome my musical prejudice for a long time. The whole "man becoming machine" thing is still pretty uncompelling to me. Even if in this day and age there it appears that there was more than a germ of truth to the concept. I suppose I have a greater appreciation for music with a human face.
And that's why I was completely taken aback when I heard New Order for the first time. I heard it playing on my stereo, coming from my own college radio station. It definitely altered my perceptions about electronic music in a way that other groups like Devo could not.
I'm pretty sure it was "Age of Consent" playing that day--it was about the time the release of Power Corruption and Lies, which I became an owner of shortly thereafter. In those days I didn't know that it was a new incarnation of Joy Division after Ian Curtis' sad demise. It was an immediate, visceral reaction to great music, and it helped open me to listening to music rather than compartmentalise my musical preferences narrowly.
Which comes to the point of my post. I was reading Have Not Been the Same, a terrific and weighty tome on Canadian rock of the 1980's and 90's, and learning about a lot of groups that never reached my American airspace. I enjoyed the book a great deal. There is even a compilation CD that came out in conjunction (i.e. not with the book) that gives you a taste of the diversity and quality of the bands of the era.
When I was young, I knew Canadians could play Hockey and brew strong beer like LaBatt's and Molson, but believed they could never compete with the Americans and the Brits in rock and roll. I guess in the Cold War era, everything felt like a stupid competition. BTO of course was some crazy exception of course.
 |
| The Unity of Things is the Essence of Truth... |
Based upon my Canadian research, the first album I bought happened to be by an electronic group of the 80's from Montreal called Rational Youth. I don't think they are any big secret to fans of new wave and electronic music, but they are fairly new to me. Some of the song titles of Cold War Night Life seemed vaguely familiar. I have to say that this album is pretty terrific. When you compare the quantum leaps of technology in the music world, you have to admire what these guys did back in the early 80's. The music was all created on keyboards. And unlike a lot of the music of era, the music does not seem so dated. In fact, I find it to be as good or better than most of the better-known synth-pop contemporaries were doing.
I find a lot of creativity in the music on Cold War Night Life. Sometimes groups latch on to a sound and their songs seem a bit samey, but there is a great deal of diversity in the arrangements. Instead of being a record with a few strong cuts and mediocre material, the songs here are universally good. The music is a combination of bounciness, and sombre macabre spookiness. There is an noticeably aggressive muscular quality to the music that is hard to ignore. I cannot help but believe that these guy were pretty influential to other groups. I'm a little reminded of comeback era Wire, and they also seem to be a precursor to industrial music. The band was Tracy Howe, Bill Vorn, and Kevin Komoda, all playing synths, with Howe as lead vocalist.
Though Dancing on The Berlin Wall is probably the best known song, there are other songs that I like better. Though these days, seeing young people in the Middle East doing the Harlem Shake in a symbolic defiance of their governments, I see a bit of a connection. Dancing on the Berlin Wall is almost a Gothic "Rocking the Casbah" in a way. As for my tastes, Beware the Fly is probably my favorite on this album, dark clever atmospheric pop with haunted house organ sounding synths segueing into the ostinato laden chorus. Saturdays in Silesia is another Cold War synth classic with almost a Flashdance rhythm to it. Other recommended cuts are the the opening song Close to Nature, City of Night, and the instrumental tune Power Zone. The reissue also includes the tremendous electro-ballad I Want To See the Light. Definitely one of the band's high points. Coboloid Race, also included, is also very good, with a more industrial metallic sound.
When I first tried to pick up a copy of this, I was surprised to find that it would cost me a good amount of cash. I actually wound up buying it on Amazon UK. Right now it seems it can be purchased at a reasonable prize. If that changes, be aware that Yul records, the label that originally issued Cold War Night Life has come out of mothballs and is active once again. You can order the album directly from the label's website. To celebrate the label's 30th anniversary, they have released 4 Rational Youth eps, containing remixes, some newly discovered and never before released.
It has been nearly 25 since the Berlin Wall fell and I don't think people today understand just what things were like back then. For all we knew about life under Communism, there was a lot we did not know, and the same was true about life in the world of Capitalism. I don't think you will learn much about such things by listening to Rational Youth, but quite honestly by listening to the album you can get a little idea of what people were thinking at the time, beliefs and opinions, which were colored by a world seemingly running on a course toward mutually assured destruction. Of course if you had been to Russia at the time and seen how parents bundled their children for winter weather, you wouldn't have many doubts as to whether they loved their children or not. And certainly Rational Youth took the lyrical content of their songs extremely seriously. All I'm saying is there is a certain context to these songs which I still may find interesting today, but I understand how they would not seem so meaningful to people who were born after Communism collapsed in Europe.
All in all Rational Youth put out a very intelligent, forward sounding synth-pop album which should be better known. In addition there are other releases under the moniker, but none with the original lineup. There is an anthology of their music entitled All Our Saturdays which is readily available and includes music from Heredity, the 2nd album. Years later Howe put out another Rational Youth album To the Goddess Electricity on a Swedish label, which is a bit pricey to get. A Singles box set came out in 2000, but was released in limited quantities. But I recommend you go right to the first album if you want to hear the group. If you are a fan of synth-pop, electronic music, or merely an 80's nostalgist, this disc sound pretty essential to my ear.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)